Edison Theatre announces 2009-10 Line-Up

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Edison Theatre announces 2009-10 line-up

OVATIONS and ovations for young people present nationally and internationally known artists
For its 2009-10 season, Washington University's Edison Theatre will present more than a dozen events by nationally and internationally renowned performing artists. Shows range from provocative dance and multimedia rock opera to funk-infused klezmer (or is that klezmer-infused funk?) and whimsical twists on literary classics.

The Edison Theatre OVATIONS Series opens Sept. 25 and 26 with David Dorfman Dance in underground, which takes a subversive look at 1960s activism. Dorfman, a Washington University alumnus, has emerged as one the most celebrated choreographers of his generation, acclaimed for his exuberant and "delightfully oddball" style.

The series continues Oct. 2 and 3 with the theatrical power-pop trio GrooveLily in Sleeping Beauty Wakes, their latest collaboration with Tony Award-winning librettist Rachel Sheinkin. The story - a witty musical theatre take on the timeless Grimm's fairy tale - finds Beauty, awakening after a 900-year sleep, ensconced in a 21st-century sleep-disorder clinic, far from the land far, far away.

Next up, on Nov. 14 and 15, is the rock opera dance piece Remember Me, a recent collaboration between New York's acclaimed Parsons Dance Company and East Village Opera Company. Olivier and Tony Award-winning actor Roger Rees, a 22-year veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, stops by Nov. 20 with What You Will, a one-man-show combining the Bard's greatest soliloquies with side-splitting accounts of the funniest disasters ever perpetrated on the stage.

The spring semester begins with the return of ScrapArtsMusic Jan. 23. Fusing world and pop sensibilities, this high-energy "action percussion" ensemble employs kinetic, one-of-a-kind instruments built from recycled and salvaged materials such as sewage pipe and artillery shells. Aquila Theatre Company, the foremost producer of touring classical theatre in the United States, takes the stage with Shakespeare's As You Like It (Feb. 12) and Henrik Ibsen's thrilling Enemy of the People (Feb. 13).

Next up, on Feb. 19 and 20, is the trailblazing PHILADANCO, a modern dance company rooted in African-American traditions. The troupe is followed Feb. 27 by Abraham Inc., an all-star ensemble fusing funk, jazz, hip-hop and klezmer, which is led by virtuoso clarinetist David Krakauer, trombonist Fred Wesley and "beat architect" Josh Dolgin, aka Socalled.

The OVATIONS season concludes March 26 with the Grammy-nominated Tiempo Libre, known for their incendiary, joyful performances of tibma, an irresistible mix of high-voltage Latin jazz and seductive rhythms.

Meanwhile, the popular ovations for young people series, which offers specially priced Saturday matinees for audiences of all ages, opens Jan. 16 with the eclectic clown, juggler, balancing artist and poet Jamie Adkins, whose Circus INcognitus transforms everyday objects into outrageous circus routines. The series continues Jan. 23 with Scrap Arts Music and Feb. 20 with PHILADANCO in Rosa, a tribute to civil rights activist Rosa Parks.

The ovations for young people seriesconcludes May 8 with CORBIAN Visual Arts and Dance in Darwin, a unique theatrical experience that employs electroluminescent wire to create crayon-like characters and creatures in a heart-warming tale of a young dinosaur who discovers the true meaning of love.

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