I’m very happy to be able to announce the LIFE STORIES of the 2010/2011 Season, my second as Artistic Managing Director.
The Fantasticks is the longest running production of any kind in the history of American theatre and it will open our 48th season. With Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones and Music by Harvey Schmidt, The Fantasticks is what Life Magazine called “a theatrical wonder.” This is a simple but beautiful story of the quintessential celebration of love in all its gorgeous simplicity and heartbreaking complexity.
Our holiday production has to be seen to be believed. Emma Rice, Artistic Director of Kneehigh Theatre in England, has adapted Noël Coward’s classic 1946 film Brief Encounter for the stage. Switching seamlessly between theatre and film, and featuring Noël Coward songs, we will take you back to a bygone age of romance and the silver screen.
The New Year begins with This, a crisp, smart, urban comedy about modern relationships in crisis by Vancouver playwright Melissa James Gibson, which recently received rave reviews off-Broadway; followed by Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Death of a Salesman. Last produced at the Playhouse in 1983, Death of a Salesman was revived on Broadway in 1999 and London’s West End in 2005, demonstrating its lasting power.
Our subscription series closes with The Trespassers, a poignant, thought-provoking and sardonic drama from one of Canada’s most original playwrights (The Overcoat, Vigil and 7 Stories among others), Morris Panych.
Our Special Presentation is MacHomer, created and performed by Rick Miller. This one man tour-de-force melds Shakespeare’s Macbeth and TV’s The Simpsons into a vocal spectacular featuring 50 Simpsons characters; you’ll never see Macbeth again in the same light.
As British Columbia’s premier regional theatre company, we have been producing engaging plays since 1962. The 2010/2011 season continues that tradition with these LIFE STORIES.
I look forward to seeing you at the Playhouse!
Max
