Theatreworks’ new season expected to be ‘fantastic’

May 7, 2012

April Wefler
[email protected]

If you’re looking for a good date night, you might want to check out an upcoming show from Theatreworks’ new season. After all, every show is free for students.

Just make a reservation because Theatreworks sells out quickly, and its new season is full of shows that are sure to spark conversation.

“It’s something you can see and talk about afterwards. The conversations you have afterwards will be just as good as the plays,” said Murray Ross, artistic director of Theatreworks.

The season will kick off with “Shakespeare in the Park” on Aug. 2-26 at Rock Ledge Ranch. This year, Theatreworks has chosen Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labor’s Lost.”

Ross indicated that “Love’s Labor’s Lost” is a great comedy about men and women who fall in love. A young king and his friends decide to study and not let women distract them.

“Just as they made that decision, the women showed up and it changed their minds pretty quickly,” said Ross, adding, “but not before giving them a rough time. And then the women give the men a rather rough time, which they so richly deserve.”

Next, Theatreworks will host a production of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” from Sept. 13-30. The play premiered in Chicago in 1944 and won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award in 1945.

“The Glass Menagerie” consists of a single mom desperate to get her shy daughter married, a rebellious son and “lots of love and heartbreak,” said Ross. He noted that it is one of America’s best-loved classics.

Following “The Glass Menagerie,” Theatreworks will tackle a more controversial issue: racism. The Pulitzer-nominated “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” on Oct. 18-Nov. 11 is set in a professional wrestling ring.

It is not only about wrestling but also America, celebrities, racism and the myths we make up for ourselves.

“I think it might be the most unusual and non-traditional that we have coming up this season,” said Ross. “It’s filled with spectacle and a lot of action.”

Next, you’re invited to the home of the wacky Sycamore family as Theatreworks puts on “You Can’t Take it With You” on Dec. 6-23.

“You Can’t Take it With You” will then be followed by “Red,” a new Tony-award winning play about an abstract painter who thought he could change the world with his art, on Jan. 31-Feb. 17.

Additionally, Theatreworks will perform “Everyman on the Bus” on Feb. 20-March 10, “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson” on March 13-24 and “The Wild Duck” on April 25-May 12.

“Everyman on the Bus” is a medieval play about facing death. “It’s a journey every man takes, that we all take, to the grave. We go along,” said Ross.
“Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson” just debuted in New York last year and was a critical sensation. “American populism meets rock ‘n roll and ends up at the Trail of Tears,” said Ross.

“The Wild Duck,” a Norwegian thriller by Henrik Ibsen, portrays a man who reveals his dark secrets to a happy family in the interest of making them better. “But in fact, he just makes everything worse.”

The new season boasts a variety of comedies and dramas, but according to Ross, all of the plays have one aspect in common: quality.
“They’re all fantastic, seven really fantastic experiences,” he said. “That’s why we chose them.”

Auditions are continuous and Ross recommends that people wishing to audition check Theatreworks’ website (theatreworkscs.org).