Dallas Theater Center to Stage CLYBOURNE PARK in Rep with A RAISIN IN THE SUN, 10/4-27

By: Aug. 23, 2013
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Dallas Theater Center has announced the regional premiere of Clybourne Park, running in rotating rep with A Raisin in the Sun, to launch the theater's 55th season. Clybourne Park will be directed by DTC Associate Artistic Director Joel Ferrell. Clybourne Park begins with a Pay-What-You-Can performance on Friday, October 4 and runs through Sunday, October 27 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Tickets to Clybourne Park are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.DallasTheaterCenter.org or by phone at (214) 880-0202.

"Clybourne Park explores the great changes that have occurred culturally and politically since 1959, when A Raisin in the Sun premiered and desegregation was occurring," says DTC Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty. "All these years later, many people still remain deeply uncomfortable discussing ongoing racial tensions. In Clybourne Park the audience confronts recognizable characters who hide behind politically correct conversations that barely cover up, but don't resolve, the deeply embedded challenges of the racial divide, which makes for a very smart, very relevant and, at times, very funny evening of theater."

Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park is a two act play that book-ends the American classic A Raisin in the Sun. Act one of the play examines the events that lead up to the Younger family's purchase of their new home in the established and predominantly white Chicago neighborhood of Clybourne Park. In act two, a brand new set of characters, played by the same actors, dive into the logistics of renovating the home long after the Youngers have lived in and sold the house. Tony Award-winning Clybourne Park is a fast-paced and brutally hilarious play that tackles the uncomfortable subject of race and its presence in the fabric of American life.

"Playwright Bruce Norris, inspired by one of our greatest American plays, has created a smart new work that will ring very familiar to every North Texan, just as it has to people across the country," says Ferrell. "This powerful portrait of a Neighborhood in turmoil in two periods of our collective history is wildly funny, heartbreaking, and brutally honest from start to finish. Clybourne Park is a sharp, straightforward look at issues that every American has faced, and continues to face every day."

Several members of the A Raisin in the Sun cast will also appear in Clybourne Park. DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company members Hassan El-Amin (FLY, King Lear, God of Carnage), Bobo in A Raisin in the Sun, and Tiffany Hobbs (The Odd Couple, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, A Christmas Carol), Benetha, take the roles of Albert/Kevin and Francine/Lena in Clybourne Park. Fellow company member Steven Michael Walters (King Lear, Next Fall, Henry IV) will carry his role as Karl Lindner from the Lorraine Hansberry classic into the first act of Clybourne Park and will play Steve in act two. Other Company members include Chamblee Ferguson (FLY, The Odd Couple, A Christmas Carol) as Russ/Dan and Sally Nystuen Vahle (God of Carnage, Cabaret, Death of Salesman) as Bev/Kathy. Making their DTC debuts are Allison Pistorius as Betsy/Lindsey and Southern Methodist University undergraduate Jacob Stewart as Jim/Tom.

"What a joy it is to have such an esteemed cast gathered together, including so many members of our Brierley Resident Acting Company," says Moriarty. "One of the reasons we are producing this play is the opportunity it provides to share with our audience great actors doing great acting. Each actor will play multiple roles over the course of the play, and their transformative powers, along with their emotional truthfulness and ruthlessness, will be inspiring, deeply moving and hilariously funny to watch."

The design team responsible for A Raisin in the Sun will also work on Clybourne Park. Set designer Bob Lavallee (Red, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) is joined by Karen Perry as costume designer (The Trinity River Plays), Seth Reiser as lighting designer (King Lear, Tigers Be Still) and John Flores (Kitchen Dog Theater company member) as sound designer.

"A Raisin in the Sun and Clybourne Park are going to spark a very lively conversation after every performance, when audiences will be invited to join cast members for a 15 minute post performance talkback as part of our Dr. Pepper Snapple Stay Late program," says Moriarty. "At a time when local and national leaders are calling for a frank and honest dialogue about race, we are eager to share these provocative plays and encourage theatergoers to join in the conversation at the theater and with their family and friends afterwards."

Clybourne Park opens with previews on Friday, October 4 at 8:00 pm with a Pay-What-You-Can performance. Tickets to this performance will be available for purchase online at www.DallasTheaterCenter.org beginning Monday, September 30. Any unsold tickets to the PWYC performance will be available for purchase at the Wyly Theatre box office the night of the show beginning at 6:30pm. Tickets for Clybourne Park are on sale now. Ticket prices start at $15 and are available online at www.DallasTheaterCenter.org or by phone at (214) 880-0202. DTC's Come Early sponsored by Wells Fargo will take place one hour before every performance. Patrons will have the opportunity to learn about the play prior to viewing the production. DTC's Dr. Pepper Snapple Stay Late will take place after each performance. Patrons will have the opportunity to engage with artists and share insights about the play in a lively discussion. Details for Come Early and Stay Late are available online.

