American Conservatory Theater Announces 2019–20 Season

By: Mar. 04, 2019
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American Conservatory Theater Announces 2019–20 Season

American Conservatory Theatre's new season includes Caryl Churchill's acclaimed play, TOP GIRLS; the world premiere of Kate Attwell's TESTMATCH; Obie Award-winning playwright Will Eno's latest work, WAKEY, WAKEY; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's shocking and scalpel-sharp dark comedy, GLORIA; Lydia R. Diamond's unforgettable baseball play, TONI STONE; the cult classic, Richard O'Brien's THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW; and Qui Nguyen's raucously funny and deeply moving sequel to Vietgone, POOR YELLA REDNECKS

A CHRISTMAS CAROL returns following another successful run in 2018 SAN FRANCISCO (March 4, 2019)-American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon and Executive Director Jennifer Bielstein announced today the seven productions that will make up the company's 2019-20 season: Caryl Churchill's acclaimed play, Top Girls; the world premiere of Kate Attwell's Testmatch; Obie Award-winning playwright Will Eno's latest work, Wakey, Wakey; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's shocking and scalpel-sharp dark comedy, Gloria; Lydia R. Diamond's unforgettable baseball play, Toni Stone; the cult classic, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show; and Qui Nguyen's raucously funny and deeply moving sequel to Vietgone, Poor Yella Rednecks. Performance schedule will be announced at a later date. Season subscriptions for the 2019-20 season range in price from $98-$693 and are available now. Single tickets will go on sale in mid-summer 2019. To become a new subscriber, or renew a current subscription for the 2019-20 season, visit act-sf.org/join or call the A.C.T. Subscriptions Office at 415-749-2250.

"A.C.T.'s 2019­-20 season is united by what I am calling 'rules of play,'" says MacKinnon. "Who makes the rules that we obey and take for granted? Who makes the rules that we fight against, when and why? How are rules made and when are they enforced? Told with decorum, rage, spirit, and a wink, this season's offerings continue A.C.T.'s tradition of telling stories that provoke responses and lead to debates, dreams, and even action."

"This season is filled with exciting work that reflects the rich diversity of stories and human experience from throughout the world," adds Bielstein. "We are thrilled to create and share these productions with Bay Area audiences."

Full-season subscriptions offer incredible savings, unparalleled access, exclusive benefits, and personalized customer service. Subscribers save as much as 33% off single-ticket prices. Students and educators are eligible to save 50% on subscriptions, and senior discounts are available for certain series. To make subscriptions more affordable, A.C.T. also offers all subscribers an extended payment plan that allows payment in three easy installments. A.C.T.'s competitive subscriber benefits include free ticket exchanges up to the day of your scheduled performance, guaranteed best seating, ticket protection, access to convenient prepaid parking one block away from the theater, discounts for neighborhood restaurants, and the opportunity to subscribe to Words on Plays, A.C.T.'s in-depth theater guide for each show.

American Conservatory Theater'S 2019-20 SEASON
Top Girls
by Caryl Churchill
Directed by Tamilla Woodard
The Geary Theater


The Geary Theater hosts the most unforgettable dinner party you'll ever attend. In Thatcher's Britain of the '80s, Marlene celebrates a promotion with a dinner party full of legendary, historical, and mythical women, from Pope Joan to one of Chaucer's pilgrims to an imperial Japanese courtesan. As the wine starts to flow, each of these iconic women shares her own stories of sacrifice and success-but where's the sisterhood?

Written by Caryl Churchill (Love and Information), one of the English language's greatest living playwrights, and directed by Tamilla Woodard (Men on Boats) in her return to A.C.T., this modern classic dissects feminism and the cost of progress in Margaret Thatcher's Britain, a country divided by class, cruelty, and capitalism.

Testmatch
by Kate Attwell
Directed by Pam MacKinnon
The Strand Theater

How can we understand the present, if we won't acknowledge the past? Pam MacKinnon (in her Strand Theater debut) directs this scorching world premiere by playwright Kate Attwell-a contrast of two time-traveling stories focusing on cricket, a game of strict rules and hidden violence.

In the first story, tensions in the locker room rise during a match between rival women's cricket players from England and India, as secrets spill about relationships, ambition, and the integrity of the sport. In the second, two British administrators in colonial India confront challenges on the field of play that threaten the entire regime. Asking hard-hitting questions about colonialism, gender, and power, Testmatch launches an exciting new voice in American theater.

