ALLEY THEATRE
Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director
Paul R. Tetreault, Managing Director
WORLD PREMIERES BY HORTON FOOTE, KEITH REDDIN,
CLASSICS BY SHAKESPEARE, FEYDEAU AND SHAFFER,
AND CORIN REDGRAVE AS BENEDICT ARNOLD
HIGHLIGHT ALLEY THEATRE’S 2000 - 2001 SEASON
The Alley Theatre’s 2000 - 2001
Season
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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
By William Shakespeare
Large Stage
October 6 - November 4, 2000
Showcasing the Alley Theatre Resident Company of Actors and directed by Gregory Boyd, this vibrant new production of
William Shakespeare’s popular fantasy tale opens the Alley Theatre’s season. When lovers Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius,
and Helena follow one another into the woods, they discover a secret fairy kingdom where the magical trickster Puck - to be
played by Jonathan Scarfe (the fetching Billy in last season’s THE REAL THING) - administers a love potion that stirs up
emotions among the moonstruck couples. This fresh and surprising account of The Bard’s popular play features lovers,
aristocrats, childlike fairies and an ambitious physical production. Set Designer Vincent Mountain (1995’s Jekyll & Hyde,
Orpheus Descending, and Macbeth), Tony Award - winning Costume Designer Judith Anne Dolan (Alley’s Macbeth, As
You Like It), Lighting Designer Chris Parry (Tony Award nominee for Not About Nightingales) and Alley Theatre Resident
Sound Designer Malcolm Nicholls have the pleasure of creating this fantasia.
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CLOSER
By Patrick Marber
Neuhaus Arena Stage
October 20 - November 19
This play contains mature subject matter
Hailed as one of the best new plays of the 1990’s, Patrick Marber’s CLOSER is a bitingly funny and severe tale of four
strangers who become caught ina matrix of love, sex and betrayal. CLOSER is “a cool dark comedy of sexual desire and
selfishness,” wrote the New York Observer. Highly contemporary and written with brutal honesty, the play explores the
four’s entangled relationships and their common desire to be closer. Stephen Rayne (director of last season’s A View from a
Bridge, A Christmas Carol, Hay Fever, and the national tour of The Civil War) will direct, with sets by Alley Theatre
Associate Director - Design Kevin Rigdon, costumes by Esther Marquis and sound by Alley Theatre Resident Sound
Designer Malcolm Nicholls.
The play’s author was awarded his second Evening Standard Award (London) for best comedy, the London Critics Circle
Award for best play and the Laurence Olivier Award for best new play. While on Broadway in 1999, CLOSER received a
Tony nomination for best play, as well as five Drama Desk Awards, including one for best play.
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Adapted from Charles Dickens
Original direction by Stephe Rayne
Large Stage
November 20 - December 31, 2000
Musically joyful and theatrically fun, the Alley’s new version of Charles Dickens’ “ghostly little book” is a holiday pleaser
steeped rich in tradition. Dickens’ family favorite has delighted Houston audiences for 12 years with its large cast of colorful
characters and timeless theme of redemption. With such a chilling rendition by Stephen Rayne - made possible with a fantastic
set by Doug Schmidt, hi - tech projections and surprise lighting by Rui Rita, fantastic costumes by Esther Marquis and thrilling
sound effects by Alley Theatre Resident Sound Designer Malcolm Nicholls - it’s no wonder throngs of theatergoers keep
coming back for more.
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EQUUS
By Peter Shaffer
Large Stage
January 12 - February 10, 2001
This play contains nudity and mature subject matter
Winner of the 1975 Tony Award for Best Play and named by the Drama League as one of the top 10 plays of the twentieth
century, Equus is a powerful examination of hypocrisy, sexuality and the nature of worship by the celebrated author of
Amadeus, Peter Shaffer. When a psychiatrist, to be played by Alley Resident Company Actor James Black, investigates what
would drive a 17-year-old boy to savagely blind six horses with a metal spike in a stable in rural England, he finds himself face
to face with his own personal demons. In addition to this masterwork, Mr. Shaffer also penned Lettice and Lovage and The
Royal Hunt of the Sun, among others.
Alley Artistic Director Gregory Boyd will direct, with sets and lighting by Alley Theatre Associate Director - Design Kevin
Rigdon, and sound by Alley Theatre Resident Sound Designer Malcolm Nicholls.
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SYNERGY
By Keith Reddin
Neuhaus Arena Stage
February - March, 2001
This play contains mature subject matter
Variety Magazine has called him a "gifted writer." The Houston Chronicle made note of his "scene stealing moments" as the ineffectual,
gun-toting Gunner in the Alley's Misalliance (May 1999). The versatile Keith Reddin unveils the world premiere of his biring new comedy,
SYNERGY on the Alley's Neuhaus Arena stage this February, 2001. When Deb's routine dentist appointment turns out to be a meeting with the
Devil himself, she bargains her way back to the living with a promise to secure a number of souls. Naturally, she begins her scavenger
hunt in the corporate sector - the Disney Corporation to be exact. Sharp and refreshing, SYNERGY is a hilarious and fascinating look at
human nature and the ultimate gifts we, the living take for granted.
