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Court Theatre’s 55th Season to feature works by Tony Kushner, Joan Didion, August Wilson, Charles Ludlam and Athol Fugard
Chicago, IL - Court Theatre proudly announces the company's fifty-fifth annual season, which opens with August Wilson's Chicago jazz-era classic Ma Rainey's Black Bottom directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. The Season continues with Charles Ludlam's camp classic The Mystery of Irma Vep directed by Sean Graney; and the Chicago Premieres of Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking and Tony Kushner's adaptation of The Illusion, both directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell. The Season will close with Athol Fugard's Sizwe Banzi is Dead directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. The 2009/10 season will be performed at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue in Hyde Park.
"As an artist and an artistic leader, I am constantly inspired by where should we go next, how can we challenge ourselves and our audience to new, inspiring experiences in the theatre," says Artistic Director Charles Newell. "Court Theatre's 2009/10 productions aspire to take all of us on that next journey. If we are successful, we will fulfill our mission to discover the power of classic theatre."
The 2009/10 Court Theatre Season Up-Close:
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom*
Written by August Wilson
Directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson
September 17-October 18, 2009
Court Theatre returns to August Wilson's Century Cycle, with the 1920s entry--his only play to be set on the South Side of Chicago. A recording session for blues legend Ma Rainey and her band becomes a battle of wills in the first major Chicago production in over 10 years.
*Rights pending
The Mystery of Irma Vep
Written by Charles Ludlam
Directed by Sean Graney
November 12-December 13, 2009
Two actors take on innumerable dramatis personae in Ludlam's high-camp quick-change romp. Vep satirizes all that is ridiculous in Gothic horror, Victorian melodrama, classic film, and conventional theater--and it's also a contender for the funniest American play of the last quarter-century.
The Chicago Premiere of
The Year of Magical Thinking
Written by Joan Didion
Directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell
Starring Mary Beth Fisher
January 14-February 14, 2010
Didion adapts her own acclaimed memoir to the stage. A fiercely intelligent, courageous, and witty exploration of loss, this monumental one-woman journey will be performed by Mary Beth Fisher in its Chicago premiere.
The Illusion
Written by Tony Kushner
Freely adapted from Pierre Corneille's L'Illusion Comique
Directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell
March 11-April 11, 2010
Tony Kushner brings his sophisticated style and breathtaking language to the French Baroque's most powerful romance. A father's attempt to find his estranged son raises the curtain on a world of theatrical magic, outrageous humor, and true, complicated love.
Sizwe Banzi is Dead
Written by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona
Directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson
May 13-June 13, 2010
Master playwright Fugard and the actors of the original South African cast collaboratively wrote the story of a man who pretends to be dead in order to live. This searing exploration of identity and the political power of storytelling is presented in a new, intimate staging by Court's Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson.
Subscription Information
Five, four and three play subscriptions to Court's 2009/2010 season range from $90 to $240 and are on sale now. To purchase a subscription or to receive more information, call the Court Theatre Box Office at (773) 753-4472, or visit Court's website at www.CourtTheatre.org. Individual tickets go on sale July 1, 2009. Groups of 10 or more may purchase tickets by calling Milan Penjovich in Court's Group Sales Office at (773) 834-3243.
Now in its 54th season, Court Theatre is guided by its mission to discover the power of classic theatre. Court endeavors to make a lasting contribution to American theatre by expanding the canon of translations, adaptations, and classic texts. Court revives lost masterpieces, illuminates familiar texts, and distinguishes fresh, modern classics. Court engages and inspires its audience by providing artistically distinguished productions, audience enrichment activities, and student educational experiences.
Court Theatre, the professional theatre in residence at the University of Chicago, is located at 5535 S. Ellis Ave. in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. You can reach the Court Theatre Box Office at (773) 753-4472, or visit Court's website at www.CourtTheatre.org. The remaining shows for the 2008/09 season include Frederick Knott's Wait Until Dark, now on stage, and August Wilson's The Piano Lesson which begins May 7th.
Court Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Charles Newell, is generously supported by Richard and Barbara Franke, Hyde Park Bank, The Joyce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Sara Lee Foundation, Shubert Foundation, and the University of Chicago. Court Theatre is also funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; CityArts Program IV of the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; a Cultural Outreach Program grant from the City of Chicago; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
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