MASTER CLASS, H.M.S. PINAFORE et al. Set for ACT 1 in 2011-12 Season

Nashville's Artist's Cooperative Theater 1 - ACT 1 - today announces its 22nd Season. The upcoming Season will offer  audiences  modern classics, a musical, a play about singing, and a rarely produced classic comedy.

The Shows:

American Buffalo by David Mamet and directed by Ryan Williams. Ryan Williams presented his play
submissions with such passion, the Board was determined to give him an opportunity to share that
energy with an audience.
Dates: September 30 through October 15, 2011

According to writer, Andrew Sargus Klein, the play Takes place entirely within a grubby  pawnshop. Set in Chicago, the play is a snapshot of 1970s America. "There are only three characters- Donny, the store's owner and the de facto leader of the group, Bob, a young man who has been taken under Donny's wing, and the owner's manic friend Teach, whose constant bitching and griping and foul mouth is grounds for a lot of laughs and teeth grinding. The dialogue is unnervingly quick, rife with repetition, maddening confusion and simple logic. The three characters plot to rob a coin collector around the corner, and as their plan unravels so do their interactions, culminating in blood."

David Mamet, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, first gained acclaim for a trio of off?Broadway plays in 1976 that included American Buffalo. In 1976 the play won an Obie Award for best new play. Critic, Frank Rich called it "one of the best American plays of the last decade." The play won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best play of the 1977 season, and was also nominated for two Tony Awards: Best Direction of a Play and Best Scenic Design. It received four Drama Desk Award nominations, including Outstanding New Play (American). The 1983 revival was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Revival and the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Pacino).

H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan and directed by Michael McFadden. ACT 1 has had great success presenting the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Under the capable direction of Michael McFadden, H.M.S. Pinafore will be no exception, a good time will be had by all!
Dates: November 18 through December 3, 2011

H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W.S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second?longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time. H.M.S. Pinafore was Gillbert and Sullivan's's fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation.

The story takes place aboard the British ship H.M.S. Pinafore. The captain's daughter,
Josephine, is in love with a lower?class sailor, Ralph Rackstraw, although her father intends her to marry Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty. She abides by her father's wishes at first, but Sir Joseph's advocacy of the equality of humankind encourages Ralph and Josephine to overturn conventional social order. They declare their love for each other and eventually plan to elope. The captain discovers this plan, but, as in many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, a surprise disclosure changes things dramatically near the end of the story.

Master Class by Terrance McNally and directed by Dan McGeachy. If you saw ACT 1's production of The Pirates of Penzance, you know Dan McGeachy has a passion for opera and is one of ACT 1's most beloved directors.
Dates: January 20 through 28, 2012 (performances may be added to accommodate this marvelous production)

ACT 1 goes from a classic 19th century opera to a play about a life of singing opera with Terrance
McNally's Master Class. A  protégé and lover of the noted playwright Edward Albee, Terrance McNally won bother the 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play and the 1996 Tony Award for Best Play. Master Class, first premiering in 1995, is a character study of legendary opera soprano Maria Callas which won a Tony Award for Best Play. 

At its core is the diva Maria Callas, a glamorous, commanding, larger?than?life, caustic, and surprisingly drop?dead funny pedagogue holding a voice Master Class. Alternately dismayed and impressed by the students who parade before her, she retreats into recollections about the glories of her own life and career. Included in her musings are her younger years as an ugly duckling, her fierce hatred of her rivals, the unforgiving press that savaged her early performances, her triumphs at La Scala, and her affair with Aristotle Onassis. It culminates into a monologue about sacrifice taken in the name of art. Actresses who have tackled this larger than life role include: Patti Lupone, Tyne Daly and Faye Dunaway. The show will be a wonderful opportunity for a local actress to spread her wings. 

The Man From Earth by Jerome Bixby and directed by Elizabeth Hayes. After an audience pleasing turn directing 2010's Cyrano de Bergerac, Hayes returns to direct with ACT 1 for our 22nd Season and we are pleased to have her at the helm of this science fiction masterpiece. 
Dates: March 30 through April 14, 2012

Based on an award winning screenplay, The Man From Earth focuses on John Oldman, a
departing teacher. As he prepares to move to a new home, his colleagues show up to give him an
impromptu farewell party: Harry, a biologist; Edith, a fellow professor and devout Christian; Dan, an anthropologist; Sandy, a historian who is in love with John; Dr. Will Gruber, a psychologist; Art, an archaeologist; and his student Linda. As John's colleagues continue to pressure him for the reason for his departure, John slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, reveals that he is a prehistoric "caveman" who has survived for more than 14,000 years. His colleagues refuse to believe his story, and during the course of the conversation, John's colleagues question his story according to their specialties. For instance, the biologist, discusses the possibility of a human living so long. The archaeologist, questions John about events in prehistory; he exclaims that John's answers, though correct, could have come from any textbook. The discussion turns to the topic of religion. John reluctantly reveals that he was the inspiration for the Jesus story which leaves members of his audience, especially Edith, aghast and angry. 

Especially educational for students, The Man From Earth promises to be a suspenseful evening of
intellectual speculation. If you were a fan of The Twilight Zone, you won't want to miss our Spring
production.

The Memorandum by Vaclav Havel and directed by Wilhelm Peters. Similar to the comic conventions in The Foreigner, Peters directs the hysterical comedy The Memorandum commenting on the absurdity of corporate life in America. The Board is thrilled to have Mr. Peters join the ACT 1 family.
Dates: May 4 through 19, 2012

Josef Gross, a director of an unnamed organization, receives a memorandum written in
Ptydepe, a constructed language, about an audit. He finds out that Ptydepe was created to get rid of similarities between words, such as fox and box, and emotional 'connexions'. He tries to get someone to translate the memorandum for him, and gradually becomes opposed to the use of Ptydepe. Gross finally finds a reluctant secretary, Maria, who explains that, while she can translate the memorandum, she does not yet have a permit to do so. Translation without a permit would be against the rules.