CSC's Bragg Announces Details For 2009-2010 Season

Canadian Stage Company Artistic Producer Martin Bragg announced today details regarding the 2009-2010 Season, marking his final season with the Company after 17 memorable years. The Company's 22nd subscription season kicks off in September and includes five plays at the Bluma Appel Theatre and three at the Berkeley Street Theatre. Rounding out the playbill is the annual CanStage TD Dream in High Park. Season subscriptions are available with 5-play packages starting from $90 and 8-play packages starting from $138. To subscribe, call 416-368-3110, visit canstage.com or purchase in-person from the Box Office at the Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front Street East) or Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street).

"I hold this season, my last season at Canadian Stage, very dear to my heart," states Artistic Producer Martin Bragg. "I am thrilled about the season we have assembled; it is one of the richest and most varied collections of contemporary theatre our Company has ever produced, from inspiring home-grown success stories to thought-provoking international successes. It delivers on the commitment we have made to our mandate, which is to present powerful, relevant and entertaining contemporary Canadian and international theatre."

Mr. Bragg continues, "I am proud of the artistic achievements the Company has accomplished over the past 17 seasons, through times of prosperity and challenge. During this time the Company mounted over 150 productions on its three stages - almost half written by Canadians and all with a strong Canadian imprint - and garnered 50 Dora Mavor Moore Awards. The Company has provided a platform for emerging and seasoned artists from across the country and encouraged the development of countless new Canadian plays, including 10 Days on Earth by Ronnie Burkett, Habitat and Palace of the End by Judith Thompson, Heaven by George F. Walker and Unless by Carol Shields and Sara Cassidy, to name a few. The Company has ushered shows to Broadway (The Story of My Life) and taken productions around the world (The Overcoat). Also during this time the operating budget more than doubled, from $4.5M to $10M, while the deficit was reduced by 66% from $3M to $1M. Today, The Canadian Stage Company has evolved into one of the leading theatre companies in Canada."

"Lastly, I would like to thank all of the artists, staff, Board of Directors (past and present), audiences, donors, funders and sponsors for their ongoing support of this Company under my leadership. These past 17 years have truly been the highlight of my career."

Bluma Appel Theatre

The Bluma features five critically acclaimed and award-winning plays. Some are home-grown hits, others international sensations, and all are rich in the tradition of contemporary storytelling.

ROCK 'N' ROLL
Sept. 28 to Oct. 24 (Media Night: Oct. 1)
In co-production with Edmonton's Citadel Theatre
Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Donna Feore

Canadian Premiere - A runaway hit on Broadway and London's West End, nominated for four Tony Awards, four Olivier Awards and winner of the Critics' Circle and Evening Standard Awards for Best Play, Rock 'N' Roll is an extraordinary theatrical event about love, rock 'n' roll, revolution and the end of Communism pulsing to the beat of Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and U2. Michael Kuchwara of Associated Press wrote, "Political argument, family drama, cultural commentary, a love story - Rock 'N' Roll is all these things and more. An irrepressible anthem of love and freedom." Tom Stoppard, world-renowned for plays such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and the Oscar-winning screenplay Shakespeare in Love, wrote this sweeping, rapturous epic spanning two countries, three generations and 22 turbulent years. The play follows the passions and politics of a Marxist professor in Cambridge, England, and his music-obsessed protégé fighting for freedom in Soviet-dominated Prague. In the end love prevails and so does rock 'n' roll.

7 STORIES
Nov. 9 to Dec. 5 (Media Night: Nov. 12)
Written by Morris Panych
Directed by Dean Paul Gibson
Starring Peter Anderson

This production marks the 20th anniversary of two-time Governor General's Award-winner Morris Panych's breakthrough play. Peter Anderson, the original star of the play, will be reprising his Jessie Award-winning role. A landmark in the Canadian theatre canon, the multi-award winning play scooped up six of Vancouver's Jessie Richardson Awards including Outstanding Original Play, four Dora Mavor Moore Awards and a Governor General's Award nomination. It became an international success story in New York, London and as far afield as Sydney, Australia. CBC Radio described it as a "mix (of) Magritte, Sartre, Woody Allen, and the Book of Job with Buster Keaton and Magic Realism. It's a special chemistry with special results." 7 Stories is The Life-affirming story of a man searching for meaning. Perched high on the seventh-storey ledge of an apartment building, a man is preparing to jump. As the lives of the building's eccentric tenants are revealed through nearby windows, the man comes to realize that everyone one of them has reason to jump - and he may be the most rational of them all. This touchingly funny, surrealist play is about the surprises that come when you take your life into your own hands.