Hassan El-Amin (Albert/Kevin) is a member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company and he's the Community Outreach Artist at Dallas Theater Center. Acting credits include: FLY; The Odd Couple; King Lear; A Christmas Carol; God of Carnage; The Wiz; Henry IV; and Death of a Salesman. Regional Credits: Fences; Seven Guitars; Radio Golf; Jitney; Blues for an Alabama Sky; A Raisin in the Sun; The Lion King; The Tempest; Julius Caesar; King Lear; Othello; Stick Fly. Theaters: Kennedy Center; Mark Taper Forum; Goodman; Arena Stage; Guthrie; Alliance; Huntington; Denver Center; Portland Center Stage; Trinity Repertory; Milwaukee Repertory; San Diego Repertory; Penumbra; Colorado, Oregon, and Utah Shakespeare Festivals. Education: MFA, University of Delaware.

Chamblee Ferguson (Russ/Dan) is a member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company. Selected DTC: FLY; The Odd Couple; King Lear; A Christmas Carol; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Tigers Be Still; The Tempest; Cabaret; A Midsummer Night's Dream; and Twelfth Night. He has worked at numerous theaters nationally. Local theaters include: Stage West Theatre; Lyric Stage; Circle Theater; WaterTower Theater; Casa Mañana Theatre; Dallas Children's Theater; and Uptown Players. Film/TV credits include: Parkland, Chasing Shakespeare; Friday Night Lights; The Chase; Prison Break; A Scanner Darkly; Walker, Texas Ranger; and PBS's Wishbone. Chamblee was a 2011 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow and is a DFW Theater Critic's Award recipient. MFA from SMU.

Tiffany Hobbs (Francine/Lena) is a member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company and Casting Associate at DTC where her credits include: The Odd Couple; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Stagger Lee (staged readings); Cabaret; A Christmas Carol. Awards: 2011 San Francisco Broadway World Awards-Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Motormouth Maybelle (Hairspray) and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Joanne (Company); 2011 female Star Project winner (NBC and the American Black Film Festival). Recent roles include: Juanita (Blues for Mister Charlie), Susan (Race), Frosine (The Miser); Berniece (The Piano Lesson). New York Theater: The Burnin' (The Public Theater). Tiffany holds an MFA acting degree from SMU.

Allison Pistorius (Betsy/Lindsey) is making her DTC debut in Clybourne Park. Regional: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The House of the Spirits, When We Are Married, A Christmas Carol (The Denver Center Theatre Company); As You Like It; Ah, Wilderness! (NTC Rep). Local: Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Dallas); The Taming of the Shrew (Stage West); Angels Fall (Contemporary Theatre of Dallas). Education: MFA in Acting, National Theatre Conservatory; BFA in Theatre and Dance, University of Texas at Austin.

Jacob Stewart (Jim/Tom) is a BFA candidate for Theatre Studies at Southern Methodist University. Recently, he appeared in Assistance; Major Barbara; Othello; and The Skriker (SMU). Jacob is from Saint Petersburg, FL and is proud to join DTC for this production of Clybourne Park.

Sally Nystuen Vahle (Bev/Kathy) is a member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company and has worked extensively at DTC and other regional theaters around the country. Favorite shows include: An Ideal Husband, Death of a Salesman, and, most recently, God of Carnage. In addition to her work on stage, she is a voice over and media actress and is proud to be represented by The Mary Collins Agency. Sally was a 2011 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Award recipient, and is a Co-Founder and company member of Dallas' Kitchen Dog Theater. She serves as Associate Professor of Acting and Voice in the Department of Theater at the University of North Texas.

Steven Michael Walters (Karl Lindner/Steve) is a member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company and co-founder of Second Thought Theatre. DTC: King Lear; Next Fall; A Christmas Carol; The Tempest; Henry IV; The Beauty Plays and The Good Negro (a co- production with The Public Theatre in New York). Theatrical credits: King Lear (Trinity Rep); Love's Labour's Lost; The Cherry Orchard (Peterborough Players); Proof; Arcadia (Lost Nation Theatre); Jesus Hates Me (Kitchen Dog Theater); Thom Pain (based on nothing); King Ubu, The Glory of Living, Humpty Dumpty (Second Thought Theatre); Romeo and Juliet; As You Like It; A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Dallas). TV: Chase; My Generation; Friday Night Lights;Trauma; Prison Break

Bruce Norris (Playwright) is an actor and writer whose plays include The Actor Retires (1992), The Vanishing Twin (1996), The Infidel (2000), Purple Heart (2002), We All Went Down to Amsterdam (2003), The Pain and the Itch (2004), and The Unmentionables (2006), among others. He is the recipient of the Whiting Foundation Prize for Drama (2006) as well as two Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best New Work and the Kesselring Prize Honorable Mention for 2006. As an actor he can be seen in the films A Civil Action and The Sixth Sense. Mr. Norris currently lives in Brooklyn.

