ANNOUNCING THE REP'S 2009-2010 MAINSTAGE SEASON!
The biggest family hit at The Rep in the last decade returns this Christmas 3/12/2009

Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the state’s flagship professional nonprofit theatre, is proud to announce its 34rd MainStage Season.

“We need good entertainment now more than ever. Our 34th season is designed to capture your imagination, inspire your dreams, make you laugh and let you escape to bygone eras without ever leaving your hometown,” says Producing Artistic Director Robert Hupp, now in his eleventh year at The Rep. “The arts should lift us up in troubled times and that’s just what our new season is designed to do. There’s something for everyone here, from the familiar to the new, all created by The Rep with our trademark commitment to excellence and with our desire to make life more interesting and fun for Arkansans of all ages.”

THE MAINSTAGE SEASON

The MainStage season opens with the international hit musical Always…Patsy Cline. Simple, touching and cleverly interwoven with Patsy Cline’s hit songs, this production offers fans who remember Cline a unique chance to look back, while giving new fans insight into what she was like and how much her music meant to those who loved her. Appearing on The Rep’s MainStage September 11 – October 4, 2009 under the direction of Robert Hupp. “Producing Always…Patsy Cline is one of the milestones in The Rep’s history. Her music remains timeless and now an entirely new generation will enjoy this touching tribute to an American icon,” Hupp says.

Rep audiences will once again enjoy political and social satire cropping up in every delicious nook and cranny of this great nation and beyond with the return of The Second City. Armed from Chicago and on their 50th Anniversary Tour, this comedy troupe is ready for a battery of the most hilarious sketch comedy and improvisation on any continent. The Second City Touring Company is loading up the tour bus and coming to The Rep to mock the millennial generation and beyond this October 7 – October 18, 2009. “From John Belushi to Stephen Colbert, The Second City alumni define comedy in America. You’ll want to be the first to check out the rising new stars on their all-new tour,” Hupp adds.

November 5 - November 14, 2009 audiences will delight in the fully realized Young Artists’ program, Folly Holidays, conceived and directed by Nicole Capri Bauer. Talented young Arkansans ages 10 – 23 will entertain with a musical exploration of seasons throughout the year, singing and dancing their way through spring, summer, winter and fall. “Our work with young people is some of the most enjoyable, compelling and rewarding work we do,” Hupp says.

Arkansas audiences will cheer the return of the biggest family hit at The Rep in the last decade as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat makes its triumphant homecoming for Christmas this year. This colorful retelling of the biblical story of Joseph, his uncanny abilities and his designer coat sings out to young and old alike with a score of wall to wall hits, including “Go, Go, Go Joseph” and “Any Dream Will Do.” Rep audiences will take a rainbow ride through biblical Egypt on the wings of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s uplifting music and the humor and poetry of lyricist Tim Rice. The music, sound and spectacle appears on The Rep’s MainStage December 4, 2009 – January 3, 2010. “It’s been 9 years since we produced Joseph and it remains among our most requested family productions,” Hupp says. “This will be a musical treat for the entire family.”

Next up, The Rep produces the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, appearing February 5 – February 21, 2010. Brimming with Williams’ trademark emotional intensity and insightful wit, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is an American treasure, full of themes such as the emerging power of women and the mendacity of the powerful that are more pertinent today than ever before. “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof holds a special place in my heart. I think it is one of our most important plays,” says Hupp, who will direct the production. “It’s a powerful family drama of secrets and lies told by the South’s greatest storyteller.”

From classic drama to comedy, next up is The Rep’s production of Glorious! Nominated for the 2006 Laurence Olivier Award as Best New Comedy and written by Peter Quilter, Glorious! is based on the true life story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the legendary New York heiress and socialite who wanted to be a great operatic diva despite having one of the worst singing voices in history. The play opens in 1940s New York in the apartment Madame Jenkins shares with the English actor, St. Clair, and finds her auditioning her pianist Cosme McMoon. Add one insubordinate Mexican maid who speaks no English, her ditzy companion Dorothy, Florence’s money, charm and unstoppable will-power and their exploits lead all the way to a crowning moment in Carnegie Hall. Appearing on The Rep’s MainStage March 12 – March 28, 2010 and directed by Nicole Capri Bauer. “This new play is laugh-out-loud funny. I know it will become one of those shows audiences will want to see more than once,” Hupp says.

Next up in the season lineup is the Regional Premiere of the smartly-crafted and riveting 2007 Tony Award-nominated play, Frost/Nixon. Profoundly evocative and vibrantly written by Peter Morgan, who has a special talent for exploring what he calls “the twilight between historical fact and fiction” with his films The Queen and The Last King of Scotland, Frost/Nixon is an exhilarating, intellectual David and Goliath battle of wits as Frost attempts to “give Nixon the trial he never had.” Witness the determination, conviction and cunning of two men as they square off for one of the most monumental television interviews of all time on The Rep’s MainStage April 16 – May 2, 2010. “I was riveted when I saw Frost/Nixon on Broadway and was thrilled when we were one of the first regional theatres to be given the rights to the play,” Hupp says. “You may have seen the movie, but it’s the play that truly captures the drama of this historic encounter.”

Wrapping up The Rep’s 34rd season is the multiple Tony Award-winning musical, including Best Musical and Best Original Musical Score, Ragtime. Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow and the book by Terrence McNally, this American musical epic by the award-winning composer/lyricist team Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens paints a nostalgic and powerful portrait of life in turn of the century America. Featuring such show stopping songs as “Getting Ready Rag,” “Your Daddy’s Son,” “Wheels of a Dream,” “Till We Reach That Day,” “Back To Before,” and “Make Them Hear You,” Ragtime is a true celebration of the American spirit and a season closer that will leave Rep audiences moved and delighted. “I wanted to close the season with a big American epic. Ragtime is a soaring celebration of the American spirit,” Hupp says, who takes the helm as director. “After tackling Les Mis this past fall, I felt it was time to bring our country’s sweeping story to life.” Ragtime runs May 28 – June 27, 2010.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

In addition to The Rep’s MainStage productions, educational work and outreach programs fill The Rep’s 2009-2010 calendar.

The extremely popular Summer Musical Theatre Intensive (SMTI) workshops for young artists will be held July 12 - August 8, 2009. The two, two-week-long workshops culminate in performances on our MainStage. Young artists ages 16 – 23 perform on July 25 and ages 10 – 15 take to the stage on August 8. Hundreds of local young artists auditioned in February for the chance to participate. Led by Nicole Capri Bauer, the SMTI program continues to grow at The Rep. “We offer these young artists a professional musical theatre experience. They work closely with theatre professionals to hone their craft,” Bauer notes.

Voices at the River makes its return to The Rep this season. This biennial program is designed to support African-American and Latino playwrights, both nationally and across Arkansas as participants work alongside directors, actors and Rep staff to refine their specific projects for the stage. The program, funded by a grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, includes a two-week playwrights' residency at The Rep, plus Legacy Awards recognizing an outstanding African-American and/or Latino playwright who has made a significant contribution to the national canon of theatrical literature.

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS

Season Subscriptions are on sale now and range from $150 - $225. New this year is the option to pay in installments, making a Rep Season Subscription more convenient and a greater value than ever before.

Call The Rep’s Box Office at 378-0405 or toll free 866-6THEREP for more information on Season Packages. Single ticket sales open to the public in August 2009.