The Public Theater Announces Their 55th Anniversary Season, Kicks Off 11/26

The Public Theater's Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson announced the line-up today for The Public's 55th Anniversary Season beginning in September with the long-awaited New York premiere of Elevator Repair Service's acclaimed GATZ, a literary tour de force where 13 actors and an audience experience every word of The Great Gatsby in a two-part, 6 1/2-hour theatrical event, running September 26-October 31, 2010.

The 2010-2011 season will continue with the New York premiere of Lisa Kron's IN THE WAKE, directed by Well collaborator Leigh Silverman, and running October 19-November 21, 2010. In December, The Public Theater will present the New York premiere of The Tricycle Theatre Company's acclaimed production of THE GREAT GAME: AFGHANISTAN at NYU Skirball Center. Nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement, this acclaimed political and theatrical event will explore Afghanistan's culture and history in three parts, over three separate and provocative evenings, running November 30-December 19, 2010.

In the winter, Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis will reunite with Rinne Groff to direct the world premiere production of COMPULSION, running February 1-March 6, 2011. Eustis directed Groff's The Ruby Sunrise at The Public Theater in 2005.

In March, Tony Kushner returns to The Public Theater with his newest play, THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL'S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, directed by Michael Greif, and running March 22-June 12, 2011. Public Theater Anniversary Members will be offered this New York premiere at the special price of only $20.

The season will conclude with a co-production with the LAByrinth Theater Company of the world premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT, a new laugh-out-loud comedy about love and its consequences.

In honor of The Public's 55th Anniversary, the theater is launching the Anniversary Membership Campaign. For an annual $55 (tax-deductible) donation, patrons will be able to purchase tickets throughout the year at the low member price of $40 or less. Public Theater Anniversary Members will get to purchase Tony Kushner's new play, THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL'S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM... for the extra low price of $20. A limited number of Anniversary Memberships are on sale now.

The Public Theater recently kicked off the "Going Public" building renovation campaign. Beginning this month, the building at 425 Lafayette Street will be under construction to implement necessary improvements such as a refurbished lobby, restored building façade, an upgraded heating/air conditioning system, an expanded and centrally located box office, significantly increased restrooms, and improved and expanded concessions service. During the construction, The Public Theater will continue to present a full downtown season as well as summer seasons of Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater.

"The Public's season is as sweeping and remarkable as the country in which we live," said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "These artists are tackling the biggest and most exciting issues of our time - from the west's relationship to Afghanistan to the legacy of the Holocaust, from the American Dream of the Great Gatsby to the calamitous years of the Bush Presidency. This season is, above all, a ‘public' season - and it promises to be thrilling."

"We could not have asked for a better line-up for our 55th Anniversary Season," said Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson. "We are working with world class companies and world class artists. In addition, we are making theater more affordable for our members with a top ticket price of $40. That's a landmark program for a landmark building!"

2010-2011 Season

GATZ
New York Premiere
By Elevator Repair Service
Text: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Directed by John Collins
September 26-October 31, 2010

One morning in the low-rent office of a mysterious small business, an employee finds a copy of The Great Gatsby in the clutter of his desk. He starts to read it out loud, and doesn't stop. At first his coworkers hardly notice. But after a series of strange coincidences, it's no longer clear whether he's reading the book or the book is transforming him.

"One of the most exciting and improbable accomplishments in theater in recent years" (The New York Times), GATZ is a theatrical and literary tour de force, not a retelling of the Gatsby story but an enactment of the novel itself. Over the course of 6 1/2 hours, Fitzgerald's American masterpiece is delivered word for word, startlingly brought to life by a low-rent office staff in the midst of their inscrutable business operations. The cast of 13 actors includes Scott Shepherd (The Wooster Group's Hamlet).

GATZ will be presented as a marathon theatrical event, with two intermissions and a dinner break, four times per week.

IN THE WAKE
New York Premiere
By Lisa Kron
Directed by Leigh Silverman
October 19 - November 21, 2010

"I've lost my bearings. I don't know how to evaluate what's happening. None of my tools seem to be working... How do we know when the worst is over?"

Is Ellen referring to her relationship with Danny, or her hope for change? Obie Award winners Lisa Kron and Leigh Silverman (creators of Well) return to The Public with a witty, passionate and intellectually charged meditation on love and country. In Kron's inimitable wry style, IN THE WAKE nimbly traverses the switchback turns of the struggle to comprehend our current culture and its politics, while trying to maintain steady bonds among lovers, family and friends. Even when the worst is over, the decisions (and elections) of yesterday leave a wake of longing.

IN THE WAKE was originally commissioned by Center Theatre Group and will receive its world premiere in Los Angeles on March 28, 2010.

