Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company Announces its 2011-2012 Season

Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company of Detroit is thrilled to announce its third full season of productions and projects, anchored at 1515 Broadway in downtown Detroit. Following its popular and critically acclaimed first and second full seasons, the company is finding new ways to enhance and enrich the community through theatre. This season Magenta Giraffe invites audience members to join the company in actively participating in Detroit's much-publicized artistic renaissance.

First up is Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Frannie Shepherd-Bates, from September 16-October 9, 2011. This rarely-staged play by the master dramatist takes aim at how political motivations can destroy relationships and lives. Johannes Rosmer, whose insane wife committed suicide one year ago, lives at his familial estate with a housekeeper and Rebecca West, friend and caretaker of his late wife. Rosmer and Rebecca have enjoyed a platonic comradeship through the years that is shattered by the entrance of his brother-in-law, Professor Kroll. Kroll asks Rosmer to become editor of his conservative newspaper, but Rosmer refuses, bringing about a number of startling revelations about his late wife, local political figures, Rebecca's past and the impact all of this has on everyone's future. Sigmund Freud wrote a well-known essay on the psychology that motivates the character of Rebecca West. Rosmersholm provides an intense examination of the all-too familiar territories of radical politics, human relationships and psychology. Audience members familiar with Ibsen's work will not want to miss this piece that, while obscure, is considered by many to be one of his masterpieces.

The Altruists, a comedy by Nicky Silver, follows from November 11-December 3, 2011. Directed by Molly McMahon, this dark comedy provides an unflinching look at the sometimes-shallow motivations behind people's political actions and relationships with others - while providing lots of laughs along the way. After Sydney, a soap opera actress, is found to have committed murder, her friends, who spend their time attending protests and throwing stinkbombs, must find a way to keep her out of jail to continue using her money to fund their political activities. Meanwhile, Sydney's brother Ronald has struck up a relationship with a young male prostitute who seemingly has the firmest grasp on reality and ethics of anyone. Someone must make a sacrifice to maintain the status quo, and the climax of the play presents a grim perspective on the sometimes-hypocritical stances of many so-called altruists.

The final production of the season is Jean Genet's The Maids, from April 6-29, 2011. This play, also directed by Frannie Shepherd-Bates, is exactly what audiences have been demanding and waiting for. Hearkening back to Magenta Giraffe's inaugural production of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit, The Maids is being produced as a direct result of audience feedback. The Maids is an exploration of the process of de-realization from the twisted mind of Jean Genet, whose works are well known for providing an intellectual workout. Two maids play at being mistress and servant but never quite get to the end of their role-playing before their actual mistress arrives home. Presented with an opportunity to kill the woman they both love and hate, the sisters conflate reality and fantasy, blurring the lines between murder and suicide as they finally succeed in ending the game they've been playing for so long. Audiences will love peeling back the layers of truth and falsity as they navigate the twists and turns of this delightfully complex and entertaining play.

Performance schedules of all three shows will be Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Each production will feature one Sunday matinee. Tickets will be $18 General Admission and $15 Student/Senior/Industry, with pay-what-you-can tickets available to all performances. Subscriptions are available at the Industry price of $15 per production and include a FREE Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company t-shirt. Please visit www.magentagiraffe.org <http://www.magentagiraffe.org> or e-mail info@magentagiraffe.org for more information.

This spring, look for the company's fourth annual Staged Reading Festival featuring Michigan playwrights and second annual Special Skills Talent Show. More information on these and other projects will be forthcoming. Magenta Giraffe will also continue its wildly successful Continuing Education for Theatre Professionals series; schedule still being determined.

All productions will take place at 1515 Broadway, Detroit, MI 48226. For more information or to reserve tickets, please call 313-408-7269 or visit www.magentagiraffe.org.

ABOUT Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company - The Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization that acts to eliminate apathy, violence, prejudice and barriers to education through theatre productions, projects and programs; and further acts to reestablish and expand Detroit's theatre district.

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