Company of Fools Presents CLYBOURNE PARK

Company of Fools' 22nd season of theatre continues in February with a production of Clybourne Park, a searingly funny play by Bruce Norris that won both the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play. Clybourne Park will run Feb. 21-March 10 at the Liberty Theater in Hailey and will be directed by Denise Simone, one of Company of Fools' founding members and a Core Company Artist until late 2016. The play is produced in conjunction with The Center's BIG IDEA project This Land Is Whose Land?

Praised by The New York Times as "Vital, sharp-witted and ferociously smart," and celebrated by Entertainment Weekly as "A theatrical treasure ... indisputably, uproariously funny," Norris' critically acclaimed response to Lorraine Hansberry's drama A Raisin in the Sun takes on the ongoing conversation about race and gentrification with biting wit. Set in the same house in two different decades, 50 years apart, Clybourne Park is an unforgettable, spiky satire that asks us to consider what makes a neighborhood feel like home, and how it can be preserved. Due to strong language and mature themes, the play is recommended for ages 16 and up.

Denise Simone directs a stellar cast featuring COF company member actors Chris Carwithen, Scott Creighton, David Janeski, Claudia McCain and Aly Wepplo, alongside Troy Rucker (The Buddy Holly Story, ATL's Little Bunny Foo Foo), Maya Sharpe (Hair on Broadway and the West End) and COF season apprentice Chris Henderson (COF's The Diary of Anne Frank), with scenic design by Joe Lavigne, lighting design by Amanda Clegg-Lyon (Steppenwolf's 1984), costume design by Elizabeth Weiss Hopper (COF's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Velveteen Rabbit), sound design B. Russell Simone Wilson (COF's Almost, Maine; Distracted; Dead Man's Cell Phone) and stage management by resident production manager K.O. Ogilvie.

"There are plays that are so vital, so relevant that they almost 'ping' as you watch them," said Simone. "Looking at the dissection of race, gentrification and real estate can be a complicated and alienating process, but Clybourne Park opens us up to reflection through a story that is wildly humorous and razor-sharp. I am thrilled to be directing this piece for our community and look forward to the dialogue ahead!"

Company of Fools' production of Clybourne Park is generously sponsored by Carol & Len Harlig, Marcia & Don Liebich, the Richard Smooke Family and Big Wood Landscape. COF's 22nd season sponsors are Anonymous, The Shubert Foundation, the Carr Foundation, Linda & Bob Edwards, Ken Lewis, Scott Miley Roofing, Priscilla Pittiglio, Linda & Bill Potter, Mary Ann & John Underwood, Barbara & Stanley Zax and media sponsor The Weekly Sun.

Since 1996, Company of Fools (COF) has produced high quality plays, musicals and new work along with substantial arts-in-education programming in Sun Valley, Idaho. A member of The Theatre Communications Group and an Actors Equity Small Professional Theatre, COF has always put an emphasis on the connection between theatre and community, a commitment to excellence in acting and design, and the signature intimacy of its home, the Liberty Theatre. COF has been recognized for its significant contributions to the arts, receiving the Idaho Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2004 and being honored as Arts Advocate of the Year by the Sun Valley/Ketchum and Hailey Chambers of Commerce in 2009. Founding members Denise Simone and John Glenn are both individual recipients of the Idaho Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts - Simone in 2014 and Glenn in 2016. In 2013, COF merged with the Sun Valley Center for the Arts - a multifaceted organization that runs museum-quality art galleries and presents educational programs, music, dance, and film screenings in venues around the Wood River Valley - to become what is now the largest arts institution in the state of Idaho.

COF's 22nd season sponsors are The Shubert Foundation, Barbara & Stanley Zax, Kenneth Lewis, Priscilla Pittiglio, Mary Ann & John Underwood, Arrow R Storage, the Carr Foundation, Linda & Bob Edwards, Scott Miley Roofing, and media sponsor The Weekly Sun.

TICKET INFORMATION

Prices do not include taxes or processing fees

$35 for members of The Center

$40 for nonmembers

$35 for seniors (62 and over)

$15 for students (with student ID)

$35 for members of a group (8 or more)

New for the 2017-2018 season: $22 for "Second Night 22" adult tickets on Friday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.

These ticket prices do not include the "Pay What You Feel" first preview, 10 for $10, or Educator Night.

Tickets may be purchased online at sunvalleycenter.org, by phone at 208.578.9122 or at the Liberty Theatre box office starting one hour before curtain. Company of Fools' box office is located at the Liberty Theatre, 110 N. Main Street in Hailey, with hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. All seats are reserved, except for the "Pay What You Feel" preview.

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