ALLEY THEATRE
Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director
www.alleytheatre.org
Phone 713-220-5700

THE 2010 - 2011 SEASON
 

World Premieres, Imaginative New Productions of Classics and Explosive New Comedies Fill the Alley Theatre's 2010-2011 Season

HOUSTON, TEXAS -  Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announced that the Alley Theatre subscription season, the Theatre's 64th, will combine two world premieres, including Rajiv Joseph's psychological thriller The Medusa Body and Herbert Siguenza’s new solo play A Weekend With Pablo Picasso, with  new large-scale productions of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, the fantasy by J.M. Barrie, Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw’s great romantic comedy and Amadeus, Peter Shaffer’s Tony Award-winning play.  In addition, the Alley will create new productions of two recent explosive comedies from New York, Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning August: Osage County and Martin McDonagh’s outrageously funny A Behanding in Spokane.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd says “The upcoming season has a huge personal resonance for me, and I hope it will thrill and excite our audiences.  We have large new sweeping productions of famous but seldom seen plays that I have loved for a long time and new work by American playwrights Tracy Letts, Rajiv Joseph and Herbert Siguenza that represent some of the best new writing for the American theatre.  We have a season with great theatricality and emotional sweep – and with wonderful, extraordinary characters and brilliant opportunities for the Alley artists to create.   We think this is one of the most exciting seasons we have ever produced.”
 
The season begins on the Neuhaus Stage with Martin McDonagh’s first play set in America, A Behanding in Spokane.  The Alley’s new production of this play will be the first after the recent Broadway run.  On the Hubbard Stage, in the fall Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, is the rarely produced original fantasy by J. M. Barrie. 

The season continues on the Hubbard Stage with the savage comedy God of Carnage and on the Neuhaus Stage with the world premiere of Herbert Siguenza’s A Weekend With Pablo Picasso. A new production of Tracy Letts’ powerful and gripping Award-winner, August: Osage County appears on the Hubbard Stage.  In spring on the Hubbard Stage is a new production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus directed by Jonathan Moscone and on the Neuhaus Stage the premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s new play The Medusa Body.  The season finale is George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion on the Hubbard Stage. 

As a subscription add-on, the Alley offers Houston's holiday favorite, A Christmas Carol on the Hubbard Stage.  Adapted and created by Hartford Stage Artistic Director and Alley Artistic Associate Michael Wilson, the production incorporates elaborate scenic, costume, and lighting design and a large cast.  In response to the overwhelming audience demand in the past two seasons, the Alley will again offer a holiday alternative, the irreverent comedy The Santaland Diaries, by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello.  Company Actor Todd Waite will reprise his role as "Crumpet the Elf" on the Neuhaus Stage beginning November 21.
 
The Alley's subscription season includes five Hubbard Stage productions and three Neuhaus Stage plays, all produced in the Alley's two-theatre complex at 615 Texas Avenue in downtown Houston.  The Theatre proudly welcomes returning Season Sponsor Continental Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.

Please note: play titles and dates are subject to change.

 

ALLEY THEATRE’S 2010 – 2011 SEASON INCLUDES

Volatile, Outrageous Comedy
A Behanding in Spokane
By Martin McDonagh
Directed by James Black
Neuhaus Stage
August 27 – September 26, 2010 (press opening: September 1, 2010)

New York Times calls the play “perfect, demented, ecstatic, sadistic and imaginative.” The Wall Street Journal promises that “You’ll spend 90 minutes laughing nonstop. “  Martin McDonagh returns to the Alley with his first play set in America, the outrageously funny A Behanding in Spokane, recently on Broadway.  The mysterious, gun-toting Carmichael has been searching for his missing left hand for decades. Enter two bickering lovebirds with a hand to sell, and a hotel clerk with an aversion to gunfire, and we're set for an uproarious ride of love, hate, desperation and hope. “Wildly entertaining…truly explosive,” says The Daily News.  The Wall Street Journal calls McDonagh “one of the finest playwrights in the English-speaking world.” Martin McDonagh's plays include The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Alley production, January 1999), The Pillowman (Alley production, February 2006) and The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Alley production, January 2008).   McDonagh won an Academy Award for Best Short Film for Six Shooter as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for In Bruges.  Profanity, violence, adult situations. Recommended for mature audiences.

Rarely Seen Original Fantasy
Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up
A Fantasy by J.M. Barrie
Directed by Gregory Boyd
Hubbard Stage
October 1 – October 31, 2010 (press opening: October 6, 2010)

“All children grow up, except one.”  Peter’s sudden arrival into the lives of Wendy, John and Michael is the beginning of a thrilling adventure.  Together they embark on a fantastical flight to the Never Land, a magical place of vivid dangers and unsettling beauty. There they meet the Lost Boys, a horde of pirates, and the wickedest villain of all time.  This is J. M. Barrie’s rarely produced original fantasy – the inspiration for all other versions – and still, by far, the strangest and best.  Recommended for general audiences, children over six.

