THEATER UP CLOSE Season At Arsht Center's Carnival Studio Theater

THE ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS OF

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ANNOUNCES  

2011-2012 Theater Up Close season

in the Carnival Studio Theater 

Featuring six artistic collaborations

from stellar local theater ensembles and nationally acclaimed theater companies 

The House of Bernarda Alba

A new partnership with University of Miami Department of Theatre Arts 

The World Premiere of Christopher Demos-Brown's CAPTIVA,

David Sedaris' THE SANTALAND DIARIES and

the World Premiere of Michael McKeever's MOSCOW

Three new co-presentations in collaboration with Miami's own Zoetic Stage 

NE 2ND AVENUE

The intense, emotional and humorous one-man show from

Miami-based actor/playwright/director Teo Castellanos 

DEATH AND Harry Houdini

Marking the return of The House Theatre of Chicago in an exciting

co-production in both Chicago and Miami 

SUBSCRIPTIONS JUST $160 FOR SIX SHOWS

A savings of more than 15% off single ticket price 

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County announced six new presentations featuring internationally and nationally-renowned plays, two world premieres and critically-acclaimed artists, many from South Florida, to headline the 2011-2012 THEATER UP CLOSE SEASON in the Arsht Center's intimate Carnival Studio Theater.  

Federico Garcia Lorca's 20th century masterpiece, THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA, October 13-30, 2011, opens the season with the Center's first co-production with the University of Miami. The collaboration will also serve as a pre-professional learning experience that offers outstanding young acting and theater production majors at the University an opportunity to work with seasoned professionals in creating this professional production. 

Following the company's triumphant 2010 debut, Zoetic Stage - a troupe of South Florida's most celebrated playwrights, directors and actors - returns to co-present their 2011-2012 season featuring three exciting productions with the Arsht Center: Captiva, November 3-20, 2011, Christopher Demos-Brown's hysterically funny dark comedy about weathering family; THE SANTALAND DIARIES, December 8-23, 2011, a holiday rant based on David Sedaris' New York Times best seller "Holidays on Ice"; and MOSCOW, March 29-April 15, 2012, Michael McKeever's world premiere comedy about the changing tides in 1963 Miami.  

Marking the 10th anniversary of its world premiere, the critically-acclaimed NE 2ND AVENUE created and performed by Miami native Teo Castellanos, comes home January 19-21, 2012, to take audiences on a journey through the streets of Miami.  

The critically acclaimed House Theatre of Chicago, which debuted in Miami last season with The Sparrow, returns with an original and imaginative piece DEATH AND Harry Houdini, April 26-May 20, 2012. This co-production marks the Arsht Center's debut collaboration with The House in both Chicago and Miami. 

"The Theater Up Close 11-12 season lineup offers our community the chance to experience a wide range of creative works, including two world premieres and award-winning theater that has wowed audiences near and far," said Scott Shiller, Executive V.P. of Adrienne Arsht Center. "We are proud to have the opportunity to support these nationally and internationally acclaimed artists - most with close ties to South Florida - and hope to develop these relationships to continue bringing excellent artistry to South Florida." 

SUBSCRIPTIONS JUST $160 FOR SIX SHOWS

Subscriptions to the six-show 11-12 Theater Up Close Season are available at more than 15% off the single ticket price - just $160 for the entire season, less than $30 per show. Subscriptions are on sale to members and to the general public today. Subscriptions may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722 , or online at www.arshtcenter.org.  

Programming for the 2011-2012 Theater Up Close season features the following:

The Adrienne Arsht Center and the University of Miami present

The House of Bernarda Alba

October 13-30, 2011

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the death of Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca, the University of Miami department of Theatre Arts and the Adrienne Arsht Center will produce Lorca's masterpiece THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA, featuring a Florida premiere by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz and Karin Coonrod, recipient of Encore's Outstanding Director Award. THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA is a devastatingly powerful story of a domineering woman obsessed with maintaining the honor of her family's name against the forces of brutAl Small-town society. The play explores Bernarda's iron-fisted oppression of her five daughters, transforming their rural home into a powder keg of tension, jealousy and fear. UM's Ring Theatre's Producing Artistic Director, Henry Fonte directs.

As part of a new multi-faceted collaboration between University of Miami and the Adrienne Arsht Center, UM's talented student actors will be cast and employed in the roles of Alba's five daughters. Also, students majoring in technical theater and design will work side-by-side with the Adrienne Arsht Center's production team-helping to create a professional set, costumes and lighting design and assisting the production manager and other key production staff members. Key adult roles - Bernarda Alba and La Poncia - will be performed by professional actors working and living in South Florida.  

