Fugard's COMING HOME Announced For Berkeley Rep Upcoming Season, Previews 1/15
By: Gabrielle Sierra Apr. 27, 2009
Today, the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced the seventh play selected for its upcoming season: the West Coast premiere of Coming Home by Athol Fugard completes a bold slate that already features four world premieres, a West Coast premiere from Tony Kushner, and a holiday show starring the grandchild of Charlie Chaplin. With this play, Berkeley Rep renews its relationship with a man the New York Times proclaims "the greatest playwright writing in English since Shakespeare." Directed by Gordon Edelstein, who also staged the show's world premiere in New Haven, Coming Home begins previews on the intimate Thrust Stage on January 15, opens on January 20, and closes February 28, 2010.
"I'm pleased to bring a new work from Athol Fugard to our stage, and glad that Gordon will direct at Berkeley Rep," Taccone remarks. "Choosing a season of seven plays is a painstaking process, and it is always satisfying to see the pieces drop into place. This show - with its touching story by a consummate writer - is a perfect addition to the projects we've already announced. The coming year also includes new collaborations by Green Day and Michael Mayer, Lisa Kron and Leigh Silverman, Naomi Iizuka and Les Waters, Matthew Sweet and Todd Almond, and Tony Kushner and myself. I'm looking forward to an entire year of top-notch artists taking smart, creative risks."
"I cannot think of another writer, certainly not another playwright over the last 75 years, who has had greater influence on the political events of his country than Fugard," Edelstein comments. "Fugard's use of his art was a courageous statement against Apartheid. Many people think of Fugard, alongside Mandela, as a symbol of the anti-Apartheid movement. This play, a powerful meditation on earned hope, is sure to resonate with both theatregoers and the community as a whole. I am delighted to be able to revisit this moving play at Berkeley Rep."
Time magazine calls Athol Fugard "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world." Now South Africa's master dramatist comes back to Berkeley Rep for the West Coast premiere of Coming Home. Ten years after running off to the city to pursue her dreams, Veronica returns in rags. Among her meager belongings, she carries a desperate secret - and determination to plant the seeds of a new life for her son. It's a "sad, sweet, and gently moving" show, says the New York Times, "a beautifully acted production directed by Gordon Edelstein." In Coming Home, Fugard once again confronts the hard truths of his homeland while celebrating the unquenchable power of hope. Speaking about the show with the New Haven Register, Fugard said, "I am by nature an optimist. I've never been able to write a play, no matter how somber the subject, that didn't have that thin, flutelike hope at the end."
Athol Fugard's scripts have earned countless accolades, including the Academy Award, Obie Award, and Tony Award. Berkeley Rep produced three of his previous plays: A Lesson in Aloes, The Road to Mecca, and Valley Song. Gordon Edelstein is artistic director of Long Wharf Theatre, where this show had its world premiere. He has staged acclaimed productions in London, New York, and across America.
"As one might expect from a writer of fierce commitment to political and social justice, Coming Home quietly condemns the shameful policies of the South African government, which failed to confront the reality of AIDS or to offer the necessary drugs to its impoverished citizens as they became available, resulting in untold thousands of unnecessary deaths. But as always with Mr. Fugard, censure of policy comes only through careful observation of its human costs. Mr. Fugard doesn't need to raise his voice, or even have Veronica raise hers, to make his points," declares the New York Times. "This great writer has given us another unforgettable glimpse into modest lives of unfathomable grandeur," TheaterMania adds. "It's a tribute to Fugard's skill as a playwright that the play manages to skirt the shoals of bathos while boldly, methodically, and often humorously charting a course for certain heartbreak."
