THE WIZ, CRIME & PUNISHMENT, & More Set for Centerstage 2010-2011 Season

In 2009-10, Centerstage decided to take the plunge and try something that, though they had been pondering it for years, was totally new. The result has been a season of nonstop, almost unprecedented stylistic diversity. And a heck of a lot of activity. On our two stages, by season's end, they'll have hosted 14 different performances, running the gamut from intimate cabarets to a rollicking special-engagement holiday show to a three-week festival of readings (coming in April), alongside six fully staged theatrical productions. If you saw even half of what was put on this year, you saw a season of theater like few in Baltimore's history.

For next year, Centerstage would like to continue offering as wide a range of theatrical experiences as possible, while simplifying the journey for those of you who found it difficult to navigate. If you found something new this year that excited you, it's not going anywhere; if this season seemed at times to offer a deluge of options to navigate, next season will be much simpler to sample.
As usual, six fully-produced plays will form the fulcrum of our season. Whether in The Pearlstone or The Head Theater, we'll continue to stage works that probe the depths of our theatrical inheritance and new works that pose big questions.

THE WIZ, a modern classic, does both. It's massive, a blockbuster musical that has the heart and soul to imagine an urban utopia in lowdown Motown glory. And we're bringing you the original version, from before Hollywood overwhelmed Broadway inspiration. Harold Pinter's THE HOMECOMING, a modern classic of a completely different kind, will introduce you to the Nobel Prize-winning playwright's vision of a highly unusual family: tough, smart, sexy, funny, and laced with dark excitement. Alongside these two, we're thrilled to present the East Coast premiere of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS. This adaptation of David Guterson's award-winning bestseller tells a sometimes haunting-and haunted-story of immigration, a mysterious crime, the debts of history, and an emerging Asian America.

We've also commissioned a brand-new, custom-made play from Chicago's The Second City, the celebrated comedy factory that's given the world Bill Murray, John Belushi, Tina Fey, Steven Colbert, and a long list of other comic geniuses. This one's going to be about Baltimore, the Charm City, hon-perfect if you prefer your laughs very, very close to home.

With any luck, The Second City's version of Baltimore doesn't resemble Dostoevsky's St. Petersburg in CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, a purgatorial landscape of sin, guilt, and redemption. Curt Columbus and Marilyn Campbell's intense, intimate adaptation of the landmark novel cuts to the core of a fascinating battle of wills between a relentless investigator, a fiery and impulsive student-philosopher, and a fallen woman caught in the middle of competing currents.

Finally, they're still in the midst of pursuing a number of possibilities to round out the selection, still scanning developing opportunities: shows that use the stage for powerful personal storytelling, from a solo work about Baltimore icon Thurgood Marshall to Kathleen Turner's raucous take on the irrepressible Molly Ivins.

Upstairs, in the intimate new Head Theater (which we're continuing to modify for comfort and convenience), we're expanding the successful run of cabarets from four to five by popular demand-with an eye on broadening our range to include pieces with an even more theatrical flavor along with the musical samplers.

This year, our three readings focus on new international voices, but next year we may take a stab at some neglected classics as well; or maybe explore a new musical in its early development - all with open rehearsals, so you can watch the pieces come together. And last, since our holiday performances of David Sedaris' THE SANTALAND DIARIES were such a success, we're also looking at bringing in another holiday-time offering.

For more information, visit online at www.centerstage.org.

 

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