Houston's Holiday Favorite
A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas
By Charles Dickens
Adapted and Originally Directed by Michael Wilson
Directed by James Black
Hubbard Stage
November 19 through December 27, 2010 (press opening: November 20, 2010)
This play is a subscription add-on.

Houston's seasonal favorite that the Houston Press described as having "Spectacular London sets ...the inimitable Dickens' tale - spiced with the usual fog and an unusual twist on the ghosts past, present and future." A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas returns this year with a re-telling of Charles Dickens' classic story, that follows Ebenezer Scrooge's journey with the three ghostly spirits that visit him on Christmas Eve.  A Christmas Carol instills a powerful message about redemption and the spirit of the holiday season, through a dazzling production created by Tony Award-winning scenic designer Tony Straiges (Alley's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), with costumes by Alejo Vietti (Alley's Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Our Town, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Mauritius), lighting by Rui Rita (Alley's Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Sherlock Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood, Eurydice, Cyrano de Bergerac), and original music by John Gromada (Alley's Our Town, Subject to Fits, Treasure Island, The Pillowman). Recommended for general audiences.

A Christmas Carol is sponsored by Supporting Sponsor Latham & Watkins LLP.

David Sedaris' Irreverent Holiday Comedy
The Santaland Diaries
By David Sedaris
Adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Directed by David Cromer
Neuhaus Stage
November 21 through December 31, 2010 (press opening: November 23, 2010)
This play is a subscription add-on.

Company Actor Todd Waite will reprise his role as "Crumpet the Elf" in the outlandish, and true, chronicles of David Sedaris' experience as a worker in Macy's SantaLand display.  This compact, one-character comedy has been described as "a dream rendition at the Alley Theatre, courtesy of the ideally cast Todd Waite" by the Houston Chronicle. The Santaland Diaries is an hilarious cult classic, featuring comic encounters during the height of the holiday crunch. NPR humorist and best-selling author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris has become one of America's pre-eminent humor writers. Recommended for mature audiences due to language and subject matter.  

A Savage Comedy
God of Carnage
By Yasmina Reza
Directed by Wilson Milam
Hubbard Stage
January 7 - January 30, 2011 (press opening: January 12, 2011)
Co-production with Seattle Repertory Theatre

Grown-ups behaving badly. That’s what happens when a schoolyard scuffle leads four civilized adults to congregate in an affluent New York home. But civilization quickly crumbles as verbal sticks and stones begin to fly.  God of Carnage, a new savage comedy, took New York by storm winning the 2009 Tony award for Best Play and its Alley premiere promises to be equally delicious devastation.  New York Times calls the play “First Class! A four way prize fight. Catnip for audiences.”  New York Post describes it as “Gleefully nasty fun.”  Recommended for mature audiences due to strong language.

World Premiere
A Weekend With Pablo Picasso
by Herbert Siguenza
Neuhaus Stage
January 28 – February 27, 2011 (press opening: February 2, 2011)

Acclaimed actor-writer Herbert Siguenza (¡Cantinflas! and Culture Clash in America) returns to the Alley with a new play.  Siguenza brings his virtuosic writing, acting and design skills into Picasso’s private studio, “Le Californie” on the coast of France, for an intimate and revealing weekend.  Picasso’s controversial and flamboyant opinions and creations gripped the public imagination and forever changed 20th century art.  Delving into the creative mind and work of one of the most inspiring artists of modern history, this play explores Picasso’s proclamations about ambition, destruction, creativity and art as an agent of social change. Recommended for mature audiences, strong language and brief nudity.

Gripping and Ferociously Funny
August: Osage County
By Tracy Letts
Directed by Shannon Cochran
Hubbard Stage
February 18 – March 13, 2011 (press opening: February 23, 2011)

Variety describes this play as a “very juicy…epic evening…( a) richly entertaining dysfunctional-family juggles the hilarious, the poignant and the appalling on a scale seldom seen.”  Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County is a grand, gripping new play that tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their Oklahoma home when the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of this storm. Los Angeles Times says it is “sensationally entertaining…a feast for actors and audiences alike.” Time Magazine named it the "#1 Show of the Year!"  Don’t miss this powerful production, a tale filled with unforgettable characters and told with unflinching honesty.  Recommended for mature audiences, strong language and adult situations.