The Tricycle Theatre Company presents
THE GREAT GAME: AFGHANISTAN
New York Premiere / NYU Skirball Center
By Richard Bean, Lee Blessing, David Edgar, David Greig, Amit Gupta, Ron Hutchinson,
Stephen Jeffreys, Abi Morgan, Ben Ockrent, Simon Stephens, Colin Teevan, and Joy Wilkinson
Directed by Nicolas Kent and Indhu Rubasingham
Presented in association with NYU Skirball Center
Supported by the British Council
November 30-December 19, 2010

Through the eyes of 12 leading British and American Playwrights and the voices of those actively involved in the war and on U.S. & NATO policy in Afghanistan, The Tricycle Theatre Company's THE GREAT GAME: AFGHANISTAN explores, in three separate thrilling and provocative evenings, the culture and history of Afghanistan since Western involvement in 1842 to the present day. All three parts can be seen separately and do not need to be experienced in chronological order. This ambitious political and theatrical event was nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement and unanimously awarded four stars (out of four) by 11 British newspapers. It was proclaimed "an inspirational highlight of the year!" by The Independent.

Part 1: Invasions & Independence - 1842-1930
Starts with the first Anglo-Afghan War of 1842 and moves to Afghan independence in the 1920s.

Part 2: Communism, The Mujahideen & The Taliban - 1979-1996
Continues the story from the Russian invasion, through to US/CIA arming of the Mujahideen to the coming of the Taliban.

Part 3: Enduring Freedom - 1996-2010
Starts with the events of 7/11 in Northern Afghanistan, through to the overthrow of Taliban, the aid agencies working in the country and the current war against the insurgents.

Parts 1, 2, and 3 can be seen separately and not necessarily in chronological order. Trilogy days will be held on weekends.

COMPULSION
World Premiere Production
By Rinne Groff
Directed by Oskar Eustis
A co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre
February 1-March 6, 2011

It is 1951 and Sid Silver is on a mission to be the guardian of one of the most moving and provocative accounts of the 20th century. Deeply moved by Anne Frank's diary, he is driven to bring her story to the American masses by promoting the book's publication and adapting the diary into a work of theater. Inspired by the story of Meyer Levin, COMPULSION brings playwright Rinne Groff and The Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis (The Ruby Sunrise) together again with a complex and inventive telling that is part historical fiction, part investigation into what makes a man obsess, and part exploration of an untold dimension of Anne Frank's powerful and enduring legacy. "An enthralling drama of immense imagination, of emotional and moral complexity, and sparkling humor." (Hartford Courant)

THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL'S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES
New York Premiere
By Tony Kushner
Directed by Michael Greif
A co-production with Signature Theatre Company in association with The Guthrie Theater
March 22-June 12, 2011
In the summer of 2007, Gus Marcantonio, a retired longshoreman and card-carrying member of the CPUSA (the American Communist Party), summons his children to the family's Brooklyn brownstone for a series of shocking announcements. As Gus's kids attempt to address a profound crisis in their difficult father's difficult life, their own spectacularly messy problems - and spectacularly messed-up lovers, spouses and exes - follow them home. THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL'S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES explores revolutionary versus evolutionary change, the history of Italian-American radicalism, sex, sexual identity, prostitution, parenting, politics, theology, real estate, unions of all kinds, and debts both repaid and unpayable.
THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT
World Premiere
By Stephen Adly Guirgis
Presented by LAByrinth Theater Company and The Public Theater
Spring 2011

A new high-octane, verbal swordfest about love, fidelity, and misplaced haberdashery from Stephen Adly Guirgis (Little Flower of East Orange; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot). Jackie and Veronica have been in love since the 8th grade. But now, Jackie is on parole and living clean and sober under the guidance of his sponsor, Ralph D, while still living and loving with his volatile soul mate Veronica who is fiercely loving, but far from sober. Still, their love is pure. And true. Nothing can come between them -- except a hat. Guirgis, as always, provides an eclectic and lively cast of characters seeking to "put away their childish things," and their collective quest -- and missteps -- result in one of Guirgis' most open-hearted, laugh-out-loud and poignant plays to date.

ALSO SCHEDULED FOR NEXT SEASON AT THE PUBLIC THEATER:

The 2010-2011 season will see the fourth year of Public LAB, the vital new play series conceived in association with LAByrinth Theater Company and designed to respond to new work immediately, and present fresh, raw, and relevant plays that embrace The Public's history as a theater receptive to the big issues, the public issues of our time. With minimally designed productions and short rehearsal periods, Public LAB gives writers the essential opportunity to develop new work with a director, designers, and actors and to see their work in front of an audience. Tickets to all performances will remain $10.

Under the Radar will return for its seventh year (January 5-16, 2011), showcasing cutting-edge theater from around the world.

THE PUBLIC THEATER (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 149 Obies, 40 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 52 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; and, most recently, the current Tony Award-winning revival of Hair. www.publictheater.org.

ABOUT NYU SKIRBALL CENTER:
The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for NYU and lower Manhattan. Led by Executive Producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and Director Michael Harrington, the programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU's mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. A vital aspect of the Center's mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance. www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu

Photo credits: Mark Barton and Michal Daniel

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