Actor's Express Announces 2011-12 Season

Actor's Express, the gutsy theatre troupe in Atlanta's West Midtown known for its provocative work and consistently high quality, announces the lineup for its 24th season - the most ambitious the company has mounted in years.

The lineup includes two major musicals, Spring Awakening and Xanadu, which will open and close the season respectively.

The season also includes the runaway hit of the 2011 Humana Festival, Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them by A. Rey Pamatmat. That production is a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere that includes New Theatre in Miami, Mu Performing Arts in Minneapolis and Actors Theatre of Louisville.

In January, AE will present the Atlanta premiere of the Broadway hit Next Fall, an intensely emotional play about a couple struggling with faith and understanding.

And in March, AE will team up with Theatre Emory to present a co-production of the Tennessee Williams classic The Night of the Iguana.

Atlanta chanteuse Libby Whittemore will return for the fourth annual Libby's at the Express cabaret series.

Artistic Director Freddie Ashley says, "It was important to us to clarify our programming this year and serve our core constituencies. With our recent financial troubles, we have been recipients of such support from the community and knew we had a major responsibility to serve the community with the best work we could possibly produce."

Detailed description of each show:

Spring Awakening
Book and lyrics by Steven Sater
Music by Duncan Sheik
Directed by Freddie Ashley
The 2007 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical unleashes its raw emotional power on the Actor's Express stage in the musical event of the fall! A group of teenage friends cope with the agonies and ecstasies of discovering sex in all its varieties. This provocative, pulse-pounding explosion of rock-and-roll and theatrical energy delivers a punch that is not to be missed. Spring Awakening has been hailed as the "Best Musical of the Year" by the New York Times, New York Post, Star Ledger, Journal News, New York Observer and USA Today.

Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them
By A. Rey Pamatmat
Directed by Frddie Ashley
Abandoned by their father, sixteen year-old Kenny cares for his little sister Edith on an isolated farm in middle America. As Kenny and his best friend Benji begin falling in love, the three form an unlikely family. But when the outside world threatens to disrupt their lives, the spunky Edith takes aim and fires away. This funny and tender play tackles growing up, staying young and falling in love.

Next Fall
By Geoffrey Nauffts
Twentysomething Luke, who believes in God, is deeply in love with Adam, who believes in everything but. When a tragic accident interrupts their perfect New York life, Adam must turn to Luke's friends and deeply religious family for support - and answers. This runaway New York hit began off-Broadway in 2009 and transferred by popular demand to Broadway in 2010. The New York Times called Next Fall "smart, sensitive and utterly contemporary...the funniest heartbreaker in town."

The Night of the Iguana
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Freddie Ashley
Actor's Express joins a nationwide season-long celebration of the hundredth anniversary of Tennessee Williams' birth with the legendary playwright's hugely entertaining and powerful 1961 Broadway hit. Defrocked for committing heresy and fornication in a single week, a dissolute minister arrives at a seedy Mexican hotel presided over by a lusty innkeeper. Rev. Shannon tries to outrun his past, but simmering passions threaten to collide with dangerous secrets. Throw in a saintly spinster, a teenage sexpot, a dying poet and a busload of Baptists from Texas - and the result is Tennessee Williams at his sultry, explosive best.

Xanadu
Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar
The surprise hit of the 2007-08 Broadway season roller skates its way into Actor's Express in a frothy explosion of camp, comedy and disco! Xanadu uproariously sends up Olivia Newton-John's notorious 1980 film of the same name, in which a feather-haired Greek muse descends from Mount Olympus to modern-day California to help a hunky young man open a roller disco. Never has a movie begged more for parody - and Xanadu the musical delivers with delicious wit, pure fun and classic disco songs that will have you believing in magic and humming all the way home.

Libby's at the Express
The incomparable cabaret performer Libby Whittemore returns for a fourth consecutive season of her acclaimed Libby's at the Express series.

SEASON 24 @ Actor's Express

Spring Awakening
August 25 - October 1, 2011
Previews - Thursday 8/25 and Friday 8/26 at 8:00 p.m.
Gala Opening - Saturday 8/27 at 8:00 p.m.
Regular Performances - Wednesdays through Saturdays 8:00 p.m.
All Sunday performances at 2:00 p.m.

Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them
October 27 - November 26, 2011
Previews - Thursday 10/27 and Friday10/28 at 8:00 p.m.
Gala Opening - Saturday 10/29 at 8:00 p.m.
Regular Performances - Wednesdays through Saturdays 8:00 p.m.
All Sunday performances at 2:00 p.m.

Next Fall
January 12 - February 11, 2012
Previews - Thursday 1/12 and Friday 1/13 at 8:00 p.m.
Gala Opening - Saturday 1/14 at 8:00 p.m.
Regular Performances - Wednesdays through Saturdays 8:00 p.m.
All Sunday performances at 2:00 p.m.

The Night of the Iguana
March 22 - April 14, 2012
Previews - Thursday 3/22 and Friday 3/23 at 8:00 p.m.
Gala Opening - Saturday 3/24 at 8:00 p.m.
Regular Performances - Wednesdays through Saturdays 8:00 p.m.
All Sunday performances at 2:00 p.m.

Xanadu
May 10 - June 16, 2012
Previews - Thursday 5/10 and Friday 5/11 at 8:00 p.m.
Gala Opening - Saturday 5/12 at 8:00 p.m.
Regular Performances - Wednesdays through Saturdays 8:00 p.m.
All Sunday performances at 2:00 p.m.

Libby's at the Express
Rolling Dates throughout the season...dates to be announced soon!

Subscription packages and single tickets are available
online at actors-express.com or by phone at 404-607-7469.

About Actor's Express

Since 1988 Actor's Express has offered original voices and new perspectives that reflect Atlanta's diverse and evolving community. Recognized as one of the most remarkable and daring theatre companies in the Southeast, Actors Express has been cited as "the city's most vital theatrical venue" (Creative Loafing) and continues to fill an important niche in Atlanta's rich arts community as a place for high quality theatre and theatre education.

In 2009 the Atlanta Journal-Constitution cited three AE productions in its list of the 10 top plays of the year, more than any other theatre. When Creative Loafing announced its pick for the top productions of 2009, Actor's Express was recognized twice and was the only theatre to be honored for more than one play.

Under the artistic direction of Freddie Ashley, the theatre strives to nurture the next generation of playwrights through workshops, readings, and full productions of new plays; to enhance Atlanta's artistic community through theatre training; to catalyze dialogue essential to the vitality of our city and to enhance Atlanta's reputation nationally as a thriving center for live performance.

Major funding for Actor's Express is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council. This program is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. GCA is a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Actor's Express programming is also supported in part by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs.