Phoenix Theatre of Ind. Sets New Season, Begins With SPRING AWAKENING

The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis proudly announces the 2011-2012 season, which includes three World Premieres, two Tony Award-winners, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, four Midwest Premieres and another entry in the ever-popular holiday variety show.

A portion of The Phoenix Theatre mission reads: Through issue-oriented plays, audience members become aware of social concerns and are challenged to examine their roles as individuals responsible to society. "That certainly describes this new season," states Phoenix Producing Director Bryan Fonseca. "With national elections in the near future, there are an unlimited number of issues facing each of us as citizens of this earth. The material in our new season covers everything from the changing face of the American family and teaching teens about sex to the struggle we all face with the economy, faith, spirituality and even the aftermath of 9/11. These are all issues surely to be debated across the country in the next year." Two award-winning shows that particularly exemplify the Phoenix mission are stand outs in the 2011-2012 season.

On the tail of an incredibly successful Avenue Q run, the season opener is a musical making its Midwest Premiere on the Phoenix Mainstage, Spring Awakening. "Almost 30 years ago, we made the decision to give a voice to the underserved in our community and it is our goal to continue to reflect and embrace our entire community," says Fonseca. "In a time when there is such a threat to services that provide confidential health information to our community - specifically our young people - issues surrounding sex and sex education seem so much more crucial. That brings us to Spring Awakening, our season opener and a production that will open a dialogue about subjects as controversial and timely as teenage sex, abortion and abuse." An adaptation of the controversial 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind, it features music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Hoosier Steven Sater.

In addition to the difficult issues it addresses, Fonseca was drawn to Spring Awakening in part by the primarily acoustic sound of the score. Though it is often described as a rock musical, Fonseca loves the folk sound of the music and the genre that it represents. Winning eight Tony Awards in 2007, Spring Awakening has a cult following among younger theatergoers - for the beautiful music and the compelling storylines - all centering on teenage angst.

Two thousand eight Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winner August, Osage County is scheduled for February 2012 on the Phoenix Mainstage. A darkly comedic script by Tracy Letts, and recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this play tells the story of a family whose members seem to bring out the worst in each other. "I have always been drawn to movies that concentrate on the dark - and funny - secrets that are revealed when a family gathers together," says Fonseca. For August, Osage County, in addition to the strong storyline and humor, Fonseca looks forward to working with seasoned actors and actresses. "Too often," says Fonseca, "powerful roles for older performers are few and far between. This play offers a tour de force for actors and actresses who are no longer ingénues."

Below is a listing of each production planned in the 2011-2012 Season, along with production dates, plot summaries and review quotes. 

Spring Awakening

September 22-October 23, 2011

Music by Duncan Sheik, Lyrics and Book by Steven Sater
Mainstage - Midwest Premiere

Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1891 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. Set in late nineteenth-century Germany, it is all about teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of sexuality. The original play was banned in Germany for a while due to its portrayal of abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse and suicide. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score. Spring Awakening received 11 Tony Award nominations in 2007, winning eight, including Tonys for best musical, direction, book, score and featured actor. The show also won four Drama Desk Awards, while its London production won four Olivier Awards.

"(Spring Awakening) is exhilarating. When was the last time you felt a frisson of surprise and excitement at something that happened in a new musical? For that matter, when was the last time something new happened in a new musical?" -The New York Times

"(Spring Awakening) captures the dangerous anxiety of youth standing on the precipice of adulthood with transfixing honesty. Spring Awakening has an authenticity that connects the show directly to the generation being depicted." -Variety

Jericho

October 27-November 20, 2011

By Jack Canfora

Frank and Katrina Basile Theatre - National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere
As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, this comic drama that deals in a sharp and witty way with where we are as a nation in regard to this tragedy and more specifically the process of grief, forgiveness and healing. Beth's husband Alec died in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and she sees and talks with him often. In fact, she sees him when she speaks with her female Korean therapist. Beth is dating for the first time since her husband was killed and through her relationship with Ethan, she meets Ethan's brother, Josh. On the verge of divorcing, Josh's mother Rachel is putting her life together after the death of her husband, ironically in the same tower as Alec on 9/11.
A Very Phoenix Xmas 6: Our Goose is Cooked!

December 1-December 23, 2011

By Various Artists

Phoenix Mainstage

The Phoenix Theatre continues its "tradition" of providing counter-programming to the traditions of other arts organizations, starting with all-new sketches. After receiving submissions from playwrights across the country, Fonseca will once again shape the show with the selection of sketches - mostly humorous, but some poignant - which send up the winter holidays. Add to this music and dance and you have A Very Phoenix Xmas.

Current Economic Conditions

January 12-February 12, 2012

By Don Zolidis

Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre - World Premiere (being developed with funding provided by The Edgerton Foundation)

Current Economic Conditions is a charming, yet bitingly sarcastic, look at the serious social message of how skewed our society's perceptions of our work force have become. Lily Booker is trained as a writer and has an entry-level job at a publishing company. She soon finds out that her job is being eliminated and she has the option of staying on at the company as an unpaid intern or leaving entirely. Rather than go backwards in her career, she leaves and begins a journey that will take her through various scenarios as she must move back in with her parents (at 26), contemplate graduate school, and go on one miserable failed job interview after another while her parents judge her for staying out at night at clubs.