The Obsidian Theatre Production of
INTIMATE APPAREL
Feb. 8 to Mar. 6 (Media Night: Feb. 11)
Written by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Philip Akin
Set and Costume Design by Tamara Marie Kucheran
Lighting Design by Renée Brode
Sound Design by Todd Charlton
Featuring the company from the Canadian premiere production: Raven Dauda, Kevin Hanchard, Alex Poch-Goldin, Lisa Berry, Marium Carvell and Carly Street

This play, which garnered a New York Drama Critics' Circle and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play and a Dora Award for Outstanding Costume Design, met with popular and critical acclaim in New York and in Toronto last season. As rich and beautiful as finely-crafted lingerie, Intimate Apparel is a love story set in New York in 1905, amid the ragtime music of Scott Joplin. Esther, an ambitious and independent African-American woman has aspirations in conflict with turn-of-the-century society. A gifted seamstress who has gained financial independence by sewing elegant undergarments for socialites and prostitutes, she dreams of opening her own boutique. When George, a charming Caribbean islander employed in the construction of the Panama Canal, writes to her, a romance begins that promises to help her realize her dreams. The Globe and Mail called the play "compelling and richly layered," while The Toronto Star heralded Raven Dauda's performance as "superb...quite simply the highlight of the evening...wonderfully nuanced...she breathes life into the awkward, slightly prim and dowdy 35-year old woman rushing toward love."

'ART'
Mar. 15 - Apr. 10 (Media Night: March 18)
Written by Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Morris Panych
Designed by Ken MacDonald

This witty, razor-sharp, international sensation won the Molière Award for Best Author, the Olivier Award for Best Comedy and the Tony Award for Best Play. The London Times described it as "A remarkably wise, witty and intelligent comedy. ART has touched a universal nerve." Yasmina Reza's play explores the nature of friendship while examining the definition of art. The play revolves around the purchase of a very expensive, white-on-white painting which pushes the boundaries of art and ignites a passionate debate among three friends. Gruff battleaxe Marc, highly-strung appeaser Yvan and burgeoning art aficionado Serge come to a head over artistic merit, modernism and the value of friendship, testing the men's relationship and ultimately offering reconciliation.

Catalyst Theatre's
FRANKENSTEIN
May 3 to May 29 (Media Night: May 6)
Adapted from Mary Shelley's novel
Written, Composed and Directed by Jonathan Christenson
Designed by Bretta Gerecke
Choreography by Laura Krewski
Sound Design by Wade Staples
Starring the original cast from the world premiere production: Nick Green, Andrew Kushnir, Tim Machin, Sarah Machin Gale, Nancy McAlear, Dov Mickelson, Tracy Penner, George Szilagyi

Toronto Premiere - This home-grown "monster hit" (The Edmonton Sun) has taken Western Canada by storm, enjoying sold-out runs in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan and collecting eight Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards for Outstanding New Play, Production of a Musical, Score, Set, Costume, Lighting Design and more. Frankenstein, written, directed and composed by Jonathan Christenson, Artistic Director of Edmonton's internationally acclaimed Catalyst Theatre, is a stylized musical adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic novel. The cautionary tale about the consequences of interfering with nature and the universal search for love and acceptance revolves around Dr. Frankenstein (Andrew Kushnir) and his lonely creature (George Szilagyi) who becomes increasingly hostile towards the man who made and abandoned him, and the society that repels him. A startling storybook come to life, this multi-award-winning spectacle features the original cast of eight actors in over 40 roles and integrates poetic text, witty song, stylized movement and fantastical costumes and sets made entirely of paper. It is a quirky, beautiful and often ghoulishly humorous take on a timeless story. Bob Clark of the Calgary Herald wrote, "a darkly comic phantasmagoria, whose storytelling elements remind you of everything from Alice in Wonderland and Cabaret, to Into The Woods and Phantom - and then some. A gothic tour de force."

The Berkeley Street Theatre is known for its edgier, more provocative works. It is the home of the Berkeley Street Project, a collaborative partnership between The Canadian Stage Company and three of the country's finest independent theatre companies - Nightwood Theatre, Studio 180 and Necessary Angel Theatre Company. As announced in February 2008, the initiative integrates the Company's infrastructure and promotional strength with the Partners' artistic and producing activities, ultimately transforming the Company's historic Berkeley Street Theatre into a dynamic centre for the performing arts in Toronto. The Berkeley season includes:

Produced by Nightwood Theatre in co-production with The Canadian Stage Company
THAT FACE
Oct. 26 to Nov. 21 (Media Night: Oct. 29)
Written by Polly Stenham
Directed by Kelly Thornton
Starring Sonja Smits

Canadian Premiere - Mia is at boarding school. She has access to drugs. They are Martha's. Henry has dropped out of school. He has access to alcohol. From Martha. Martha controls their lives. Martha is their mother. That Face is an explosive portrayal of an affluent family in freefall. Winner of the 2007 Evening Standard Award and the 2007 Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, Polly Stenham's dazzling debut took London's West End by storm. That Face, written when Stenham was only 19 years old as part of the Royal Courts' Young Writers Programme, is a powerful and darkly comic exploration of children who become parents to their parents. The London Daily Telegraph called it, "One of the most astonishing debuts I have seen in more than 30 years of reviewing...Fresh, passionate and blackly comic - exhilarating...a remarkable and unforgettable piece of theatre". The Observer declares, "That Face is gob-smacking".