Zoetic Stage and the Adrienne Arsht Center present

Captiva by Christopher Demos-Brown - World Premiere

November 3-20, 2011

Zoetic Stage will launch this season with the world premiere of Captiva, a funny contemporary dark comedy about family, fear and the future. Captiva is a clever comedy that takes audiences to an island getaway for a family reunion where hopes of celebration and re-connection go awry when the group is marooned by a late-season hurricane. The family is turned upside down when pent-up insecurities, family secrets, rivalries and frustrations surface. Ultimately, the family members are forced to face each other with honesty - and bottles of wine.  

Written by 2011 Carbonell Award recipient for Best New Work (When the Sun Shone Brighter) and Zoetic Stage co-founder Christopher Demos-Brown, Captiva will blow you away.  

Zoetic Stage and the Adrienne Arsht Center present

THE SANTALAND DIARIES by David Sedaris

Adapted for the Stage by Joe Mantello

December 8-23, 2011 

Based on the best-selling book "Holidays On Ice" by David Sedaris, who is hailed as one of the greatest humorists of our time, THE SANTALAND DIARIES is a sidesplitting one-man play adapted for the stage by Broadway veteran Joe Mantello. THE SANTALAND DIARIES starring Michael McKeever, one of South Florida's most produced and prolific artists, hysterically exposes the outrageous things people do in the insanity of the holiday season. Wickedly funny, THE SANTALAND DIARIES looks at David Sedaris' life when the unemployed writer accepts a job in a Macy's Santaland as an elf during the holiday season. In this dark-humored tale, Sedaris spends much of the time feeling amusingly humiliated by wearing a velvet elf suit, participating in elf training, and enduring abuse from drunken Santas, mean customers, and screaming children. THE SANTALAND DIARIES is a delight for those looking for comic relief - with an adult twist - from the madness of the holiday season. Zoetic Stage co-founder Stuart Meltzer directs.  

The Adrienne Arsht Center presents

NE 2ND AVENUE

January 19-21, 2012

The critically-acclaimed NE 2ND AVENUE, written by and starring Miami's Teo CASTELLANOS first debuted in Miami in 2002 and was originally commissioned by Miami Light Project. Since its debut, NE 2ND AVENUE has since garnered numerous recognitions - a Fringe First Award at the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a South Florida Carbonell Award nomination (2002), Best Solo Performance (Miami New Times, 2002) and Best Original Play (Miami Beach Sun Post, 2001). This multi-character one-man play is a series of character sketches based on culturally rich individuals that dwell in Miami. The emotional, often humorous piece, depicts lives of a Puerto Rican small time drug dealer, a deprived African-American young lady, a Haitian jitney driver, a Cuban-Jewish grandfather, Rasta Man, African-American adolescent trying to find his footing in life, a Cuban rafter and a body-building, club-hopping, gay man, who each take the audience on a memorable journey through the intense streets of Miami. 

Raised in Miami, Teo Castellanos is an acclaimed actor/writer/director who studied with four-time Tony Award winner Zoe Caldwell and can be seen on the silver screen opposite John Leguizamo in Empire.  

Zoetic Stage and the Adrienne Arsht Center present

Moscow by Michael McKeever - World Premiere

March 29-April 15, 2012

A world premiere comedy by Michael McKeever, one of South Florida's foremost playwrights, MOSCOW is a comical look at the changing tides in 1963 Miami. It examines the lives of three sisters from a once prominent South Florida family whose world is challenged by the life-changing events of the era - the Kennedy assassination, the Cold War, and the sudden influx of Cuban migration into Miami. The events set the stage for a riotous all out showdown as past and present, east and west collide.  

Multiple Carbonell Award-winning playwright and Zoetic Stage co-founder Michael McKeever, author of the critically acclaimed South Beach Babylon and Melt, will outdo himself again with this new play.  

The Adrienne Arsht Center and The House Theatre of Chicago present

DEATH AND Harry Houdini

April 26-May 20, 2012

In celebration of 10 years of original plays, The House Theatre of Chicago will perform a brand new adaptation of its first-ever hit, Death and Harry Houdini. Visually stunning and highly entertaining, Nathan Allen's original book, Death and Harry Houdini delivers a roller coaster ride through the life of the great Harry Houdini - from discrediting all who tried to emulate his acts, to experimenting with magic, to perfecting the Water Torture Cell - the magician waged a life-long war against death. House Company member and award-winning magician Dennis Watkins, who plays the late legend, will perform many of Houdini's most renowned illusions including his most dangerous escape, the dreaded Water Torture Cell. Death and Harry Houdini brings new life to a dark and tumultuous story guaranteed to keep audiences on The Edge of their seat. 

Death and Harry Houdini, the first show staged by The House Theater of Chicago, opened in the Fall of 2001. Ten years and countless awards later, The House Theater of Chicago and the Arsht Center will jointly produce this brand new adaptation - opening first in Chicago in January 2012 and then at the Adrienne Arsht Center in the spring 2012. This production marks the Arsht Center's debut as a producer in the Chicago market.

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