Tale of obsession and vengeance
Amadeus
By Peter Shaffer
Directed by Jonathan Moscone
Hubbard Stage
April 1 – May 1, 2011 (press opening: April 6, 2011)

Peter Shaffer’s Tony award-winning play is a riveting tale of obsession and vengeance.  Loosely based on the lives of Viennese court composer Antonio Salieri and his young rival Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Amadeus follows a murder plot that shocks and fascinates.  After committing his life to God in order to be blessed with the ability to create the world’s most sublime music, Salieri believes that God graced the rebellious Mozart with greater inspired creativity.  Envious Salieri schemes to destroy Mozart and, in so doing, rebukes God. Profanity, violence, adult situations. Recommended for mature audiences.

Amadeus is sponsored by Supporting Sponsor Baker Botts L.L.P.

World Premiere- Psychological Thriller
The Medusa Body
By Rajiv Joseph
Neuhaus Stage
April 29 – May 29, 2011 (press opening: May 4, 2011)

Alley Company Artist and Pulitzer finalist Rajiv Joseph (Gruesome Playground Injuries, World Premiere at the Alley October 2009) returns with a psychological thriller that pits the corporate world against a 21st century artist in a violent and wickedly funny play about a woman with a paintbrush and a man with a spreadsheet.  World-renowned artist Maya Akhet is commissioned by a global securities firm to create a painting for the lobby of their world headquarters.  She loses her head, stops taking her medication, outwits the corporation’s lawyers and begins to wreak havoc in her studio with a sawed-off shotgun.  Unfortunately for her, removing the beast’s head doesn’t always kill the body. Profanity, violence, adult situations. Recommended for mature audiences.

Dazzling Romantic Comedy
Pygmalion
By George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Gregory Boyd
Hubbard Stage
May 20 – June 12, 2011 (press opening: May 25, 2011)

A unique masterpiece, Pygmalion is one of George Bernard Shaw’s most popular plays.  It is the story of phonetics professor Henry Higgins who bets that he can transform Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lovely lady and pass her off in high society. Pygmalion is a modern myth and also a strikingly contemporary view of sexual politics and the science of romance.  The story inspired the well-known Lerner and Loewe musical My Fair Lady (1956).   Recommended for general audiences.

TICKET INFORMATION AND PACKAGES

$21 "CHEAP THRILLS" TICKETS
The Alley's $21 "Cheap Thrills" ticket program makes low-priced tickets available year-round for Tuesday and Sunday evening performances of most Alley subscription series productions on the Hubbard Stage.  Call the Alley Box Office at 713.220.5700  for details.

SUBSCRIPTIONS
Season subscriptions are available starting at $130 and may be purchased at www.alleytheatre.org, by phone at 713.220.5700, or in person at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Ave.

SINGLE TICKETS
Single tickets will be on sale to the general public at a later date, please check www.alleytheatre.org for future updates. Single tickets are available for purchase online at www.alleytheatre.org, by phone at 713.220.5700  or in person at the Alley Box Office at 615 Texas Ave.  Single tickets start at $21.  The added convenience of reservations by phone or Internet is available for a nominal fee. Tickets purchased in person at the Alley Theatre Box Office have a $1 building restoration fee.

GROUP TICKETS
Groups of 10 or more can receive special discounts and concierge services by calling the group sales department at 713.315.3346.

AUDIENCE PROGRAMS

ACT OUT
ActOUT is Houston's premiere group for GLBT theatre fans and their friends. Patrons enjoy pre-show mixers with fellow gay and lesbian subscribers, who gather to meet their favorite Alley artists and enjoy complimentary cocktails and appetizers from Houston's finest restaurants. ActOUT events take place at the Alley for each Hubbard Stage production, and are free with the purchase of a subscription or ticket to the show.  For more information, call 713.228.9341  ext. 556. ActOUT dates for the 2010-2011 season are:

  Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up: Thursday October 14, 7:30 PM
  The Santaland Diaries: Thursday December 2, 7:30 PM
  God of Carnage: Thursday, January 20, 7:30 PM
  August: Osage County: Thursday March 3, 7:30 PM
  Amadeus: Thursday April 14, 7:30 PM
  Pygmalion: Thursday June 2, 7:30 PM 

CLUB 615
Starting at 6:15 PM at 615 Texas in the Alley Theatre, Club 615 is a new pre-curtain mixer for professionals.  Enjoy a fabulous pre-performance reception with music, socializing, complimentary cocktails and appetizers. A Club 615 event takes place at the Alley during a designated performance for each Hubbard Stage production, and are free with the purchase of a Club 615 subscription or ticket to the designated performance . For more information, call 713.228.9341  ext. 556.     

