Chautauqua Theater Company Announces 2019 Performances

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) this week announced its 2019 season line-up, featuring a look inside contemporary Christianity with Lucas Hnath's Obie Award Winning Play, The Christians and a West End and Broadway hit with Richard Bean's farce, One Man, Two Guvnors, in addition to the popular Young Playwrights Project, Shakespeare, and CTC's signature New Play Workshops.

"This series will showcase our strengths and stretch our capacity in new ways," says Sarah Clare Corporandy, Managing Director of CTC.

"We are trying a new approach, with two highly celebrated mainstage performances that will each have extended runs," Corporandy said. "We're also continuing and expanding our Shakespeare in the Park series that was hugely popular in Chautauqua County in 2018."

The season begins June 14 with the Young Playwrights Project and concludes August 18 with the Company's third New Play Workshop.

"2018 was a year of artistic growth for us and we intend to continue this into 2019. Our New Play Workshop performances are especially making a difference in the national and international theater communities," said Andrew Borba, Artistic Director of CTC.

The New Play Workshops are made possible in part by a generous grant from the Roe Green Foundation. Sponsorships remain available for other CTC programs, including the Young Playwrights Project and the Shakespeare in the Park programming.

The 2019 Schedule follows:

YPP: Young Playwrights Project June 14 @ Lenna Hall
July 2nd @ Smith Wilkes

Chautauqua Shakespeare in the Park
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare June 15 - August 3

CTC's FREE outdoor Shakespeare returns with a magical midsummer comedy. Follow jealous lovers, mischievous fairies and first time players as they journey through the woods. Love potions, live music and physical comedy enchant in this energetic 90-minute version of Shakespeare's most beloved play.

The Christians b y Lucas Hnath June 28 - July 14

Pastor Paul has grown his church from a storefront to a mega-complex, but nothing prepared him or his congregation for the biggest change of all: a change of heart. Featuring live performances by the Chautauquan Choir every night, The Christians is a highly theatrical yet extremely intimate exploration of faith, family and the courage to stand up for what you believe.

NPW # 1 TBD
July 18 - 20

One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean July 26 - August 4th

How hard can it be to have two jobs? This hilarious adaptation of Carlo Goldoni's Comedia masterpiece The Servant of Two Masters plants us in Brighton in 1963. Recently fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall scrambles to find work in this working class British beach town, where the ladies liberation movement has just begun to bloom. High and low humor collide in this British farce complete with live Beatles-inspired music.

Interarts: A Midsummer Night's Dream b y William Shakespeare Date TBD

CTC pairs up with the CSO, Charlotte Ballet and Chautauqua Voice Department to create a multidisciplinary performance of the Mendelssohn score and Shakespeare's play: A Midsummer Night's Dream.

NPW #2: Untitled By Tyne Rafaeli - New Play Commission August 14th-18th

A CTC commission by award-winning playwright and director Tyne Rafaeli, this new play explores the life of Margaret Sanger and her revolutionary idea of the birth control pill.

NPW #3: TBD August 15th-18th