Milwaukee Rep Announces 2012-13 Season: CLYBOURNE PARK, ASSASSINS & More

Artistic Director Mark Clements yesterday announced Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2012/13 Season. The choice of plays includes a Tony Award-winning musical, two classics from American literature, two landmark plays written nearly 50 years apart, a musical parody of Broadway, two scintillating musical revues that celebrate the blues and the legendary music of Johnny Cash, an interactive stage show by mentalist Marc Salem and a soul-stirring hit from London and Broadway.

"It is a wonderful feeling to see so many new faces at The Rep and to speak with so many of our long-term subscribers who feel energized by all that we have to offer," says Artistic Director Mark Clements "We feel tremendous pride in this achievement, and great excitement about the new possibilities that now lie ahead as we begin the next stage of our journey together."

For the 2012/13 season, Milwaukee Repertory Theater will once again present 11 productions on three stages as well as the annual Milwaukee tradition A Christmas Carol in the adjacent Pabst Theater and Rep Lab, a short-play festival featuring The Rep's Artistic Intern Company, in the Stiemke Studio.  There is one To-Be-Announced play in the Stiemke Studio. Several options are currently being explored. More information will be available soon on the title selected.

 

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2012/13 Season

Gutenberg! The Musical! 
Written by Scott Brown & Anthony King
August 21 – October 14, 2012
Stackner Cabaret

Three men, one piano, thirty baseball caps – and one massively misguided dream! In 1450, in Mainz, Germany, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press; in 2011, in Nutley, New Jersey, Bud and Doug wrote a big, splashy musical about him, the evil monk trying to stop him and the beautiful girl who loved him. They may not have a cast, an orchestra, or a clue, but with an unending supply of enthusiasm, they're pitching their hilarious, sixteen-song epic to Broadway producers who just might fulfill their bright-eyed ambitions! 

"A thoroughly winning dead-on musical comedy!" –The New York Sun

Assassins 
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by John Weidman
Based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr.
Directed by Mark Clements 
September 4 – October 7, 2012
Quadracci Powerhouse

This groundbreaking American musical kicks off the Quadracci Powerhouse season with a bang! Bold, original, surreal, thought-provoking and alarmingly funny, this five-time Tony Award-winner investigates the personalities behind nine Presidential assassins and reveals uneasy truths about the American Dream. Hugely resonant in today's celebrity-obsessed culture, Assassins is peopled with desperate, disillusioned characters who force us to wonder how everybody's right to be happy can include killing a President.

"Brilliant . . . remarkable . . . [an] astonishing score" –The New York Times

The Mountaintop
By Katori Hall 
September 26 – November 4, 2012 
Stiemke Studio

On the eve of his assassination, DR. Martin Luther King, Jr., cools down in a lonely Memphis hotel room after delivering the speech of a lifetime – when an unexpected visit from a feisty, young hotel maid pushes King into a confrontation with his doubts, fears and haunting premonitions. A soul-stirring hit in London and on Broadway,The Mountaintop's humorous, magical storytelling fuses theatricality with spirituality to reach a summit that will leave audiences breathless.

"The Mountaintop is a wonderful trip, as audacious as it is inventive." –Associated Press

Blues in the Night 
Conceived and Originally Directed by Sheldon Epps 
Original Vocal Arrangements and Musical Direction by Chapman Roberts 
Orchestrations & Additional Vocal Arrangements by Sy Johnson
October 19 – December 23, 2012 
Stackner Cabaret

The universal language of the blues speaks eloquently in this scorching, Tony-nominated musical! The twenty-six hot, torchy numbers that tell the sweet, sexy and sorrowful stories of four colorful inhabitants of a 1930s Chicago saloon, will leave you energized, inspired and ready to wail. This dynamite revue features blues classics from Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Bessie Smith, and many more, packed into a larger-than-life score that'll bring down the house!

"Marvelous . . . dynamic" –Theatermania.com

The Diary of Anne Frank 
Dramatized by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett 
October 23 – December 2, 2012 
Quadracci Powerhouse

Anne Frank's remarkable diary has become an essential tool for understanding one of the darkest periods of our history – and one of the most beautiful, haunting stories in our shared experience. A testament to the human spirit and its young author's "boundless desire for all that is beautiful and good," the play illuminates Anne's unwavering belief in justice and love during more than two years in hiding during World War II. This moving, true story is essential viewing for every generation.

