Purple Rose Theatre Co Announces Several Selections For 2009-10 Season

The Purple Rose Theatre Company is proud to announce several selections for its 2009 / 2010 season beginning in September 2009. The season will feature Escanaba, a World Premiere by Jeff Daniels; Gravity, a World Premiere by David MacGregor; and Our Town, an American classic by Thornton Wilder. Seven low-priced previews will kick off each run, followed by Press Opening Night during the second week of each engagement. Regular performance schedules will run Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm with Saturday matinees at 3:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. All performances will be held at The Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park Street, Chelsea, Michigan. Titles, dates and casting for the 09 / 10 season are subject to change.

The legend begins in the final installment of the classic Yooper trilogy, Escanaba by Jeff Daniels. Alphonse Soady is putting the finishing touches on his newly-constructed deer camp when a wild-eyed James Negamanee bursts through his door fleeing a black bear. This origin story reveals the role this strange trespasser plays in time-honored Soady Deer Camp traditions, including the saga of the Soady Ridge Buck. Directed by artistic director Guy Sanville, the cast of Escanaba will include Wayne David Parker (Escanaba in da Moonlight, Escanaba In Love) and Tom Whalen (Panhandle Slim and the Oklahoma Kid, The Glass Menagerie). Escanaba will run for fourteen weeks from Thursday, September 17 through Saturday, December 19, 2009. (Editors' Note: A press release with additional information will be released in August).

The World Premiere of Gravity by David MacGregor marks the playwright's third show with the PRTC (Vino Veritas, The Late Great Henry Boyle). Still considered by many to be one of the most influential men in human history, Isaac Newton's discoveries in science and mathematics rocked the world during the seventeenth century, though the man himself considered his most heralded achievements to be only fragments of the most important work of his life. In this unusual historical drama, surrounded by jealous rivals and a mysterious patroness, Newton drives himself relentlessly in pursuit of Truth, riding the delicate line between divinity and madness. Directed by PRTC artistic director Guy Sanville, the cast of Gravity will feature Alex Leydenfrost (Wake) as Sir Isaac Newton with a supporting cast including associate artists Stacie Hadgikosti (Wake), and Nathan Mitchell, resident artists Michelle Mountain (Wake) and Rhiannon Ragland (Apartment 3A), and Will David Young (Apartment 3A). Gravity will have a seven-week engagement from Thursday, February 11 to Saturday, March 27, 2010.

Next spring, PRTC presents the American classic of Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1938, this iconic giant in American drama spans almost thirty years in the town of Grover's Corners, a quintessentiAl Small community with characters reflecting the hopes and dreams, the failures and successes, of people everywhere. Directed by PRTC artistic director Guy Sanville, the cast will include resident artists Michelle Mountain (A Streetcar Named Desire) and Rhiannon Ragland (A Streetcar Named Desire); associate artists Heidi Bennett (Bleeding Red), Matthew David (A Streetcar Named Desire), Julia Garlotte, Matthew Gwynn (Bleeding Red), Stacie Hadgikosti (Wake), Nathan Mitchell and Michael Brian Ogden (Bleeding Red); as well as Blake Barsan, Andy Burt, Hugh Maguire (A Streetcar Named Desire), Angela Miller, Michael Joseph Mitchell, Bill Simmons (Wake) and Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck. Our Town will have a seven-week engagement from Thursday, April 15 through Saturday, May 29, 2010.
 
The PRTC summer production-running for eleven weeks from Thursday, June 17 through Saturday, August 28, 2010-will be announced when production rights have been secured.
 
Founded in 1991 by acclaimed actor and Chelsea native Jeff Daniels, The Purple Rose Theatre Company is a leading American theatre dedicated to producing the new American play and creating opportunities for Midwest theatre professionals. The PRTC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit professional theatre operating under an Small Professional Theatre agreement with the Actors' Equity Association. The PRTC promotes the development of new American theatre and its practitioners, provides valuable educational opportunities for young artists, and, through consistently high quality production values, has earned the respect of both local and National Theatre communities.
 
Tickets for groups of 12 or more will be available for the entire season beginning July 1. PRTC donors can purchase tickets approximately two months before each show opens with tickets going on sale to the general public two weeks later. Ticket reservations can be made by calling The Purple Rose Theatre Company Box Office at (734) 433-ROSE (7673); tickets will also be available for sale at www.purplerosetheatre.org.

 

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