Center Stage Announces 2016-17 Season - LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, THE WHITE SNAKE and More!

Center Stage announces a 2016/17 homecoming season featuring four mainstage shows and a return to its Baltimore building after a year-long $28 million renovation. Season highlights include a world-premiere adaptation and Center Stage commission of Toni Morrison's Jazz directed by Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, two Baltimore premieres and the grand opening of the new building.

"We're welcoming audiences back to our theater with a season of transformation. We're coming home with premieres of exciting new works and new programming as well as gorgeous interpretations of classic stories to celebrate our stunning new building," Kwei-Armah said. "We're building a world-class theater, and we're taking audiences on a journey across the world."

The season opens in 18th-century France with Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Nov. 26-Dec. 23) in the Pearlstone Theater while construction on the rest of the building is being completed. Based on the novel by Choderlos de Laclos, and set just before the French Revolution, two French aristocrats, Marquise de Merteuil and her ex-lover, the Vicomte de Valmont, challenge each other to seduce unsuspecting innocents in this story of revenge and hidden motives.Les Liaisons Dangereuses will be directed by Center Stage Associate Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif, who directed last season's opening show, Pride and Prejudice.

The grand public opening of the building will coincide with the first show in the newly renovated Head Theater: Mary Zimmerman's fantastical adaptation of a Chinese fable, The White Snake (Feb. 24-March 26). Telling the story of animal spirit White Snake, who transforms into a beautiful woman and falls in love with a poor fisherman, The White Snake is a magical production appropriate for all ages. DC-based director Natsu Onoda Power will direct.

Next up is Twisted Melodies (March 17-April 16), a musical homage to soul legend Donnie Hathaway written and performed by Kelvin Roston. After a critically acclaimed world premiere at Chicago's Congo Square Theater in 2015, Roston's immersive play about the 1970s musician's inner struggles will be directed by Derrick Sanders.

In addition to the mainstage season, Center Stage will present a limited run in April 2017 of That Face, a darkly funny British play by Polly Stenham about a dysfunctional family. The play will be the first work to be presented in the new 99-seat theater, with all tickets $25. This season Center Stage will also introduce a new Youth & Family Series. The first program will be storytelling performance with Baltimore's Maria Broom.

The fourth and final mainstage show of the season will be the world-premiere of Toni Morrison's Jazz, which is also a Center Stage commission. Adapted by Nambi E. Kelley, who recently adapted Native Son, Toni Morrison's Jazzis a portrait of characters grappling with love and unforgiveable acts during the Harlem Renaissance.

This season is also a homecoming for Michael Ross, Center Stage's managing director from 2002 to 2008, who will return July 1 to join the theater's leadership team after seven years as the managing director of Westport Country Playhouse.

"What a time to be returning to a theater and city that has always meant so much to me," Ross said. "I love the Center Stage family, and the stunning new building is going to be an exciting, comfortable space to enjoy being a part of this new stage in Center Stage's and Baltimore's history."

A public event to celebrate the opening of the building is being scheduled. Baltimore firm Cho Benn Holback + Associates and U.K.-based theater designers Charcoalblue are the renovation's architects. The renovated building will feature a redesigned 400-seat Head Theater, new lobby and entrance plaza, a new 99-seat theater configuration, and a dedicated education and community programming studio.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Adapted by Christopher Hampton

Directed by Hana S. Sharif

Nov 26-Dec 23

A Scandalous Tale of Love and Betrayal

Two French aristocrats, Marquise de Merteuil and her ex-lover, the Vicomte de Valmont, challenge each other to seduce unsuspecting innocents in this story of revenge, debauchery, and hidden motives. Set just before the French Revolution, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) is a glimpse into the lives of beautiful people poised to denigrate and control everyone around them, including each other. But when one of them actually falls in love, the real betrayals unfold. Based on the French classic by Choderlos de Laclos.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses will be our sneak peek back into the building. The Pearlstone Theater will be the only space open to the public until our 2017 grand opening.