Joel Ferrell (Director) is Associate Artistic Director at DTC, where his directing/choreography credits include: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Cabaret; A Christmas Carol (2005-09, 2011-12). DTC directing credits include: Red; God of Carnage; Dividing the Estate; reasons to be pretty; The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later; and Cotton Patch Gospel(starring its creator Tom Key). DTC choreography credits include: It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman; A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Who's Tommy; and My Fair Lady. DFW credits include: Grease (Casa Mañana); Proof (Plano Rep); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Baltimore Waltz (Stage West); Pygmalion (Fort Worth Shakespeare); the premiere ofHuck Finn (Classical Acting Company). Mr. Ferrell is a former Artistic Director of Casa Mañana Musicals Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. He served for two years on the selection committee for the National Alliance of Musical Theatre's New Works Festival in New York City and has worked extensively around the country for Portland Center Stage, Papermill Playhouse, Ford's Theatre and North Shore Music Theatre among others.

Bob Lavallee (Set Designer) DTC: Red; The Second City Does Dallas; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Cabaret; A Christmas Carol (2005-2012). Production Designer:Barney and Friends, PBS. Senior Designer: Peter Wolfs, Dallas. Resident Designer: Casa Mañana, Fort Worth. Children's theater/musicals: Dreamgirls (Dir. David Thome); Lettice and Lovage (Dir. Kent Paul); Chess (Dir. Rob Marshall); My Way (Dir. Joel Ferrell); Phantom (Westport Country Playhouse, Dir. Paul Blake); Three Days of Rain (Amphibian Stage Productions, Dir. Adrienne Campbell-Holt). Set Design: The Verizon Academic All-American Hall of Fame Awards at the Waldorf Astoria. Film Production Design: Searching for Sonny (Dir. Andrew Disney).

Karen Perry (Costume Designer) DTC: The Trinity River Plays. Recent credits include: stop. reset, The Piano Lesson, My Children! My Africa! (Signature Theatre); Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Mark Taper Theatre); The Trip to Bountiful (Cincinnati Play House In The Park); Two Trains Running (Two River Theater Company); Crowns, The Musical (Goodman Theatre). Selected Film/TV: Bojangles (starring Gregory Hines); The Rosa Parks Story; Do the Right Thing; and Saturday Night Live. Awards: Lucille Lortel Award; NBTG Lifetime Award; CD Guild Award; Cable Ace and AUDELCO Awards

Seth Reiser (Lighting Designer) DTC: King Lear, Tigers be Still. Off-Broadway: The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs (The Public Theater); Radio Play (PS 122); The Bad Guys(Second Stage Theatre); the Obie Award-winning The Lily's Revenge (HERE Arts Center). Regional: Trinity Repertory Theatre; PlayMakers Repertory Company; The Denver Center; The Old Globe; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Seattle Repertory Theatre; On the Boards; and The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center; among others. MFA from New York University. Seth lives in Brooklyn with his wife Mary and daughter Marion. sethreiserdesign.com

John Flores (Sound Designer) Kitchen Dog Theater (Artistic Company Member): Se Llama Christina; one:man.show.; The Chairs; The Beauty Queen of Leenane; Becky Shaw; The Turn of the Screw; Collapse; 26 Miles; and more. Second Thought Theatre: In a Forest Dark and Deep; Gruesome Playground Injuries; A Behanding in Spokane; Lobster Alice; and A Skull in Connemara. Theatre Three, Inc.: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. DFW Credits: Shakespeare Dallas; Our Endeavors Theater Collective; Cara Mía Theatre Company; Audacity Theatre Lab; Junior Players; Project X: Theatre; and Limehouse Theater.

Barb Hicks (Production Manager) Barb served as the Costume Shop Manager here at Dallas Theater Center for many years prior to, most recently, leading the Costume Department at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. She has now joyfully returned to DTC and is proud to be leading the Production Department into what will be an exciting and thrilling adventure of a season.

Megan Winters (Stage Manager) DTC: Red, Tigers Be Still (SM); FLY, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, The Tempest (ASM); Dividing the Estate, The Trinity River Plays, A Christmas Carol (PA). NYC Workshop: FLY (ASM). Second Thought Theatre: Thom Pain (based on nothing) (PSM). Shakespeare Dallas: Comedy of Errors (ASM). AT&T Performing Arts Center, Opening Gala: Act 1 & 3 (ASM). She has also enjoyed working for Olney Theatre Center and the Seaside Rep.

One of the leading regional theaters in the country, Dallas Theater Center (DTC) performs to an audience of more than 120,000 North Texas residents annually. Founded in 1959, DTC is now a resident company of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and presents its Mainstage season at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas and at its original home, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, the only freestanding theater designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty and Managing Director Heather M. Kitchen, DTC produces a seven-play subscription series of classics, musicals and new plays and an annual production of A Christmas Carol; extensive education programs, including Project Discovery, SummerStage and partnerships with Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts; and community outreach efforts including leading the DFW Foote Festival and recent collaborations with the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Public Library, Dallas Holocaust Museum, North Texas Food Bank, Dallas Opera, and Dallas Black Dance Theater. Throughout its history, DTC has produced many new works, including The Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones in 1978, Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, adapted by Adrian Hall, in 1986, and recent premieres of Giant by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson, The Trinity River Plays by ReGina Taylor, the revised It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, Give It Up! (now titled Lysistrata Jones and recently on Broadway) by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn, Sarah, Plain and Tall by Julia Jordan, Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson.

 

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