August: Osage County

February 16-March 11, 2012

By Tracy Letts

Phoenix Mainstage - Midwest Premiere

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for Best Play, Tracy Letts' darkly comic drama August: Osage County is set on the plains of modern day, middle-class Oklahoma. The Weston family members are all intelligent, sensitive creatures who have the uncanny ability of making each other absolutely miserable. When the patriarch of the household mysteriously vanishes, the clan gathers to simultaneously support and attack one another.
"[August: Osage County is] the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years" -The New York Times

"In ferociously entertaining August: Osage County, the American dysfunctional family drama comes roaring into the 21st century with eyes blazing, nostrils flaring and fangs bared, laced with corrosive humor so darkly delicious and ghastly that you're squirming in your seat even as you're doubled over laughing."-Variety

Freud's Last Session

March 15-April 15, 2012

By Mark St. Germain
Suggested by The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.

Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre - Midwest Premiere

This exciting and thought-provoking drama centers on legendary psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud who invites the young, rising Oxford Don C.S. Lewis to his home in London. On the day England enters World War Two, Freud and Lewis clash about love, sex, the existence of God and the meaning of life, just weeks before Freud takes his own life. Freud's Last Session is a deeply touching play filled with humor and exploring the minds, hearts and souls of two brilliant men addressing the greatest questions of all time.

"...a juicy intellectual debate between two great minds...food for thought." -The New York Post

"A gem...great theatre...intellectually thrilling with both humor and insight in abundance...the kind of nuance that breathes life to history." -The New York Times

 

TBA

April 19-May 13, 2012

Phoenix Mainstage
Special Presentation

May 17-May 26, 2012

Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre

We will soon be announcing details about our sixth annual bilingual play to be seen during this time slot in the season.

 

Next Fall

June 7-July 8, 2012

Geoffrey Nauffts

Phoenix Mainstage - Midwest Premiere

Next Fall takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. While the play's central story focuses on the five-year relationship between Adam and Luke, Next Fall goes beyond a typical love story. This timely and compelling new American play forces us all to examine what it means to "believe" and what it might cost us not to.
"The funniest heartbreaker in town! Next Fall embodies something theatergoers have been sorely missing, perhaps without knowing it, for years. A smart, sensitive, immensely appealing and utterly contemporary New York comedy." -The New York Times

"[Next Fall is] deeply moving and surprisingly funny. Geoffrey Nauffts reveals a talent for sharp comic dialogue. He draws all his characters with surprising depth." -The Hollywood Reporter

With A Whimper

July 12-August 12, 2012

By Pete McElligott

Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre - World Premiere

Pete McElligott continues his postmodern superhero tale with the second in a trilogy that started with last season's With A Bang, "The first Phoenix production - WARP I, II, & III by Stuart Gordon and Bury St. Edmond - was a science fiction trilogy," says Phoenix Producing Director and show director Bryan Fonseca, "so it seems right that we make the commitment to produce this trilogy as our 30th anniversary approaches."

Ticket Details: The Phoenix FlexPass is Back!

Back by popular demand, the Phoenix FlexPass is the best theatre deal in Indy and will only be available through October 31, 2011. Buying a FlexPass is like getting one Friday, Saturday or Sunday ticket for free. A FlexPass for $100 gets a patron five vouchers that can be traded in for any combination of tickets for any of the 2011-2012 productions.

Thanks to the continued generosity of Duke Energy, CheapSeats performances will continue on Thursdays, so the price for a Thursday ticket will remain $15 per person. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday performance tickets will be $25 for all shows. The Phoenix will continue to offer a youth rate of $15, for those individuals aged 20 and younger.

Tickets for the new season may be purchased by calling the box office at 317.635.7529 to charge by phone, and will be available to purchase on-line at phoenixtheatre.org beginning August 1, 2011. All seating is general admission on a first-come, first-served basis. Performances are Thursdays at 7:00 pm; Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm, unless otherwise noted on our website. Doors open ½ hour prior to curtain for seating. The Phoenix Pub, located inside the theatre, offers beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee and bottled water, as well as treats, and all refreshments may be taken into either theatre and consumed during the performance.

ABOUT The Phoenix Theatre
"The Phoenix Theatre has cornered the market on hip new works." - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

The Phoenix Theatre is Indiana's only professional Contemporary Theatre, and has presented productions to challenge and entertain the Indianapolis community for 29 years. An Equity house, the Theatre presents the Midwest and Indiana premieres of many popular Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, and has presented more than 83 world premieres in its quarter century. The Phoenix operates the 130-seat proscenium Mainstage as well as the 75-seat cabaret-style black box Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre. The Phoenix Pub, located in the Basile Theatre, serves beer, wine, coffee, soft drinks, water, and treats, and patrons may take all refreshments into either theatre. Both venues are housed along with administrative offices in a renovated 1907 church in downtown Indianapolis' historic Chatham Arch neighborhood, part of the Mass Ave Arts & Theatre District. The Phoenix Theatre is a member of the National New Play Network and the League of Indianapolis Theatres, and is supported by the Indiana Arts Commission, the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as local corporate and foundation funders and more than 400 individual donors.

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