LUCE, TURTLE, RICHARD III & More Set for Next Theatre's 2014-15 Season

Next Theatre Company announces their 2014 - 2015 season. Their 34th season of presenting is titled "Heroes and Villains. Details for the season are below!

All productions take place at Next Theatre at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes Street in Evanston. Subscriptions are currently on sale at http://nexttheatre.org/ or by calling the Next Theatre box office at 847.475.1875 ext. 2.

Luce
Written by J.C. Lee
Directed by Keira Fromm
September 27 - November 9
Previews: Saturday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m., Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m.
Opening Night: Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
Regular Run: Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays. and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 18 and 25 and November 1 and 9 performances are at 4 and 8 p.m.
Tickets: Previews: $25 Regular Run: $30 - $40

Luce seems to personify the American Dream. Originally from war-torn Africa and adopted by an American couple, Luce is now an all-star high school student on the fast track to achieving anything. However, when his parents confront him about a secret that has been disclosed, they must reckon their idealized image of their son with who he may really be.

Richard III
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Jessica Thebus
With Michael Patrick Thornton as "Richard III"
January 3 - February 15, 2015
Previews: Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 9, 2015 and Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015 at 2 p.m.
Opening Night: Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.
Regular Run: Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. January 24 and 31 and February 7 and 14, 2015 performances are at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tickets: Previews: $25 Regular Run: $30 - $40

Shakespeare's brilliant historic tale of the scheming hunchback who murders and seduces his way to the English throne is given a new twist in Next's intimate theater space. Jessica Thebus returns to Next to direct Michael Patrick Thornton as Richard, one of the bard's most charismatic and complicated villains.

Turtle
Written by Jake Jeppson
Directed by Damon Kiely
World Premiere
March 28 - May 10, 2015
Previews: Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 8 p.m., Sunday, March 29 at 2 p.m., Friday, April 3, 2015 and Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 5, 2015 at 2 p.m.
Opening Night: Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 7 p.m.
Regular Run: Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Saturday April 18 and 25 and May 2 and 9, 2015 performances are at 4 and 8 p.m.
Tickets: Previews: $25 Regular Run: $30 - $40

A sea turtle waddles its way into the lives of two suburban couples, exposing cracks in their relationships and shaking their sense of stability. In this darkly comic world premiere, award-winning writer Jake Jeppson envisions a strange but brutally familiar landscape of family dynamics, American politics, and the unspoken terror that lurks at the edge of our contemporary life.

Kiladelphia
Written and performed by Sean Christopher Lewis
DATES TBA

In the summer of 2008, it was often said that Philadelphia had "more bodies than days." The city was in the midst of a murder epidemic that put it on par with some third world countries. Determined to take an unflinching look at the causes of the crime rate and its effect on the community, playwright and performer Sean Christopher Lewis introduces the audience to the inmates of Graterford Prison, men employed to beautify the city even as they serve out life sentences. Performed by Lewis, described by the New York Press as "explicitly authentic", these voices and stories combine into a shocking document of life in America's toughest town.

SUNDAY TALKBACKS
Every 2 p.m. Sunday matinee during the season is followed by a discussion with the artistic staff and artists involved in the production, as well as special guests familiar with the topic to be discussed.