Great Lakes Theater Kicks Off 2012-13 Season with THE WINTER'S TALE Tonight, 9/28

Charles Fee, Producing Artistic Director of Great Lakes Theater (GLT), unveiled a six-production array of classics to headline The company's 2012-13 season. Great Lakes Theater's fifty-first year is scheduled to run now through May 2013 at PlayhouseSquare's Hanna and Ohio Theatres.

GLT will commence its 2012-13 season with Shakespeare's remarkable epic of romance and renewal, The Winter's Tale, presented in rotating repertory with a 60s-infused, mod-makeover of Moliere's masterpiece, The Imaginary Invalid (September 28 - November 4, 2012). The company's annual production of Dickens' holiday classic, A Christmas Carol (November 30 - December 23, 2012) will bisect the season. In the spring, GLT will present Noel Coward's spook-tacular comedy, Blithe Spirit (February 22 – March 10, 2013) followed by Shakespeare's sublime battle of wits and wills, Much Ado About Nothing (March 29 – April 14, 2013). Cleveland's classic company will crown its season with Broadway's Tony Award-winning musical comedy, Guys and Dolls (May 1 – 19, 2013).

Great Lakes Theater's 2012-13 season is generously funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. GLT receives additional season support from The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.

Five of The company's 2012-13 season offerings (The Winter's Tale, The Imaginary Invalid, Blithe Spirit, Much Ado About Nothing and Guys and Dolls), will take place in GLT's revolutionary, audience-friendly home at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, while A Christmas Carol will remain in its traditional Ohio Theatre setting.

TraCy Young, the director of Great Lakes Theater's critically acclaimed 2011 production of The Taming of the Shrew, will return to Cleveland in 2012 to helm a music-infused, 60s-themed staging of The Imaginary Invalid. The production, which debuted at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last season, was also adapted by Young and collaborator Oded Gross. Conversely, Jesse Berger will make his Great Lakes Theater debut when he directs the classic theater's season opening production of The Winter's Tale. During the holiday season, longtime artistic company member Sara Bruner will return to stage GLT's annual production of A Christmas Carol. The directors of Blithe Spirit, Much Ado About Nothing and Guys and Dolls will be named at a later date.

About the Hanna Theatre: Great Lakes Theater's home at the Hanna Theatre features a unique thrust stage configuration where the audience surrounds the performance - affording attendees a uniquely intimate theater experience in which no seat is further than 12 rows from the stage. At the Hanna, patrons select from a variety of seating opportunities that include traditional seats, club chairs, lounge/bar seats, banquette couches and private box seating. Boasting a fully flexible hydraulic stage, state-of-the-art theatrical systems and a visionary "Great Room" inspired design concept that integrates the artist and audience into a single unified environment, Great Lakes Theater's Hanna home is one of the most innovative theaters in the country.

Great Lakes Theater will continue to afford patrons extraordinary access to its production process at every Hanna Theatre performance this season. The Hanna's doors always open ninety minutes before each show allowing patrons to observe the complete pre-show preparation process of GLT's actors and technical staff. Elements such as stage combat rehearsals, dance calls, prop/scenic pre-sets, technical cue rehearsals and actor warm-ups will be conducted in full view of patrons, offering GLT audiences an unprecedented glimpse into the theatrical process. A complete list of pre-/post-show enhancement programming is available at www.greatlakestheater.org.

Subscriptions to Great Lakes Theater's 2012-13 season are on sale now. An adult subscription to Great Lakes Theater starts as low as $132. Student subscriptions begin at $39. For complete information, patrons should call (216) 664-6064 or visit www.greatlakestheater.org.

Regular priced adult single tickets will range from $15 - $70. Regular priced student/youth tickets for the Hanna Theatre are $13 ($26 for A Christmas Carol in the Ohio Theatre) and will be available for all performances. Further details and pricing specifics for single performance tickets will be announced in August.

Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland's classic company, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. The first resident company of PlayhouseSquare, GLT will celebrate its 31st year in downtown Cleveland this season. On its main stage and through its extensive education programming, Great Lakes Theater positively impacts 85,000 adults and students annually.