Coming Home completes an ambitious season that also includes these six daring shows:
The world premiere of American Idiot, a new musical based on Matthew Sweet's landmark album with a book by Todd Almond
The West Coast premiere of Tiny Kushner, the latest collaboration from legendary playwright Tony Kushner and Artistic Director Tony Taccone
Aurélia's Oratorio, a magical holiday show starring Aurélia Thieree
The world premiere of Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West, written by Naomi Iizuka and directed by Les Waters
The world premiere of Girlfriend, a new musical based on Matthew Sweet's landmark album with a book by Todd Almond
The world premiere of Five Questions, which reunites Obie Award-winners Lisa Kron and Leigh Silverman
See three or more shows for as little as $84 - or see seven shows for only $25 each. Get the best seats and the lowest price by subscribing to Berkeley Rep, because subscribers save up to 33% on every ticket! The Full Season package includes tickets to every play, and the five-show package includes all the Main Season productions: Tiny Kushner, Aurélia's Oratorio, Coming Home, Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West, and Five Questions. It's also possible to "choose your own" subscription of three or more plays: not only do you get to select the shows you want to see, you can pick which performances to attend. Berkeley Rep offers generous discounts for senior citizens, theatregoers under 30, and employees of pre-schools and K-12 schools. All subscribers enjoy the right to reschedule for free, discounts when buying tickets for friends, and the opportunity to secure seats before the general public for special events like Ennio and No Child.... Best of all, they have guaranteed seats to sold-out shows while others are turned away. Purchase a ticket package now, because individual seats don't go on sale until August
Plus, in this uneasy economy, Berkeley Rep offers free events nearly every night to help stretch that budget even further. Arrive at the Theatre early to enjoy gourmet tastings with local culinary artisans, pre-show talks with trained docents, and an exquisite menu of local, organic, and sustainable food at the café. Certain evenings also feature post-show chats with the artists or late-night parties that welcome a new generation of theatregoers like Target ® Teen Night, 30 Below, and night/OUT. These free activities transform a play into an entire evening of entertainment.
See tomorrow's shows today at Berkeley Rep! The Theatre is located on Addison Street in downtown Berkeley, near bus lines, bike routes, and parking lots. This year of fearless theatre is supported by BART, which brings theatre lovers from around the Bay Area to within half a block of Berkeley Rep. For more information, call (510) 647-2949 or (888) 4-BRT-Tix (toll-free) - or just click berkeleyrep.org.
Born in a storefront, Berkeley Rep has moved to the forefront of American theatre - and is still telling unforgettable stories. In four decades, four million people have enjoyed more than 300 shows at Berkeley Rep, including 51 world premieres. In the last eight years, Berkeley Rep has helped send eight hit shows to New York: 36 Views, Bridge & Tunnel, Brundibar, Eurydice, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Metamorphoses, Passing Strange, and Taking Over. Founded in 1968, the Theatre quickly earned respect for presenting the finest plays with top-flight actors. In 1980, with the support of the local community, Berkeley Rep built the 400-seat Thrust Stage where its reputation steadily grew over the next two decades. It gained renown for an adventurous combination of work, presenting important new dramatic voices alongside refreshing adaptations of seldom-seen classics. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. The company celebrated by unveiling a 600-seat proscenium stage in 2001, the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre. It also opened the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, a permanent home for its long tradition of outreach and education programs. The addition of these two buildings transformed a single stage into a vital and versatile performing arts complex, the linchpin of a bustling Downtown Arts District that has helped revitalize Berkeley. The Theatre now welcomes an annual audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups, thanks to 1,000 volunteers and more than 400 artists, artisans, and administrators.
2009/10 SEASON
Limited Season Play #1 - Roda Theatre
American Idiot - World Premiere
Words by Billie Joe Armstrong
Music by Green Day
Book by Billie Joe Armstrong
and Michael Mayer
Directed by Michael Mayer
September 4 - October 11, 2009
Opening night: September 16, 2009
Main Season Play #1 - Thrust Stage
Tiny Kushner - West Coast Premiere
Written by Tony Kushner
Directed by Tony Taccone
October 16 - November 29, 2009
Opening night: October 21, 2009
Main Season Play #2 - Roda Theatre
Aurélia's Oratorio
Written and directed by
Victoria Thierrée Chaplin
December 4, 2009 - January 24, 2010
Opening night: December 9, 2009
Main Season Play #3 - Thrust Stage
Coming Home - West Coast premiere
Written by Athol Fugard
Directed by Gordon Edelstein
January 15 - February 28, 2010
Opening night: January 20, 2010
Main Season Play #4 - Roda Theatre
Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West - World Premiere
Written by Naomi Iizuka
Directed by Les Waters
February 26 - April 11, 2010
Opening night: March 3, 2010
Limited Season Play #2 - Thrust Stage
Girlfriend - World Premiere
Book by Todd Almond
Music and lyrics by Matthew Sweet
Directed by Les Waters
April 9 - May 9, 2010
Opening night: April 14, 2010
Main Season Play #5 - Roda Theatre
Five Questions - World-Premiere Production
Written by Lisa Kron
Directed by Leigh Silverman
May 14 - June 27, 2010
Opening night: May 19, 2010
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