The White Snake

Adapted by Mary Zimmerman

Directed by Natsu Onoda Power

Feb 24-Mar 26

A Spectacular Vision in a Brand New Theater

Mystery and magic intertwine in this fantastical fairy tale brought to life in grand spectacle in the newly renovated Head Theater. Originating from the ancient Chinese fable, The White Snake tells the story of animal spirits White Snake and Green Snake, who take human form as a beautiful woman and her sly servant. White Snake soon falls passionately in love with a poor fisherman, but their relationship is reviled by a conservative monk and tragedy lurks behind their newfound happiness. Complemented by storytelling techniques traditional and new, The White Snake will be a can't-miss event of the 2016/17 Season for the entire family.

Twisted Melodies

By Kelvin Roston

Directed by Derrick Sanders

Mar 17-Apr 16

A Musical Homage to a Soulful Legend

This powerful one-man show is based on the real life of '70s soul singer and composer Donny Hathaway, the creator of "The Closer I Get to You" and "Where is the Love?" and perhaps best known for his duets with Roberta Flack.Twisted Melodies is an immersive and crushing play about the brilliant musician's compelling inner struggle. Torn between the muses that inspire him and the mental illness that torments him, Hathaway evaluates the choices in his life in a gripping performance by Kelvin Roston.

Toni Morrison's Jazz

Adapted by Nambi E. Kelley

Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah

May 19-Jun 25

A World Premiere

In Morrison's exhilarating novel, Joe and Violet move from the Virginia countryside to Harlem at the turn of the century, young and in love. Twenty years later, Joe's interactions with a young woman set off a series of violent events and unforgivable acts. Peeling back layers and alternating perspectives expose ultimately sympathetic characters, who-like the growing New York neighborhood and the winding woods of their youth-reveal their own rhythms.

That Face

By Polly Stenham

Apr 2017

Winner of the 2007 Evening Standard

Most Promising Playwright Award

Mia is in trouble at school. Her brother Henry is in trouble at home. Their mother is drunk and in Henry's bed. And their estranged father is about to come home. That Face is a darkly funny British play about a seriously dysfunctional family hurtling toward collapse.

Maria Broom

Spring 2017

Inaugurating the new Youth & Family Series is Maria Broom: television actress, theater educator, and beloved storyteller. With more than 40 years of performing and teaching across the globe, Maria Broom has delighted Center Stage audiences before shows, during events, and as a special guest in education programs like Encounter and Camp Center Stage.

RENOVATION HIGHTLIGHTS

· The Peter Culman Entry Plaza with a complete refurbishment of original iron doors and entry arch dedicated to long-time Center Stage Managing Director Peter Culman, recently deceased.

· First-floor lobby featuring the Marilyn Meyerhoff Box Office and the Sherman Café and Bar. The dramatically reimagined first floor lobby will hold a concierge box office counter and redesigned bars and cafes. The central two-story atrium will lead to a first-floor dining area, remodeled restrooms, reconfigured seating on the mezzanine, flexible lounge spaces, and areas outfitted with the latest technology for community talk-backs, forums, and live-streaming events.

· New Fourth-Floor Head Theater and Deering Lobby. The new Head Theater will feature a seating plan with multiple possible configurations, so theater seating can potentially be different for every show based on the demands of the productions. The lobby will feature restored windows, a full bar, seating, and projection technology.

· The Eddie and Sylvia Brown Community Programs & Education Department. For the first time, the Community Programs & Education Department will have its own dedicated space with a large studio for classes and workshops, allowing Center Stage to triple the number of students the theater serves.

· A 99-seat theater. This third space will allow Center Stage to produce and perform new work and attract top-tier playwrights and theater artists who are looking for appropriate spaces to workshop their new pieces. The theater will also serve as a venue for Community Programs & Education workshops, family productions, and presentations.

· Replacement of the building's core systems, such as HVAC, electrical and plumbing, which are near the end of expected life span.

Under the leadership of playwright, actor and director Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE (Artistic Director) and national arts leader Michael Ross (Managing Director, starting July 2016), Center Stage is an artistically driven institution committed to engaging, entertaining and enriching audiences through joyous and bold performances. Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as "one of America's leading regional companies," Center Stage has, for more than 50 years, dedicated itself to exploring new works and bringing classics to life. This rich history is marked by critically acclaimed new works that have shaped the American theater- from the Tony Award-winning The Triumph of Love to world premieres such as Miss Evers' Boys by David Feldshuh and On the Verge by Eric Overmyer. In 2015, Center Stage's production of Kwei-Armah's world premiere Marley became the best-attended and highest grossing show in Center Stage's 54-year history.