Ensemble Theatre Announces Its 39th Consecutive Season

ENSEMBLE THEATRE prepares to open its 39th consecutive Season! THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT. Our entire 2018- 2019 Season will take place in the heart of Coventry Village on the Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Campus !!!

ALABAMA STORY

By Kenneth Jones
Directed by Tyler WhiddenOhio Premiere
September 7th- September 30th
MainStage Theater

A gentle children's book with an apparent hidden message - a black rabbit marries a white rabbit! - stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama, just as the civil rights movement is flowering. Another story of childhood friends - an African-American man and a white woman, reunited in adulthood in Montgomery that same year - provides private counterpoint to the public events of the play.

"I wrote Alabama Story several years before our current political moment, but the characters, ideas and themes that surface in the play seem more alive than ever: it's a story of censorship, saber-rattling politicians, persecuted women, Southerners dismissing national opinions, naked racism, threatened civil rights, attacks on the free flow of information. It's also a love story, a political thriller and, at times, a comedy. Really. The play is set in 1959, and it's both heartening and horrifying to me that everything old is new again. Inspired by true events, I ended up writing a play about how we treat each other in times of social crisis. I'm excited that Alabama Story is getting its Ohio Premiere by Ensemble Theatre in a time when conversations about the quality of American character are so highly charged." - Kenneth Jones

"Dynamic! Rich! Impressive! Cleverly crafted! Articulate! Razor-sharp!" - Salt Lake Tribune

"A real-life controversy about a children's book from 1959 is the basis for a new play with freshly relevant themes." - American Theatre

EAST OF EDEN

Northeast Ohio Premiere
By John Steinbeck
Adapted by Frank Galati (Steppenwolf Company Member)
Directed by Ian Wolfgang Hinz
October 19th - November 11th
MainStage Theater

Escaping a turbulent past, Adam Trask is determined to make a new start in California's Salinas Valley. Adam and his wife, Cathy, settle on a beautiful farm, and soon Cathy gives birth to twins Caleb and Aron. But family history, sibling rivalry, and the impending danger of World War I will threaten their little piece of paradise. EAST OF EDEN is an American epic, grand in scope yet deeply personal, that asks if it is possible to escape the mistakes of previous generations.

"Rich in symbolism and substance...a significant achievement..." - Chicago Tribune.

"Steinbeck's novel, in [an] adaptation by Frank Galati, is an intriguing combination of Old Testament severity and new-fangled Freudian analysis, with a nature-versus-nurture overlay. A story of the catastrophic relationship between a man who loved blindly, and a woman incapable of loving anyone..." - Chicago Sun-Times.

"... probably the best of John Steinbeck's novels." - The New York Times Book Review

"I think this may be the best book I've ever read. I brought the book club back to share this book with you." - Oprah, Oprah's Book Club choice.

" is more personal to me; it is more my own story. One hates one's father; one rebels against him; finally one cares for him, one recovers oneself, one understands him, one forgives him...one has accepted him." - Eliah Kazan, Director of the 1955 film version starring James Dean.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS.
by Jules Verne
World Premiere adapted by Shahrazad Theatre Company produced in association with Ensemble Theatre
Directed by August Scarpelli
November 30th - December 16th
PlayGround Theater

Adapted from the classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1873, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager: New friends, strange acquaintances, and careful planning could be the only way...Though this was only possible if nothing would hinder his success? Did we mention that there is a warrant out for his arrest?

A new interactive and theatrical adaptation of the Jules Verne Classic for the whole family!

A RAISIN IN THE SUN
By Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Celeste Cosentino
January 25th - February 17th.
MainStage Theater

A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway, as well as the first with a black director, Mr. Lloyd Richards. Set on Chicago's South Side, the plot revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis, and matriarch Lena. When her deceased husband's insurance money comes through, Mama Lena dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school. The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama. The Younger family's heroic struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration.

"Pivotal play in the history of the American Black theatre." - Newsweek

"A milestone in the American Theatre." - Ebony

NY Drama Critics Circle Best Play 1959.

A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN
By Eugene O'Neill
Directed by Ian Wolfgang Hinz
March 8th - March 30th
MainStage Theater

Following the events of O'Neill's classic Long Day's Journey into Night, Moon for the Misbegotten brings James "Jamie" Tyrone, Jr. to the home of his tenant farmer, Mike Hogan, a salty Irish geezer. There he encounters, after years, Hogan's voluptuous, Amazon-like daughter, Josie. During one moonlit night, as the lovestruck Josie seems to claim him as her own, the truculent, drunken Jamie drowns in a wave of self-pity and remorse. When dawn comes, the moon is gone and so is the man, leaving Josie with a new challenge to her dauntless spirit.

Eugene O'Neill's final work.

"Another beautiful play by O'Neill [...] a compelling piece for the theatre." - New York Daily News

2019 COLOMBI NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL: THE WAY I DANCED WITH YOU

By David Hansen. Directed by Tyler WhiddenWorld Premiere
March 21st - April 7th (Special Dates and Times*) Check our website for details!
Stay Tuned for more information on a revamping of our new play initiatives!
10 Minute Play Festival and Staged Readings in March and April!Titles, Directors, and Dates coming soon! Stay Tuned!

WATER BY THE SPOONFUL

by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Directed by Celeste CosentinoNortheast Ohio Premiere
April 26th-May 19th.
MainStage Theater

Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot has returned from Iraq and is struggling to find his place in the world. Somewhere in a chat room, recovering addicts keep each other alive, hour by hour, day by day. The boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. WATER BY THE SPOONFUL is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption.

*Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Single tickets will go on sale soon!
Please Note: Shows, dates and times are subject to change! Always check our website for updates!

SINGLE TICKETS are $12-$29 (On Sale June 1st)SEASON PASSES are $34-$364. (On Sale NOW!)
Ensemble Season passes are FLEX TICKET PACKAGES that can be used in any combination for any production!
Visit our website for more information!

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL!
Buy a season pass by June 30th and we will throw-in TWO FREE TICKETS for you to give to a friend who is new to Ensemble!
Introduce new audiences to Ensemble Theatre!

CLICK HERE to buy a season pass or visit www.ensembletheatreCLE.org to purchase online! Call 216-321-2930 or email info@ensemble-theatre.org for more information!
Ensemble Theatre is located at 2843 Washington Blvd. Cleveland Hts., OH 44118. In the heart of Coventry Village!

A note on our associate company in residence Shahrazad Theatre Company:
Ensemble is proud to support the next generation of Cleveland Theater artists by welcoming Cleveland's newest theatre company, Shahrazad Theatre Company (STC), to the PlayGround theater for their second consecutive year.

STC is Co-Founded by Ensemble staff members Kyle Huff, Kayla Davis, and August Scarpelli. Ensemble serves as fiscal agent and mentor organization for STC's residence. For more info, look for their Facebook and Twitter pages!

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