Central Square Theater Announces 2009-2010 Season

Two World Premieres, two East Coast Premieres, and a New England Premiere are all part of Central Square Theater's exciting 2009-2010 season, which includes a mix of plays, from a psychological drama to a double bill of nostalgic holiday stories to a witty take on our understanding of the theory of evolution! This season, Central Square Theater also announces an inaugural subscription campaign.

Kicking off Central Square Theater's second season will be The Caretaker (October 1 - November 1). In celebration of Harold Pinter (1930-2008), described as "the most original, disturbing, and arresting talent," The Nora Theatre Company brings to life one of his greatest psychological dramas, helmed by Associate Director Daniel Gidron. When an elderly tramp is given lodging in the derelict home of two brothers, the ensuing relationships and shifting alliances intensify with hilarious and unsettling consequences. The Press performance is set for Sunday, October 4 at 2 PM.

Underground Railway Theater pairs two heartwarming journeys into the foibles of the holiday season when they present a double bill: Grace Paley's The Loudest Voice and Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory (November 19 - December 27), adapted for the stage and directed by Wesley Savick. Joyful, whimsical, and rich with humor, both are told from the point of view of children - one a girl, one a boy - and set in the ‘30's - one in the Bronx, one in Alabama. In A Christmas Memory, Truman Capote recalls his close friendship with another social outcast, his wildly eccentric older cousin; they understood each other as no one else could. Grace Paley's The Loudest Voice takes us to a Russian Jewish immigrant school where "without shame" gentile teachers annually staged the Nativity. The inspired Wesley Savick crafts the perfect holiday alternative with an intergenerational cast, puppetry, music, and fruitcakes. The Press performance is set for Sunday, November 22 at 2 PM.

A collaboration between Underground Railway Theater and The Providence Black Repertory Company, the East Coast Premiere of Harriet Jacobs (January 7 - January 3) by Lydia R. Diamond brings Harriet Jacobs' astonishing true story, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl to the stage. The "immensely sophisticated" play about human oppression and how certain people rise above it allows Jacobs to reach out from her own era, and compel us to look at our history as if for the first time in her unsparing, yet poetic coming-of-age story. The Press performance is set for Sunday, January 10 at 2 PM.

Local playwright Masha Obolensky electrifies with Not Enough Air (February 11 - March 14), a "vivid" and "riveting" script, in its East Coast Premiere by The Nora Theatre Company. Drawn into the sensational 1920's murder trial of Ruth Snyder, famed journalist-turned-playwright, Sophie Treadwell, finds herself compelled to give voice to Ruth's story through her landmark play, Machinal. The Press performance is set for Sunday, February 14 at 2 PM.

Catalyst Collaborative@MIT, Underground Railway Theater's science theater initiative with MIT, presents the World Premiere of From Orchids To Octopi (March 31 - May 2) by award-winning playwright Melinda Lopez. Commissioned by the National Institutes of Health to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of "On the Origin of Species," surprises erupt as a muralist's work is derailed by hallucinations, pregnancy, and dinosaurs in this witty take on how we understand - or do not - the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin comments on it all. The Press performance is set for Saturday, April 3 at 8 PM.

"Dear readers..." the season closes with the New England Premiere of The Lady With All The Answers (May 13 - June 20) by David Rambo, drawn from the life and letters of Ann Landers, with the cooperation of Margo Howard. The Nora Theatre Company stages Rambo's riotous and touching play about everyone's favorite advice columnist. Over the course of a long night in 1975 Chicago, "the lady with all the answers" for others grapples with a dilemma of her own. While revisiting favorite columns on such topics as nude housekeeping and the correct way to hang toilet paper, Ann composes the most important letter of her life. The Press performance is set for Sunday, May 16 at 2 PM.

This season, the Central Square Theater launches an inaugural subscription campaign, Choices, Savings & Thrills @ CST. Patrons are invited to CHOOSE any combination of CST's THRILLING productions, and SAVE over regular ticket prices. Subscribers are guaranteed a seat to the hottest ticket in town, and are afforded free and easy exchanges. Prices are as follows: 3 play subscription: $99 (regular $105); 4 play subscription: $110 (regular $140); 5 play subscription: $130 (regular $175); 6 play subscription: $150 (regular $210).

Regularly priced tickets for all 2009-2010 season performances are $35 for adults, $25 for seniors, $20 for students, and $15 student rush, when available. The regular schedule for all performances is Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, with matinees on Sundays at 2 PM. There will be a special schedule for The Loudest Voice and A Christmas Memory: no Wednesday performances and an additional performance on Friday, November 27 at 2 PM. There will be special added Sunday evening performances at 7 PM for The Caretaker on October 4, Harriet Jacobs on January 10, Not Enough Air on February 14, and The Lady With All The Answers on May 16. There will be no performances of The Loudest Voice and A Christmas Memory on November 26, December 3 and 17; Harriet Jacobs on January 20 and 27; and From Orchids To Octopi on April 14 and 28.

Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased over the phone by calling 866-811-4111 or online through www.centralsquaretheater.org.

 

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