"Tender, rueful, moving drama" –The New York Times

Sense and Sensibility
By Jane Austen
Adapted by Mark Healy
December 11, 2012 – January 13, 2013
Quadracci Powerhouse

From the author of Pride and Prejudice comes this heartwarming, humorous tale of two sisters struggling to move past a family disaster. Sensible, reserved Elinor and passionate, impulsive Marianne find the road to true love, beset with dashing suitors and well-meaning relatives, devoted friends and devious rivals, and scandalous secrets and unexpected twists in a period-perfect adaptation that captures all of the deliciousness, flirtation and folly of Austen's well-loved novel.

"Hopeless romantics will devour every last scone and sigh in this heart-tugging Regency-era adventure" 
–San Jose Mercury News

Mind Over Milwaukee
By Marc Salem
December 28, 2012 – February 24, 2013 
Stackner Cabaret

Mentalist Marc Salem brings his interactive stage show to The Rep for an experience that will leave you astounded, dumbfounded and believing the unbelievable! Using psychological techniques, a sharp eye for human nature, a quick wit and more than 20 years of close study, Mr. Salem creates a mystifying, often hilarious show that explores the depths and true capabilities of the human mind. 

"Brilliantly Entertaining!" –New York Post

TBD
January 16 – February 24, 2013
Stiemke Studio

The Rep is in the process of choosing the perfect show to round out the 2012/13 Season. Several options are being explored that will continue the tradition of producing culturally-relevant, text-driven work. More information will be available soon.

One Simple Chicago Home Inspired Two Landmark Plays Written Nearly 50 Years Apart! 
See them both at The Rep in 2013 and join the conversation about the social and political 
issues these pieces explore.

Clybourne Park
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Mark Clements 
January 29 – February 24, 2013 
Quadracci Powerhouse
A co-production with Arizona Theatre Company

Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and London's Olivier Award for Best Play, Clybourne Park is a wickedly funny and fiercely provocative new play about the volatile combination of race and real estate. Act One opens in 1959, as a white couple sells their home to a black family (the Younger family in A Raisin in the Sun), causing uproar in their middle-class neighborhood; Act Two finds the same house, in 2009, changing hands again. And, while the stakes have changed over the years, the debate remains strikingly similar as neighbors wage a hilarious and horrifying pitchEd Battle over territory and legacy that reveals just how far our ideas about race and gentrification have evolved – or, have they?

"Dangerous and provocative, and pulverizing funny!" –Variety

A Raisin in the Sun
By Lorraine Hansberry
March 12 – April 14, 2013 
Quadracci Powerhouse

One of the most powerful and beloved American plays ever written, A Raisin in the Sun tells the story of the Younger family's struggle for dignity and a better life – and the backlash that erupts when they try to move beyond their oppressive Chicago tenement home. Set just before the dawn of the Civil Rights and Women's Movements, A Raisin in the Sun demonstrates how a single family's dreams can change the world. Don't miss the play that The New York Times said "changed American theatre forever."  

"One of the handful of great American dramas." –The Washington Post

Ring of Fire: The Songs of Johnny Cash
Created by Richard Maltby
Conceived by William Meade
Orchestrations by Steven Bishop and Jeff Lisenby
March 1 – May 5, 2013 
Stackner Cabaret

From the iconic songbook of Johnny Cash comes this unique musical about love and faith, struggle and success, rowdiness and redemption, and home and family. More than two dozen classic hits – including "I Walk The Line," "A Boy Named Sue," "Folsom Prison Blues," and the title tune – performed by a multi-talented cast, paint a musical portrait of The Man in Black that promises to be a foot-stompin', crowd-pleasin' salute to a uniquely American legend!

"A fabulous piece of entertainment. A musical of grandeur and perfected style that offers endless delight. See it."  –The Buffalo News

In addition to the plays listed above, The Rep will also be offering two special productions:

A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Joseph Hanreddy and Edward Morgan
November 29 – December 24, 2012
Pabst Theater

Rep Lab
A Short-Play Festival 
Featuring The Rep's Acting Intern Ensemble
March 1 – 4, 2013
Stiemke Studio

All plays and dates subject to change.

 

Subscriptions are currently available for renewing subscribers only. New subscriptions will go on sale the week of April 23. Subscription prices for the 2012/13 Season range from $60 – $468. Packages available are the Ultimate 11-play package which includes the entire season spanning all three of The Rep's performance spaces; Quadracci Powerhouse/Stackner 9-play package; Quadracci Powerhouse/Stiemke Studio 7-play package; Quadracci Powerhouse 5-play package; Stackner Cabaret 4-Play package as well as a Create Your Own Season package and Flex Passes. For additional information on subscription offerings, please contact The Rep's Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.