MAPLE AND VINE Opens City Theatre's 2012-2013 Season Tonight, 10/13

City Theatre announces six plays lined up for its 2012-2013 season. From Fifties rewind to eighteenth-century intrigue-a provocative 1950s fantasy; a vibrant world premiere about Pittsburgh's South Side; a sharp, sexy Broadway hit; a moving, new musical about the hard road to stardom; a heartwarming Irish comedy; and an imaginative tale about The Crucible's infamous seductress.

"We open the season just before the Presidential election with Maple and Vine by Jordan Harrison, a unique play about a community that reenacts 1955-forever," says Tracy Brigden, City Theatre's Artistic Director. "The play is a striking portrait of American life, then and now, and the juxtaposition of the two worlds has profound and ironic resonance on our current national debate in this election year. Next up is South Side Stories, a World Premiere by the talented Tami Dixon. The show weaves hysterical and heartwarming true stories into an amazing tapestry of our neighborhood that everyone in Pittsburgh will recognize and relate to. From there, we launch into Seminar, a Broadway hit that's all about power, sex, and art by Theresa Rebeck, one of the hottest writers in the business. Then, Daniel Beaty, the creator of Through the Night, an astonishing achievement that ran at City this past January, brings his powerful, new musical Breath and Imagination to our Main Stage. Next in the Hamburg Studio, Little Gem, an Irish comedy by Elaine Murphy, is a hilarious, uplifting story of three generations of women-you'll laugh as much as you'll cry. Finally, we close with Abigail/1702, an enthralling drama by Glee writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa about The Crucible's Abigail Williams ten years after the Salem witch trials. The devil comes to town, and, as you can imagine, the plot gets pretty juicy from there."

MAPLE AND VINE
A provocative '50s fantasy by Jordan Harrison
October 13 - November 4, 2012 – Main Stage

Burned out by their hectic, Manhattan lifestyles, Katha and Ryu move to Maple and Vine, a corner of the world where the milkman still makes daily deliveries and the housewives' smiles are as sweet as their homemade apple pies. This is 1955-perpetually. Reenacting the Fifties with startling authenticity, the community gives up their smart phones for switchboards. But when their civil liberties are in question, what will they sacrifice for happiness?

SOUTH SIDE STORIES
World Premiere
A new hometown adventure ride from local favorite Tami Dixon
November 10 - December 16, 2012 – Hamburg Studio

This vibrant one-woman show portrays the dynamism of a neighborhood. Embedded in the concrete of Pittsburgh's South Side stairways are testimonials of teenage mischief, steel mill toil, and townie haunts. This is a neighborhood where parking chairs and bar stools mark territory, where Paradise is just one turn off of 26th Street. So we ask, "Are yinz ready for some stories 'bout the 'burgh?"

SEMINAR
A Broadway hit comedy from Theresa Rebeck, creator of SMASH
January 19 - February 10, 2013 – Main Stage

Enter Kate's sprawling, rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side where four aspiring young novelists meet weekly for a private writing seminar with Leonard, a literary bigwig with a penchant for harsh criticism. Insults fly, the truth stings, and relationships are made and broken in this sharp new comedy as the group learns that the hardest part of writing fiction is facing the facts.

BREATH AND IMAGINATION: THE STORY OF Roland Hayes
World Premiere co-produced with Hartford Stage
A moving new musical from Daniel Beaty, creator of Through The Night
March 9 - 31, 2013 – Main Stage

Roland Hayes journeyed from the dirt paths of Georgia to European stages, becoming the first African-American classical vocalist to be heard around the world. With bright yellow shoes given to him by his mother, his Angel Mo', Roland walked the hard road to stardom. This musical features the soul of spirituals and the grace of classical music to portray one man's ambition to be an artist.

LITTLE GEM
An Irish comedy about life, death, and "getting on with it" by Elaine Murphy
March 30 - May 5, 2013 – Hamburg Studio

Party girl Amber feels a rumble in her stomach. Her compulsive mother Lorraine tries her hand at salsa dancing. And her grandmother Kay 'toys' with the meaning of pleasure as she looks after her ill husband. Chock full of Dublin slang and hilarity, this play depicts three generations of middle-class Irish women as they strive to piece together their lives and find comfort in the family's Gems.

ABIGAIL/1702
An imaginative twice-told tale by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, writer for Glee
May 4 - 26, 2013 – Main Stage

Whatever happened to Abigail Williams? It's 1702, a decade after The Crucible's infamous seductress danced with the devil in Salem. Now, the devil returns for a visit, the blood on the gallows is dry, and Abigail hides behind a changed name in a new town. Reimagining the next chapter of the immortal stage villain who cried "witch!," this suspenseful drama reveals the accuser's unforeseen fate.

Subscriptions are available now by calling the City Theatre Box Office at 412.431.CITY (2489).
Subscriptions will be available online beginning May 1. All subscribers save 25% or more per play.

Subscription prices vary:
$157.50 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday performances)
$247.50 (Friday, Saturday performances)
$180.00 (Sunday performances)

Flex packages:
$210.00 (six Basic Flex Vouchers, good for Tuesday through Thursday performances)
$270.00 (six Premium Flex Vouchers, good for any performance)

Special packages:
Opening Night
Sipping Sunday
Sunday Talkback
OUT at City!

Call 412.431.CITY for details.

Single tickets range from $35 to $55 and will go on sale this September.

City Theatre's 38th season begins this fall. Located on Pittsburgh's historic South Side, City Theatre specializes in contemporary and new plays and has brought to Pittsburgh playwrights such as Adam Rapp, Christopher Durang, Eric Simonson, and Jeffrey Hatcher. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, Managing Director Mark R. Power, and a 45-member Board of Directors, City Theatre's mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays of substance and ideas that engage and challenge a diverse audience.  For more information visit:  www.citytheatrecompany.org

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