Produced by Studio 180 in association with The Canadian Stage Company
THE OVERWHELMING
Mar. 8 to Apr. 3 (Media Night: Mar. 11)
Written by J.T. Rogers
Directed by Joel Greenberg

Canadian Premiere - Named the 2007 Top Ten Play of the Year by Time Magazine and Time Out New York, The Overwhelming, by award-winning playwright J.T. Rogers, is a riveting examination of the mounting tensions in 1994 Rwanda and a war that cannot be comprehended or controlled. American academic Jack Exley travels to Rwanda to interview his old friend Joseph Gasana about struggling for good against daunting odds. But when Jack arrives in Kigali, he is unable to find the Tutsi doctor - or anyone who will even admit to having known him. Befriended by both locals and diplomats with veiled motives, Jack and his family become enmeshed in the tension, terror, professional risks and personal betrayals that they ultimately realize mark the start of a genocidal war. The New York Times called it a "panorama of perspectives on a nation on the edge of civil war" while the Sunday Telegraph in London described it as "Shatteringly powerful but also unexpectedly entertaining...with the atmosphere, moral urgency, and hurtling momentum of a Graham Greene novel."

The Necessary Angel production of
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Apr. 12 to May 8 (Media Night: Apr. 15)
Created by Daniel MacIvor and Daniel Brooks
Written and Performed by Daniel MacIvor
Directed and Dramaturged by Daniel Brooks
Lighting Design by Kim Purtell
Music and Sound Design by Richard Feren
Starring Daniel MacIvor

Toronto Premiere - This one-man show is the highly anticipated new collaboration from Daniel MacIvor and Daniel Brooks, the innovative creators of House (1991), Here Lies Henry (1994), Monster (1998) and Cul-de-sac (2003), their last association. The duo has two Siminovitch Prizes, two Governor General's Awards, four Chalmers Awards and five Dora Mavor Moore Awards between them. This is What Happens Next is a journey deep into the heart of the Kingdom of Kevin with an astrologer, a lawyer, an absent father, the embodiment of our own Will and Me which takes us through the dark forest of addiction, divorce, Arthur Schopenhauer, The Little Mermaid and The Life of John Denver. A scary fairytale with a happy ending, this explosion of character and storytelling tries to make sense of life in the modern world. Workshops of the play were presented in Toronto in December and then in Montreal in January. Pat Donnelly, theatre critic for The Montreal Gazette, called the production, "genius...a high-octane blend of autobiography, anecdote, philosophical musing and fairy-tale fantasy, leavened by mordant wit...riveting."

At CanStage TD Dream in High Park:

THE TEMPEST
June 26 to Sept. 6 (Media Night: June 30)
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Sue Miner
Starring Karen Robinson

As previously announced, the 27th Annual CanStage TD Dream in High Park will feature The Tempest, directed by Sue Miner. The production stars Dora Award-winning actress Karen Robinson as Prospera, the sorceress of an enchanted isle, in this tale of political intrigue, fantastical creatures, magic, comedy and romance. The CanStage TD Dream in High Park is one of Toronto's most popular summer traditions. Since its inception in 1983, 1.3 million people have flocked to the park with their picnics to experience live professional theatre in a magical outdoor setting. Performances run Tuesday through Sunday at 8 p.m. Gate opens at 6 p.m. Admission is PWYC at the gate and free for children 14 and under.

2009-2010 Subscription Packages + Ticket Information

2009-2010 Season Subscriptions are available by calling 416.368.3110, online canstage.com, and in person at Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street or Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front Street East.

About The Canadian Stage Company

Nationally and internationally acclaimed, The Canadian Stage Company is Canada's leading not-for-profit contemporary theatre company. Founded in 1987 with the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre, the Company is dedicated to programming international contemporary theatre and to developing and producing landmark Canadian works which have been awarded some of the country's most prestigious literary and performing arts honours, including the Governor General's, Chalmers and Dora Mavor Moore Awards. The Company presents the richest variety of Canadian and international plays and musicals - from edgy and provocative work at the Berkeley Street Theatre to productions with universal appeal at the Bluma Appel Theatre and a summer of Shakespeare at the CanStage TD Dream in High Park. Canadian Stage has a long-standing commitment to education and enhancement programs for the public, nurturing theatre professionals, and developing new Canadian plays, while producing thought-provoking theatre and quality entertainment in Toronto, one of North America's largest theatre centres. For more information, refer to canstage.com.

 

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