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A FLEA IN HER EAR
By Georges Feydeau
Large Stage
February 23 - March 24, 2001
To highlight the Alley Theatre Resident Company of Actors, Mr. Boyd encores one of the Alley’s most popular plays of the
last decade, A FLEA IN HER EAR. This outrageously chaotic comedy begins with a plan devised by Raymonde
Chandebise. She is the suspicious wife of Victor - Emmanuel Chandebise, whom she assumes must be having an affair, as he
has recently been unable to fulfill his conjugal duties. When she asks her friend Lucienne to request a rendezvous with her
husband, and he in turn asks his friend Romain Tournel to replace him at the rendezvous, a chain reaction of frenzied mistaken
identities and misplaced jealousies begins. Alley Artistic Director Gregory Boyd will direct a new version of this classic farce,
with lighting by Alley Theatre Associate Director - Design Kevin Rigdon and sound by Alley Theatre Resident Sound
Designer Malcolm Nicholls.
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DINNER WITH FRIENDS
By Donald Margulies
Co - production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Large Stage
April 6 - May 5, 2001
This play contains mature subject matter
In the tradition of Wit, How I Learned to Drive, The Young Man from Atlanta and Angels in America, the Alley is pleased to
produce the recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Dinner With Friends by Donald Margulies. Two 40 - something
couples and long - time friends who expect “to grow old and fat together, the four of us,” are jolted by the news that one
couple plans to divorce. Primarily taking place over a succession of meals, Margulies’ episodes - spanning from pre-divorce
bliss to post-divorce crisis - make up an emotional comedy about friendship and marriage in the age of divorce. Dinner With
Friends is “wry and keenly observed and bathed in the unspoken sorrow that can sneak up on you in middle age.....” - The
New York Times.
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THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE
By George Bernard Shaw
Large Stage
May 18 - June 17, 2001
Directed by Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and showcasing the Alley's Resident of Company Actors, George Bernard Shaw's
THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE is an adventure story set during the American Revolution. When the advancing British Army decides to make an
example out of Anthony Anderson, the town's minister, by hanging him, they find the raucous Dick Dudgeon in his stead. Suddenly
finding themselves on the same side, the rabble-rouser and man of the cloth must devise a plan to save the small New Hampshire
community.
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THE CARPET BAGGER'S CHILDREN
By Horton Foote
World Premiere, Commissioned by Alley Theatre
Neuhaus Arena Stage
June 1 - July 1, 2001
A world premiere by Horton Foote, author of the Pulitzer Prize - winning The Young Man from Atlanta, and commissioned
by the Alley Theatre, The Carpetbagger’s Children is the touching story about a man who came to Confederate Texas with
the Union Army, decided he liked what he saw there and returned after the war to make it his home. As told by three of his
daughters through interspersed monologues, the play is a lyrically woven tapestry of one family’s rich past. Michael Wilson,
former Alley Associate Artistic Director, makes a highly anticipated return to the Alley Theatre from his post as Artistic
Director of Hartford Stage Company to direct.
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EXXON MOBILE SUMMER CHILLS 2000
A Chilling Good Time for Families this Summer...THE ALLEY THEATRE's ExxonMobil SUMMER CHILLS 2000, from June 30th through August 6th, 2000.
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE & AGATHA CHRISTIE'S TOWARDS ZERO
Alley Theatre's Thrilling ExxonMobile Summer Chills Series Continues as Dame Agatha's Murder Mystery TOWARDS ZERO is Presented through August 6th, 2000
Agatha Christie's murder mystery TOWARDS ZERO is a thrilling summer salute to Dame Agatha, a favorite among ExxonMobile Summer Chills audiences.
TOWARDS ZERO begins with a gathering of friends and family at the estate of the elderly widow Lady Tressilian. The audience is then left to discover how a failed suicide attempt, a wrongful accusation of theft, and the romantic life of a famous tennis player are connected. Dame Agatha's suspenseful thriller TOWARDS ZERO keeps you guessing from start to finish. CLASSIC!!!
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Artistic Director Gregory Boyd embarks on ambitious initiative to
expand the Alley’s Resident Company of Actors.
