Basement Arts Announces 2014 Season: STOP KISS, GENDERMAT & More

Basement Arts has announced its Fall 2013 Season:

Feb 20-22: "Sea Legs: A Nautical New Musical" by Tyler Dean and Mike Tooman Directed by Taylor NortonIn "Sea Legs: A New Nautical Musical," four young orphans in a quaint harbor town long for adventure. But when adulthood, romance, and the arrival of refugees from a destroyed underwater utopia are thrown in their paths, they find that adventure might be closer than they once thought. This original musical is brought to you by the same creative team behind Basement's 2012 production of "Zombie Farm: A New Musical".

Feb 27-March 1: "Gendermat" by Mark Dunn and "Night of Fights" by the Ensemble *The performance schedule for these productions will be announced as soon as possible.Gendermat Directed by Austin Meyer"This is tag team theatre with a bite. At the end of a relationship, two characters meet in the basement laundry room of an apartment building. Four actors step in and out of the roles of Carrie/Cary and Frances/Francis to create the story of four breakups: a man leaving a woman, a woman leaving a man, a woman leaving a woman, and a man leaving a man. The gender permutations reveal the simple fact that rejection and lost love are universals. In parting, the characters learn important truths about themselves and move, not without bitterness, toward a fresh start." - Summary Courtesy Samuel French Night of FightsDirected by Emily Hanley and Jacqueline Toboni"Night of Fights" is a School of Music, Theatre, and Drama tradition where the ensemble of the piece comes together to create an evening of short stage combat scenes. This year's show theme is villians. Trust us, you don't want to miss it.

April 3-5: "In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)" by Sarah Ruhl Directed by Danielle Cohn"In a seemingly perfect, well-to-do Victorian home, proper gentleman and scientist Dr. Givings has innocently invented an extraordinary new device for treating "hysteria" in women (and occasionally men): the vibrator. Adjacent to the doctor's laboratory, his young and energetic wife tries to tend to their newborn daughter-and wonders exactly what is going on in the next room. When a new "hysterical" patient and her husband bring a wet nurse and their own complicated relationship into the doctor's home, Dr. and Mrs. Givings must examine the nature of their own marriage, and what it truly means to love someone." - Summary Courtesy Samuel French

April 10-12: "It's All True" by Jason Sherman Directed by Elliot Cruz "At age 21, Orson Welles was already directing and starring in productions for the New York arm of the recently formed Federal Theatre Project. For his next show WelLes Wanted to direct a musical, choosing Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock, a piece with strong socialist sympathies at odds with current, rising Republican sentiment in the US. Jason Sherman's play depicts the backstage antics of this important period in American theatre that precipitated the closure of the FTP. Jumping straight into the action, his dialogue negotiates the necessary exposition with a keen sense of rhythm and he balances the serious complexities of theatrical censorship with deeply human issues of obsession and commitment." - Paul Vale, TheStage.co.uk

April 17-19: "Stop Kiss" by Diana Son Directed by Lindsay Wormser "A poignant and funny play about the ways, both sudden and slow, that lives can change irrevocably," says Variety. After Callie meets Sara, the two unexpectedly fall in love. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack that transforms their lives in a way they could never anticipate." - Summary Courtesy Samuel French

All performances take place in Studio 1 of the Walgreen Drama Center and are free.

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