Arden Theatre Company Announces 2011/12 Season

Arden Theatre Company announced these five productions for their 2011/12 main stage season:

· August: Osage County, by Tracy Letts
· The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez
· Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris
· Cyrano by Edmond Rostand, Translated by Michael Hollinger,
· Adapted by Hollinger and Aaron Posner
· Tulipomania, a world premiere musical by Michael Ogborn

"We are thrilled that the Arden's growing family of artists will play such a large part in our upcoming season," says Producing Artistic Director Terrence J. Nolen. "From the powerhouse cast we've assembled for Tracy Letts' August: Osage County, a new collaboration between Aaron Posner and Michael Hollinger, and the latest world premiere musical from Michael Ogborn, we are proud that writers, directors and actors of such a high caliber have committed to making the Arden their artistic home."

Kicking off the season will be Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play August: Osage County, the company's second Letts production, following last season's Superior Donuts. Terrence J. Nolen directs a boldly intimate production with a cast of Philadelphia artists including Carla Belver, Grace Gonglewski, Eric Hissom, Corinna Burns, Kathryn Peterson, Mary Martello, Paul Nolan, Charlie DelMarcelle, Anthony Lawton, and William Zielinski.

Director Matt Pfeiffer (A Moon for the Misbegotten, Romeo and Juliet) returns to the Arden for The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, in its Philadelphia premiere after a successful run at Manhattan Theatre Club this spring. At the end of the Civil War, a Jewish Confederate soldier reunites with two of his family's former slaves. Johnnie Hobbs, Jr. (Blue Door) and James Ijames (Superior Donuts) appear in this play exploring faith, legacy and freedom.

Next, the 2011 Pulitzer Prize winning play Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris will make its Philadelphia debut under the direction of Edward Sobel, who worked with Norris at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago before joining the Arden as Associate Artistic Director. This daring comedy that challenges preconceptions of race and gentrification has received acclaim in London, New York and Washington, D.C.

Arden co-founder Aaron Posner returns to direct a new adaptation of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano, translated by local playwright Michael Hollinger. Posner has adapted nine different works for the Arden, while Hollinger has premiered seven different plays on our stages. Currently receiving its world premiere at Washington D.C.'s Folger Theatre, the Arden's Cyrano will mark the second production of this new translation and adaptation.

The season concludes with Tulipomania, a world premiere musical with book, music and lyrics by Michael Ogborn. Terrence J. Nolen directs the third Arden collaboration with Ogborn, following Baby Case and Café Puttanesca. Set in present day Amsterdam, this raucous production tells the story of Holland's 17th Century tulip bulb crisis, the first recorded financial bubble. The cast includes Jeffrey Coon (Sunday in the Park with George) and Joilet F. Harris (Caroline, or Change).

Subscriptions for the 2011/12 season are now available. Prior to the complete announcement of the Arden's main stage plays, 3,000 patrons took a "Leap of Faith" to subscribe, a testament to the commitment of the Arden's audiences. Subscriptions can be ordered by calling the Arden Box Office at 215.922.1122 or online at www.ardentheatre.org. Single tickets go on sale September 1, 2011.

Details for the Arden's 2011/12 Season are as follows:

August: Osage County
By Tracy Letts
Directed by Terrence J. Nolen
September 29 - October 30, 2011
On the F. Otto Haas Stage
Opening night: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 7pm
A father disappears on a hot summer night. A pill-popping mother summons her grown daughters back home. Dinner is served, lies are told, and the battle commences. We continue our tradition of presenting great American family stories with this fiercely funny Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play. The author of Superior Donuts brings us this vivid portrait of familiar dysfunction.

The Whipping Man
By Matthew Lopez
Directed by Matt Pfeiffer
October 27 - December 18, 2011
On the Arcadia Stage
Opening night: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 7pm
A Jewish Confederate soldier returns to his home, reuniting with his family's former slaves. Amidst the rubble from the Civil War, these three men gather to create order, honor their shared faith and celebrate newfound freedom on Passover. We welcome Philadelphia actor Johnnie Hobbs, Jr. back to the Arden stage in this universal story of legacy and redemption.

Clybourne Park
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Edward Sobel
January 26 - March 18, 2012
On the Arcadia Stage
Opening night: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 7pm
Clybourne Park tells the story of a house, a neighborhood and the people who have come and gone over five decades. This daring comedy, leasing characters and property from the 1959 classic A Raisin in the Sun, unearths that gentrification is not just black and white.

Cyrano
By Edmond Rostand
Translated and Adapted by Michael Hollinger
Adapted and Directed by Aaron Posner
March 8 - April 15, 2012
On the F. Otto Haas Stage
Opening night: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 7pm
The most legendary nose in literature gets a makeover with this American adaptation of the French classic. Will Roxane fall for Christian's dashing looks or Cyrano's daring poetry? Find out in this play full of wordplay and swordplay that's been an inspiration to writers and lovers for centuries!

Tulipomania
A new musical by Michael Ogborn
Directed by Terrence J. Nolen
May 24 - July 1, 2012
On the F. Otto Haas Stage
Opening Night: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 7pm
Before we had the sub prime mortgage crisis, Holland had the Tulip bulb bubble. Six strangers in an Amsterdam hash bar recall this seedy story of love, sex, money, and power. From the writer and composer of Café Puttanesca and Baby Case comes a new musical that gets high off our financial lows.

 

 

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