Houston, Texas - Artistic Director Gregory Boyd will engage theatergoers with a new season that explores love and
relationships, retells American history and introduces two new world premieres - one by a playwright new to Alley audiences,
the other by a familiar voice. At the same time, the Alley continues to enhance its commitment to its actors by expanding the
Alley Theatre Resident Company from eight actors to 24 actors over the next three seasons. Thus far, Mr. Boyd has added
four actors to its Resident Company - James Belcher (last seen in the Alley’s THE PLAY ABOUT THE BABY and THE
COMEDY OF ERRORS), Ty Mayberry (the Alley’s AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN), David Rainey (a Juilliard School
Theatre Center graduate with extensive resident theatre credits) and Todd Waite (the Alley’s AS BEES IN HONEY
DROWN). Mr. Boyd will continue to add new Company Actors throughout the next few seasons.
“The Alley is renewing its commitment to be a leader in the American Theatre by this initiative to expand the Resident
Company of Actors,” said Alley Artistic Director Gregory Boyd. “In a time when most American theatre companies are
getting smaller, the Alley is growing in its artistic ambitions, its ties to the community, the expansion of its repertoire and its
desire to stimulate a large audience.”
Among this coming season’s premieres are The Carpetbagger’s Children, a new play commissioned for the Alley by the
Pulitzer Prize - winning Horton Foote, the return of Corin Redgrave in Richard Nelson’s The General from America (to be
directed by the playwright), and Keith Reddin’s Synergy.
Three seasons ago, the Alley made a commitment to a core group of actors by naming them Alley Theatre Resident Company
Actors and contracting them for an entire season at a time. This select group of actors resides in Houston and serves as
ambassadors of the Theatre, making public appearances and participating in educational events.
“The idea of the Company is first based on a group of actors becoming an ensemble by adapting themselves to the
requirements of staging a whole range of world-drama and a variety of styles - actors equally adept at comedy or drama,
tragedy or farce,” said Mr. Boyd. “The group of actors we are developing has versatility, enthusiasm, imagination, courage,
humor and boldness - they’re a very gifted group.”
Last season, the Alley Resident Company of Actors included eight actors: James Black, John Feltch, Bettye Fitzpatrick,
Elizabeth Heflin, Paul Hope, Annalee Jefferies, Charles Krohn and John Tyson. As the 2000 - 2001 season begins, the group
will grow to 11, with a strong possibility that the number will increase as the season progresses. The upcoming season will be
a transitional one, with Ms. Jefferies (14 seasons with the Alley) on sabbatical and performing in Peter Hall’s epic 10 - play
cycle Tantalus, a co - production with Great Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company, and Mr. Feltch leaving for New York
with his family to continue his theatrical career.
To make this a smooth transition, the Alley will also rely on its Company Actors, a pool of actors that each live outside of
Houston and perform in select Alley productions. Actors appearing in a number of productions during the 2000 - 2001
season include Chris Henry Coffey, Laura Heisler, Teri Lamm and Jonathan Scarfe.
The Alley also continues its involvement in the community by offering a number of new programs - many of them FREE of
charge - to theatre lovers. Plan to see and hear more from the Alley’s new teen drama program, Theatre High, a weekly
workshop for young thespians held every Tuesday at the Alley. The 2000 - 2001 season also brings to the public two Alley
productions that originally could only be seen on tour at local schools. JOHN & JUAN, a bilingual production about the
shared history of Mexico and Texas will play Miller Outdoor Theater in September 2000; and BARBARA JORDAN:
TEXAS TREASURE will enjoy its first public performance this November 2000 at the Alley Theatre, the official site of the
prestigious Partners in Education annual symposium and gala.
Spring 2001 will bring about a new and exciting alliance between the Alley and the University of Houston School of Theatre.
This new partnership will result in a series of co - productions that will team the Alley Theatre Resident Company of Actors
and artistic staff with School of Theatre faculty, students and staff. “I regard this step as a major one which has not precedent,
so far as I know, in this country,” said Dr. Sidney Berger, Director of the School of Theatre. “The very idea of a major
resident theatre combining resources with a university conservatory program may well provide the new model for future similar
alliances elsewhere. Both institutions will clearly benefit from this very excting event.” The play to be co - produced and
performed at the Wortham Theatre on the UH campus is now being determined; a title will be announced soon.
Making a commitment to Mr. Boyd’s vision, the Stanford Financial Group will serve as the Alley’s 2000 - 2001 Large Stage
Season Sponsor for the third consecutive season. Baker & Hostetler, counsellors at law, will step up as the Neuhaus Arena
Season Sponsor.
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TICKET INFORMATION
Season subscriptions are available now and start as low as $90.00. Subscriptions may be purchased by calling
713-228-8421 or in person at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue.
Single tickets for the 2000 - 2001 season are on sale now. Groups of 10 persons or more can purchase tickets at a
discounted rate by calling the group sales department at 713-228-9341, ext. 346. Patrons with low hearing should
call (TTY) 713-220-5710 to purchase tickets.
“Pay - What - You - Can” performances, pre- and post-show discussions, sign interpretation and audio -
description are offered for select performances. Spanish translated performances are also available for select
performances. Please call 713-228-8421 for more information.
All plays are subject to change.
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