Toledo Repertoire Theatre 2011-12 Season Announcement
The Toledo Repertoire Theatre, the area’s longest-running showcase of local talent, proudly announces its 2011-2012 season of “Mischief, Mayhem, and Mystery.” Season subscriptions are available by calling the box office at (419) 243-9277 or by downloading the season brochure from www.toledorep.org.
The Rep launches its 79th season on September 16, 2011 with Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, by Steven Dietz. Winner of the 2007 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Play, this reinterpretation of Sherlock Holmes’s last great story is spirited, fast-moving and thoroughly theatrical, presenting Holmes at the height of his powers – complete with all the elements that fans of his exploits have come to expect. The show runs through October 2, 2011.
Next the Rep presents Bell, Book and Candle, by John van Druten, opening November 4 and closing November 20, 2011. This spellbinding romantic comedy about a beautiful witch living in 1950s New York City “makes for two of the freshest, funniest, and downright sexiest hours of romantic comedy around town," according to Stage Scene LA.
A holiday classic gets an update and a beautiful new home in December when the Rep presents the ALL-NEW version of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, on December 2-4 2011 at the Valentine Theatre. Featuring a new score by local composer David Jex, the tale of curmudgeonly miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who learns to love more than his money, maintains the beautiful sets, gorgeous costumes, and live orchestra, which have made this an annual Toledo tradition for the entire family.
The new year kicks off with The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, by John Bishop, running from January 13-29, 2012. Directed by Carol Ann Erford, who directed the Rep’s hit Leading Ladies, Murders provides more comic mayhem as bodies pile up and accusing fingers point in all directions.
In the spring, the Rep presents Bordertown Cafe, by Kelly Rebar, running from April 13-29, 2012. Set in a Canadian café, 17-year-old Jimmy and his family engage in loud and hilarious commentary on our cultural differences as Jimmy and his mother, Marlene, navigate the difficult waters of teen/parent relations. Wise words from Grandpa and wisecracks from Grandma help Jimmy make the toughest decision of his young life.
The season concludes with the big spring musical, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Directed by James M. Norman, the man behind such Rep blockbusters as The Full Monty and All Shook Up, the show runs from June 8-24, 2012. Based on a true story, this fun and witty musical features the song, Hard Candy Christmas, made popular by Dolly Parton, who portrayed Miss Mona in the big screen adaptation. From the book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson, and featuring music and lyrics by Carol Hall, the show is “…a funny, satirical and toe-tapping evening of high energy entertainment,” says Tom Williams, of ChicagoCritic.com.
For those who prefer the written word over show-stopping musical numbers, the Rep is pleased to offer “Edgy Rep Readings” throughout the year. These staged readings (which often include adult situations and language) provide a showcase for audiences to acquaint themselves with less familiar works in more intimate settings throughout the Toledo area.
This year’s offerings begin with The God of Hell, by Sam Shepard, in which a household in the American heartland provides the backdrop for an examination of patriotism and blind conformity. The reading will be staged October 15, 2011 at the Maumee Chop House at 1430 Holland Rd.
On February 11, 2012 at Table Forty4 (610 Monroe Street), the Rep presents In a Dark Dark House, Neil LaBute’s story of the early mid-life crisis that forces two brothers into court ordered rehab to examine the skeletons buried deep in their past.
Next up is A Number, by Caryl Churchill, a chilling look at human cloning and identity, and the implications when people seek to rationalize bad behavior and unthinkingly objectify others, including their own flesh and blood. The reading will be staged on March 24, 2012 at the University of Toledo Medical Center (3000 Arlington Ave.)
On May 26, 2012, the Beirut restaurant (4082 Monroe St.) is the setting for Gina Gionfriddo’s Becky Shaw, a wickedly funny play that asks what we owe the people we love and the strangers who land on our doorstep. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times says, Becky Shaw is “as engrossing as it is ferociously funny, like a big box of fireworks fizzing and crackling across the stage from its first moments to its last.”
Finally comes Ivan and Adolf: The Last Man in Hell, by Stephen Vicchio. Vicchio’s story features one nasty character drawn from literature (Ivan Karamazov) and another from history (Adolf Hitler), struggling to find redemption – and their transfer papers to Heaven. This provocative play asks the question: Who will be the last man in Hell? The reading will be performed on July 28, 2012 at Owens Community College’s Center for the Fine and Performing Arts (30335 Oregon Rd.)
Season subscriptions are available by calling the box office at (419) 243-9277 or by downloading
the season brochure from www.toledorep.org.
Press Release Contact Name: J Judson Lohman
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: Toledo Repertoire Theatre