THE CHRISTIANS, ANGELS IN AMERICA, THE FLOWER ROOM and More Set for Season 30 at Actor's Express
By: BWW News Desk Mar. 17, 2017
The season opens September 16 with the stunningly original runaway hit of the New York theatre season, The Christians by Lucas Hnath, directed by Actor's Express Artistic Director Freddie Ashley (Sweeney Todd, The Crucible).
It is followed by 2016 Humana Festival standout Cardboard Piano by Hansol Jung, directed by Karen Robinson.
In the fall, Actor's Express will produce the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches and Part Two: Perestroika. Co-directed by Freddie Ashley and Martin Damien Wilkins, Angels in America will run in rep, allowing audiences some opportunities to see both plays in one day.
Actor's Express is very proud to present the World Premiere of Atlanta playwright Daryl Lisa Fazio's The Flower Room, a hilarious madcap comedy about sexual discovery directed by AE Associate Artist Melissa Foulger.
And finally, the season will close with a blockbuster musical whose title cannot be released due to contractual stipulations. An official announcement is expected to be made later this fall.
According to Artistic Director Freddie Ashley, "The new season at Actor's Express reflects our commitment to present work that speaks to the needs, desires and issues facing our community and our world. We seized upon the opportunity to drill down and examine the values we feel need to be protected and celebrated. The result of a months-long process, we believe this season will entertain, enlighten, provoke and - most importantly - offer the opportunity for audiences to lean in together."
In addition to its mainstage season, Actor's Express will commemorate its anniversary season by presenting a special concert version of the landmark musical The Harvey Milk Show by Dan Pruitt and Patrick Hutchison. AE founder Chris Coleman will return to Atlanta to reprise his powerful performance in the title role. When the Express first produced the iconic show back in 1992, it confirmed AE's position as one of the boldest and most ambitious theatres in Atlanta. Look for updates soon about this one-weekend-only special event that will happen in early March 2018.
Fan favorite Libby Whittemore returns to the Express stage for the ninth year for two engagements of her popular cabaret series Libby's at the Express.
Actor's Express will present the third annual new play festival Threshold New Play Festival (dates TBD). Season subscription packages are now on sale and can be purchased online at actors-express.com or by calling 404-607-7469. Single tickets will go on sale May 13, 2017.
MAINSTAGE SEASON:
The Christians
By Lucas Hnath
Directed by Freddie Ashley September 16 - October 15, 2017
How far will you go for something to believe in?
Pastor Paul has built his congregation from modest storefront to shining megachurch with a membership of thousands. But when the beloved minister steps up to the pulpit to share a new belief, his stunning revelation leaves the entire church community rocked to its core. A provocative excavation of modern faith, The Christians will feature music from a community choir comprised of people from all faiths and backgrounds. A runaway hit of the New York Theatre season, this stunningly original play will have all of Atlanta talking.
Cardboard Piano
By Hansol Jung
Directed by Karen Robinson November 11 - December 3, 2017
A powerful new drama and standout at the 2016 Humana Festival
New Year's Eve 1999. In a remote northern Ugandan village, two girls - one, a local villager and the other, the daughter of American missionaries - sneak into the local church to hold a makeshift wedding for themselves. When their idyllic reverie is interrupted by a boy soldier fleeing the atrocities of war, the girls are thrust into a chain of events will change their lives forever.
Angels in America
Part One: Millennium Approaches
Part Two: Perestroika
By Tony Kushner
Directed by Freddie Ashley and Martin Damien Wilkins January 13 - February 11, 2018
Both plays running in rotating rep.
Winner! Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play
The Flower Room
By Daryl Lisa Fazio
Directed by Melissa Foulger April 21 - May 13, 2017
World Premiere!
Sex, religion and politics collide with history in Tony Kushner's sweeping epic, one of the landmark theatrical events of the twentieth century. Set at the onset of the AIDS epidemic, these masterworks changed the theatrical landscape forever when they premiered on Broadway twenty-five years ago. And now, they finally land on the Actor's Express stage in one of the most ambitious productions we've ever taken on.
Ingrid is an uptight academic who researches sexual behavior in primitive cultures while remaining completely closed off from her own sexual self. When she loses her university job, she turns to writing erotica to pay the bills - unleashing her own journey of sexual discovery. This hilarious madcap comedy was included in AE's Threshold Festival of New Plays.
Exciting Broadway Musical!
June 16 - July 29, 2018
A show so huge we can't even say what it is yet!
We're not allowed to disclose just yet which exciting musical we've chosen to close the season, but we will make the big announcement later this fall. This could be the biggest production in Actor's Express history, and we promise it will be worth the wait!
Libby's at the Express
December 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17, 2017 May 17-20, 2018
Back for the ninth smash year, AE is proud to present incomparable Atlanta icon Libby Whittemore and her one-of-a-kind cabaret series.
Since our founding in 1988, we have sought to nurture the next generation of playwrights through workshops, readings, and full productions of new plays; to develop and nurture Atlanta's artistic community through theatre training; to catalyze the dialogue essential to the vitality of our neighborhood and our city; and to enhance Atlanta's reputation nationally as a thriving center for live performance.
Actor's Express is located on the west side of Atlanta in the King Plow Arts Center at 887 W. Marietta Street, Suite J-107, Atlanta, Georgia 30318.
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