Open Stage Theatre 2010-11 Season Includes KING LEAR, A PICASSO, et al.

OpenStage Theatre loves a good challenge. And the 2010-2011 Season offers just that. With the Fort Collins Lincoln Center closed for renovations, OpenStage Theatre will be performing in various locations throughout downtown Fort Collins. "We're mixing it up for the 2010-2011 Season," says OpenStage Producing Artistic Director Denise Burson Freestone. "We're going back to OpenStage Theatre's roots in the early 70's when there was no Lincoln Center - or any performance venues outside of the university, for that matter. From the beginning OpenStage Theatre sought to create theatrical magic wherever we could, and this season provides us with a chance to engage our audience in exciting and dynamic places."

OpenStage Theatre will produce 7 shows for the season. Season tickets range from $80 to $120 and are available through the Lincoln Center box office, 970-221-6730, and online at www.LCTIX.com.

Brilliant Traces by Cindy Lou Johnson, directed by Brooke Flanagan

September 10 to October 10, 2010 • Nonesuch Theater, 216 Pine St.

         While a blizzard rages outside, a man lies sleeping in his remote cabin in the wilds of Alaska. With a bang, a disheveled and bewildered young woman dressed in full bridal regalia bursts through the door. By turns hilarious and ecstatic, Brilliant Traces tells a heartwarming story of love, loss and the unlikely places we find sanctuary.

         Purchase tickets to both Brilliant Traces and Nonesuch Theater's featured show and receive a special discount price.

 

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz, directed Judith Allen

Based on the original 1899 play by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle

October 15 to November 14, 2010 • Masonic Temple, 225 W. Oak St

         London, 1893. The King of Bohemia is being blackmailed by his ex-lover, the famous opera singer Irene Adler. Sherlock Holmes and his trusted companion Dr. Watson are on the case and in pursuit of the infamous Professor Moriarty. Winner of the 2007 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Play, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure is a spirited and fast-moving adaptation full of intrigue, humor and surprise.

 

Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol by Tom Mula, directed by Denise Burson Freestone

Back by popular demand

November 19 to December 19, 2010 • Art Lab (exact address to be announced)

         "Scrooge? I have to redeem old Scrooge? Impossible!" So begins the real story behind A Christmas Carol - the story of Jacob Marley's heroic behind-the-scenes efforts to save old Scrooge's soul. True to Dickens' original, yet with a fascinating twist, this irreverent and deeply moving story retells Dickens' classic with impish wit and infectious zest.

 

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, directed by Brenna Freestone

January 7 to February 13, 2011 • Masonic Temple, 225 W. Oak St.

         Three guys, one dead playwright and 37 plays - all in less than two hours. High-speed over-the-top hilarity. Think Monty Python performing Shakespeare for Dummies. Knowledge of Shakespeare's works is helpful but not necessary. All you need is a few hours to watch the show and someone to dial 911 in case you pass out from laughing so much.

 

A Picasso by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Emelie Borello

February 18 to March 20, 2011 • Nonesuch Theater, 216 Pine St.

         Paris, 1941. Pablo Picasso is ushered into a storage vault to authenticate three works of art the occupying Nazi government has recently "acquired." The father of cubism and a virtuoso who poured his soul onto the canvas, Picasso faces off with an enigmatic young female German officer and suddenly finds himself forced to choose between art and politics, creativity and survival.

         Purchase tickets to both A Picasso and Nonesuch Theater's featured show and receive a special discount price.

  

Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Peter Anthony

April 16 to May 21, 2011 • performance venue to be announced

         An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet café. A stranger at the next table who has had enough. And a dead man - with a lot of loose ends. Pulitzer Prize nominee Sarah Ruhl's wildly imaginative and surreal romantic comedy takes surprising twists and leaps as it blends the mundane with the metaphysical, the blunt with the obscure and the patently bizarre with the bizarrely moving.

 

King Lear by William Shakespeare, directed by Peter Anthony

June 3 to July 3, 2011• performance venue to be announced

When the misguided King Lear presents his daughters with the keys to his kingdom, he unleashes a savage storm that reduces his realm to a land of cosmic chaos and earthbound human suffering. If a king cannot rule without a crown, if a father cannot trust his children, if civilization breeds nothing but greed and violence, then anarchy and insanity rule. Arguably Shakespeare's greatest work, King Lear touches the heart and rattles the soul.

 

         Special performances and offers for each OpenStage Theatre season show include:

• FAB Friday: all tickets $12 plus free beer, compliments of Boulder Beer;
• PlayClub: discussion following the performance facilitated by Matter Bookstore, Old Firehouse Books and Reader's Cove;
• Pay-What-You-Can Performance: donations at the door; no advance reservations;
• Childcare: provided by Young People's Learning Center on the first and third Friday of each month; for childcare reservations call 970-482-1212.
• Free Student/Educator Performance: call 970-484-5237 to make reservations.

         For information special performance dates, visit www.openstage.com.

OpenStage Theatre's 38^th anniversary season is sponsored by A-Train Marketing Communications, Shaw and Associates, Art Beet Fort Collins and Witt Gross of Coldwell Banker. Support is also provided by grants from the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority, Colorado Creative Industries, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund and the Thornton Family Foundation.

OpenStage Theatre is a not-for-profit organization that relies heavily on the support of sponsors and patrons who help make each season a success. With assistance from corporations, foundations and the general public, OpenStage has been able to maintain high quality productions for 36 years. For information on sponsorship and charitable gifts and on how you can support OpenStage Theatre, call 970-484-5237.

For more information, visit OpenStage's website at www.openstage.com or call 970-484-5237. Founded in 1973, OpenStage Theatre is a recipient of the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts and a member of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for not-for-profit professional theatres.

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