AWAKE AND SING! Comes To Main Street Theater, Previews 5/2, 5/3, 5/6

Main Street Theater concludes its 2008-2009 season with Clifford Odets' masterpiece Awake and Sing! Originally produced on Broadway in 1935 with Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Luther Adler, and other members of the Group Theatre, Main Street's production has previews May 2, 3, and 6 and opens Thursday, May 7, and runs through June 7 at Main Street Theater - Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. (There is no performance Friday, May 8.)

Performances are on Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets range from $26 - $36 and are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office, 2540 Times Blvd., via phone at 713.524.6706, or online at www.mainstreettheater.com.

About Awake and Sing! and Clifford Odets

"Do what is in your heart, and you carry in yourself a revolution," says Jacob, the quiet and misunderstood patriarch of this Jewish family in 1935 in the Bronx. Clifford Odets' passionate, tumultuous, and ultimately hopeful Awake and Sing! tells the story of Bessie Berger and her boisterous family as they struggle with poverty and the hardships of the Great Depression. Full of life and fervor, Awake and Sing!, creates a rich and lasting tribute to the dreams and aspirations of America's working class. In a departure from his usual role as director of this period-style comedy, Steve Garfinkel will appear as Jacob, a role originated by Morris Carnovsky and played in the 2006 Broadway revival by Ben Gazzara.

Clifford Odets was a founding member of the famed Group Theatre, for whom he wrote Awake and Sing!, Waiting for Lefty, Till the Day I Die and Golden Boy among many others. He also wrote for Hollywood (including "The Sweet Smell of Success") and continued his playwriting career into the 40's and 50's with The Big Knife and The Country Girl.

Director Cheryl L. Kaplan returns after directing Wendy Wasserstein's Third at MST earlier this season. In addition to Steve Garfinkel, Luisa Amaral-Smith, last seen in MST's production of The Light in the Piazza, plays his daughter Bessie, and Natalie Arneson plays her daughter Hennie. The rest of the cast includes Walter Baker, George Brock, Jamie Geiger, Josh Morrison, Charles Swan, and Jack Young

The design team includes Trey Otis (set and properties design), Margaret Crowley (costume design), Daniel Polk (lighting design), and Craig Seanor (sound design). Janel J. Badrina is the production stage manager.

Since 1975, Main Street Theater has produced high quality professional theater for audiences of all ages through its MainStage productions and Main Street Youth Theater. The Main Street Theater Kids On Stage program offers performing arts classes and camps for children 5 years to 14 years of age. The organization produces plays at two locations, 2540 Times Boulevard in Rice Village and 4617 Montrose Boulevard at Chelsea Market.

Main Street Theater is a member of the Fresh Arts Coalition, a collaboration of 25 arts organizations that work collectively to raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in Houston, and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters. Main Street Theater offers a lively year-round repertory of classic and contemporary plays for audiences of all ages and provides a much-needed showcase for Houston theater professionals. Main Street Theater is also a member of Actors' Equity Association and of ASSITEJ, the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

 

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