PAGES & STAGES
The perfect evening for the book worm in every theatre buff, this event combines the imagination of the written word with the excitement of live theatre. Patrons will purchase and read the script for each Hubbard Stage production. Participants will enjoy a pre-curtain discussion group led by a member of the Alley Theatre’s Education and Community Engagement staff and then attend the performance. To participate in the pre-show discussion, a ticket must be purchased for the performance. Please call Joe A. Babb at 713-315-3385, or visit www.alleytheatre.org for details. Pages & Stages dates for the 2010-2011 season are:

  Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up: Friday October 8, 8:00 PM
  God of Carnage: Friday, January 14, 8:00 PM
  August: Osage County: Friday February 25, 8:00 PM
  Amadeus: Friday April 8, 8:00 PM
  Pygmalion: Friday May 27, 8:00 PM

TALKBACKS
Alley patrons are invited to attend post-show TalkBacks with the cast and members of the artistic staff on select Tuesdays.  These question-and-answer sessions are held immediately after the evening performance. Talkback dates for the 2010-2011 season are:

  A Behanding in Spokane: Tuesday September 7, 7:30 PM
  Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up: Saturday October 9, 2:30 PM; Tuesday October 12, 7:30 PM
  God of Carnage: Saturday, January 15, 2:30 PM; Tuesday, January 18, 7:30 PM 
  A Weekend With Pablo Picasso: Tuesday, February 8, 7:30 PM
  August: Osage County: Tuesday February 22, 7:30 PM; Tuesday March 1, 7:30 PM
  Amadeus: Saturday April 9, 2:30 PM; Tuesday April 12, 7:30 PM
  The Medusa Body: Tuesday May 10, 7:30 PM
  Pygmalion: Tuesday May 24, 7:30 PM; Tuesday May 31, 7:30 PM

AFFINITY SERIES SYMPOSIUM
As part of the recently launched New Play Initiative, the Alley Theatre will present an Affinity Series Symposium for each world premiere this season featuring the playwright and dramaturg to discuss the genesis of the play, the Alley Theatre rehearsal process, and the larger societal issues raised by the play. The Affinity Series Symposium will occur in conjunction with the world premieres of A Weekend With Pablo Picasso and The Medusa Body and is open to those holding a ticket for the performance. Affinity Series Symposium dates for the 2010-2011 season are:

              A Weekend With Pablo Picasso: Saturday, February 5, 2:30 PM
              The Medusa Body: Saturday, May 7, 2:30 PM

ALLEY EMAIL CLUB
Join the Alley Theatre email club to receive exclusive ticket offers, contests, casting updates, new information about upcoming productions, education and community events, pre-show mixers and other special events. To register, visit www.alleytheatre.org

ALLEY $10 TIX
The Alley's $10 Tix program rewards patrons who bring a specified item for a designated charity with the opportunity to purchase up to two tickets in the B section for a minimum of $10 each. Purchase in person at the box office (615 Texas Ave.) on the day of the performance only. Cash or check only. The partnering organizations for $10 Tix will be announced at a later date. Visit www.alleytheatre.org for more information. Alley Theatre $10 Tix dates for the 2010-2011 season are:

                 Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up: Saturday October 2, 2:30 PM
                 God of Carnage: Saturday, January 8, 2:30 PM
                 August: Osage County: Saturday February 19, 2:30 PM
                 Amadeus: Saturday April 2, 2:30 PM
                 Pygmalion: Saturday May 21, 2:30 PM     
                                                                                         

                                           
AUDIO DESCRIPTION AND CAPTIONING
The Alley offers open-captioned performances for patrons with low hearing and audio described performances for patrons with low vision.  Please visit www.alleytheatre.org or call 713.220.5700 for more information.  Dates for the 2010-2011 season are:

  A Behanding in Spokane: Sunday August 29, 7:30 PM (open-captioned)
  Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up: Sunday October 3, 7:30 PM (open- captioned & audio described)
  A Christmas Carol: Sunday November 21, 7:30 PM (open-captioned & audio described)
  The Santaland Diaries: Sunday November 28, 2:30 PM (open-captioned)
  God of Carnage: Sunday, January 9, 7:30 PM (open- captioned & audio described)
  A Weekend With Pablo Picasso: Sunday, January 30, 7:30 PM (open-captioned)
  August: Osage County: Saturday February 20, 7:30 PM (open-captioned & audio described)
  Amadeus: Sunday April 3, 7:30 PM (open-captioned & audio described)
  The Medusa Body: Sunday, May 1, 7:30 PM (open-captioned)
  Pygmalion: Sunday May 22, 7:30 PM (open-captioned & audio described)

ALLEY THEATRE YOUNG PERFORMERS STUDIO
Be part of a creative drama learning experience.  The Alley Theatre Young Performers Studio engages students in a dynamic introduction to theatre arts while fostering their individual creativity and building skills that reach beyond the stage.  Fall, spring and summer sessions are available for grades 2-12.  For more information call Rochelle Sanders, Alley Theatre Training Program Manager at 713.228.9341, ext. 423.
 
Projects at the Alley Theatre are funded in part by a grant from the City of Houston and the Texas Commission on the Arts through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County.

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