Wakey, Wakey
by Will Eno
Starring two-time Emmy Award winner Tony Hale
The Geary Theater

"Is it now? I thought I had more time." What if you had just a few more minutes left to live? Obie Award-winning playwright Will Eno (The Realistic Joneses) crafts an intimate comedy drama that takes audiences on a theatrical journey that's surprising, yet familiar.

Experience the play that has everyone talking-plus the curtain-raiser written especially for A.C.T. by Eno, and a party to follow the show. Starring two-time Emmy Award winner Tony Hale (HBO's Veep and Fox's/Netflix's Arrested Development), Wakey, Wakey is a remarkable combination of the everyday and the extraordinary that invites you to share the pleasure, humor, and sheer absurdity of life.

Gloria
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Eric Ting
The Strand Theater

In the editorial office of a Manhattan magazine, competing twentysomethings Ani, Dean, and Kendra are only interested in scoring a book deal to kick-start a career. But after disaster strikes, which one of them will write the story?

MacArthur "Genius" winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate, Everybody) reunites with Cal Shakes Artistic Director Eric Ting, who directed the playwright's An Octoroon (2017) at Berkeley Rep. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2016, this scalpel-sharp dark comedy evolves into a provocative exploration of how we cope with trauma and the tales we tell each other to escape.

Toni Stone
by Lydia R. Diamond
Directed by Pam MacKinnon
Choreographed by Camille A. Brown
A coproduction with Arena Stage

"One of the best players you have never heard of"-Negro Leagues Baseball Players Association

"I had to play . . . I wanted to find the heart of the game." Toni Stone dreams of nothing but baseball. But to become the first woman to play professionally as a member of the Negro League's Indianapolis Clowns, she must confront hostile crowds, ruthless team owners, and players who slide spikes first. As she negotiates life's challenges and opportunities on and off the field, Toni stays true to herself and reaches for who she can be.

In this new play, playwright Lydia R. Diamond (Broadway's Stick Fly and Showtime's The Affair) uncovers the theatrical journey in Martha Ackmann's book, Curveball: The Remarkable True Story of Toni Stone. The culmination of a six-year collaboration between Diamond and director Pam MacKinnon, Toni Stone is the extraordinary, real-life story of a trail-blazing Bay Area athlete.

Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show
Book, music, and lyrics by Richard O'Brien
Directed and choreographed by Sam Pinkleton
The Geary Theater

On a dark and stormy night, Brad and Janet get a flat tire . . . So begins our party at The Geary Theater. Tony Award-nominated director-choreographer Sam Pinkleton (Soft Power and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) reimagines this swirling, sci-fi world for 2020 San Francisco.

Before this cross-dressing classic was ever a midnight movie at The Strand, Richard O'Brien's Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Magenta, and Riff Raff started life as a smash rock musical. Experience The Geary as never before in this outrageous celebration of sex, drag, rock'n'roll, and being who you really are. In a dazzling mix of sequins and fishnet stockings, "Let's do the Time Warp again!"

Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone Part 2
by Qui Nguyen
Directed by Jaime Castañeda
The Geary Theater

After the rollicking success of Vietgone (2018) at The Strand, playwright Qui Nguyen returns to A.C.T. for the second chapter in his kickass, hip-hop trilogy about a Vietnamese family who swap war-torn Saigon for rural '70s Arkansas. Lovers Tong and Quang are now married, but with low-wage jobs, a son struggling with English, and rumors of old flames, the challenges are only beginning.

Nguyen reunites with director Jaime Castañeda to draw from rap, leap into martial arts, and dig deep into his own family journey. Funny, sexy, and subversive, Poor Yella Rednecks confirms Nguyen as a groundbreaking playwright of the new American story.

A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Adapted by Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh
Music by Karl Lundeberg
Choreography by Val Caniparoli
Directed by Peter J. Kuo
Based on the original direction by Carey Perloff
The Geary Theater


Following another successful run in 2018, A.C.T. welcomes back the Bay Area's favorite holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol. Featuring a lively cast of dozens, delightful music, gorgeous costumes, and deliciously spooky ghosts, this version of A Christmas Carol, adapted by Paul Walsh and Carey Perloff, stays true to the heart of Dickens's timeless story of redemption and brings a playful sensibility to his rich language. Now in its 43rd year, A Christmas Carol is a cornerstone of the A.C.T. repertory and has become a holiday tradition for families around the Bay Area.



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