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Theater Latté Da today announced a dynamic season of four productions that feature the powerhouse rock opera Evita at the Ordway Center McKnight Theatre (September 30 - October 31, 2010), the new holiday classic All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 at the Pantages Theatre (December 16-19, 2010), the regional premiere of an award-winning new play with music, Song of Extinction, at the Guthrie Theater Dowling Studio (February 25 - March 20, 2011), and the world-premiere of Steerage Song at the Fitzgerald Theater (June 2-5, 2011).
Theater Latté Da opens their thirteenth season with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita at the Ordway Center's McKnight Theatre September 30 - October 31, 2010. First Lady of Argentina Eva Perón was a legend in her time. An illegitimate country girl, she rose to become the most powerful woman Latin America had ever seen-a potent symbol of hope and change. Theater Latté Da takes its fresh approach to the powerhouse telling of her brief and fascinating life. Artistic Director Peter Rothstein states, "Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber were essential to a new movement in music-theater: the rock-opera; Evita was at the frontlines of that movement. In my opinion, it is their masterpiece. It is innovative in form, challenging in subject matter, and simply compelling theater. For sometime we have wanted to do a production that highlighted the incredible talents of award-winning choreographer Michael Matthew Ferrell. Dance, particularly the tango, is essential to Argentine culture; we will approach Evita as a dance-driven theatrical event."
Back by popular demand, Theater Latté Da will once again join forces with Hennepin Theatre Trust and the renowned vocal ensemble Cantus to present All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. Rothstein created this new holiday classic by melding European carols and war songs together with found text to tell the remarkable story of the World War I Christmas Truce. All Is Calm premiered on Minnesota Public Radio to great success, and has since been broadcast around the globe through American Public Media and the European Broadcast Union. All Is Calm will again tour across the country ending with six performances at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Minneapolis, December 16-19, 2010.Theater Latté Da returns to the Guthrie's Dowling Studio with the regional premiere of EM Lewis' Song of Extinction, February 25 - March 20, 2011. Max, a musically gifted high school student, is falling off the edge of the world-and his biology teacher is the only one who's noticed. A new play about the science of life and loss, the relationships between fathers and sons, Cambodian fields, Bolivian rainforests and redemption, Song of Extinction won the 2009 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award (given by the American Theater Critics Association), the 2008 Ted Schmitt Award for Outstanding New Play by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and the 2008 LA Weekly's Production of the Year. "I have been looking for a dynamic new play with music for sometime. EM Lewis' Song of Extinction is a beautiful, challenging, honest and profoundly moving new work. I'm thrilled we will produce the regional premiere," says Rothstein.
Theater Latté Da will close the season with the world premiere of Steerage Song. Created by Peter Rothstein along with pianist, accordionist and storyteller Dan Chouinard, the new musical docudrama will open at the Fitzgerald Theater, June 2-5, 2011 in partnership with Minnesota Public Radio. Ellis Island was the gateway to America-a land of opportunity for some, a land of exclusion for others. 5,000 immigrants a day passed through this "Island of Hope, Island of Tears." Packed into the steerage of steamships, they left their homelands with few possessions but a wealth of hope, promise and music. Steerage Song is a musical kaleidoscope of their journey to America. Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard are weaving together a rich tapestry of immigrant songs, patriotic tunes, and melodies of Tin Pan Alley, a tribute to the voices that created the sound of America. "For over 100 years immigration has been a volatile point of discussion in this country. Ellis Island stands as a monument to the immigrant experience. One in four Americans can trace their history through Ellis Island. The millions of immigrants who passed through this gateway to America have become a vital part of our national identity. In creating Steerage Song I hope to chronicle their journey through music, music that expressed their hopes, sacrifices and reflected a new America."
SEASON TICKETS Theater Latté Da will again offer season ticket packages. For information or to request a season brochure call 612-339-3003.ABOUT THEATER LATTÉ DA Theater Latté Da is a Twin Cities theater company recognized for its ability to connect story, music, artist and audience through diverse stories and theatrical innovation. Theater Latté Da specializes in advancing the art of musical storytelling through emotional, visceral and intellectual performances that resonate with our current world. The company's bold approach expands the genre by originating new works, radically reinventing classics from the musical theater canon, and experimenting with unusual forms, musical styles and storytelling techniques. www.latteda.org
