Connecticut Repertory Theatre Announces 2016-17 Season

The season begins with King Lear by William Shakespeare. The production will coincide with the Folger Shakespeare Library's national tour of First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, which will bring a rare first folio to UConn's campus where it will be displayed September 1-25, 2016 in the William Benton Museum of Art. King Lear will be directed by Dale AJ Rose and play onstage in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre October 6-16, 2016.

The second show of the mainstage season will be An Absolute Turkey, Nikki Frei and Peter Hall's translation of the Georges Feydeau farce Le Dindon. Feydeur's comic genius is on display as a man lusts after his friend's wife, which triggers a rioutous revenge plot and a dizzying spell of side-splitting complications will run December 1-10, 2016. The production will be directed by Paul Mullins who previously staged the world premiere of I'm Connecticut, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Much Ado About Nothing for CRT.

In February, Clifford Odets' passionate and politically-charged play Waiting for Lefty will take the stage, helmed by new CRT Artistic Director Michael Bradford. In 1930's New York City, the Great Depression takes full force and union cab drivers wait for their leader, Lefty Castello, to choose if they will strike or not. Performances run February 23-March 5, 2017.

The mainstage season will come to a close with the musical comedy Shrek The Musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book by David Lindsay-Abaire. The Tony-nominated musical comedy is an adaptation of the critically acclaimed Dreamworks film starring Mike Myers. The adventure of an unlikely Ogre hero and his sidekick donkey will feature UConn's acclaimed Puppet Arts program. The musical, directed by Margarett Perry, will run April 20-30, 2017.

On the studio stage, politics will be center stage this fall, and Bernardo Solano and Allan Havis' fantastic Nuevo California will resonate and provoke in a story seemingly ripped from today's headlines. In this prescient futuristic fantasy, it is 2028, an earthquake has wiped out L.A. and Orange County, and the first Mexican-American pope comes to the region to bless the demolition of the wall between Mexico and the United States. The production will run October 27 - November 6, 2016 and is directed by Richard Ruiz, who led CRT's acclaimed Monty Python's Spamalot in April 2016.

The second studio stage offering will be Sarah Ruhl's re-imagining of the Orpheus myth, Eurydice. Eurydice travels to the underworld to reunite with her father. As her love, Orpheus tries to rescue her, Eurydice must re-learn human language in order to remember all she left behind and, ultimately, choose between two worlds in this whimsical and breathtaking story of the power and fragility of love. Eurydice will run March 23 - April 2, 2017 in the Studio Theatre.

Please call 860-486-2113 for information on subscribing and general ticket information. The CRT Box Office is located at the Nafe Katter Theatre, 820 Bolton Road, on the Storrs campus. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m.

Performances are usually Wednesdays through Sundays. Wed. & Thu. evening performances start at 7:30 p.m., Fri. and Sat. evening performances start at 8 p.m., Sat. and Sun. matinee performances start at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $7 to $36, and subscribers receive a discount of up to 24 percent off regular ticket prices. Student tickets are $7.

All plays, dates and times are subject to change.

Children must be at least 4 years old to attend CRT productions. For additional ticket information or to charge tickets by phone, call 860.486.2113. All sales are final; no refunds. Play selections and performance dates are subject to change. Single tickets will go on sale on September 1, 2016.

CRT is the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. CRT productions are directed, designed by, and cast with visiting professional artists, including Equity actors, faculty members, and the department's most advanced student artists. The synergy between professional and advanced student artists creates extraordinary theatre and a unique learning environment.

Photo credit: Gerry Goodstein