Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Bradford and Managing Director Matthew J. Pugliese have announced the theatre’s 2018-19 Season!
“We invite you to a season of theatre that we hope provides thought, dialogue and ultimately hope.”
Embarking on his third season as Artistic Director, Michael Bradford said, “We face questions today as individuals and as a nation, that often revise our understanding of the past and threaten to erode our progress forward as a people. We invite you to a season of theatre that we hope provides thought, dialogue and ultimately hope.”
The Main Stage Series begins with a story of hope and resilience in The Grapes of Wrath by Frank Galati and directed by Gary English. The Joad family abandons their farm, fleeing the Dust Bowl in search of a new lease on life. But the rough trek to California tests the limits of their human spirit. This Tony Award Winner and adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic, award winning novel will lead off the Mainstage series. Performances run October 4 – 14 at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.
A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel, returns back home to Connecticut for another professional run directed by Elizabeth VanDyke onstage November 29 through December 9. With the nation at war, it is not a silent night. All is not peaceful or bright. On one side of the Potomac, an escaped slave hurries her daughter toward the capital and freedom. On the other side, a young Confederate runs away from home with hopes of joining the fight. In the capital, Mrs. Lincoln is in desperate need of the perfect gift for her husband Abe. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel creates a historical and musical masterpiece in A Civil War Christmas, one that is uniquely American.
You choose the culprit! In February, CRT presents the unsolved, unfinished, musical murder-mystery that is The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes. Based off of Charles Dickens’ incomplete last work, join the bawdy crew of players at The Music Hall Royale as they regale you with this innovative, interactive who-dunnit where even the audience plays a role! Come see the show at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre as it runs February 28 through March 10 directed by Paul Mullins.
The Mainstage series will end the season with the rousing, thought-provoking Henry IV by William Shakespeare. A new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV parts 1 and 2, will be directed by Madeline Sayet. Henry IV, dramatizes young crown prince Hal’s rise to the throne as King Henry V. Rebellions and foreign enemies aside, King Henry IV’s biggest challenge may prove to be fathering his son Hal and preparing him to be the future king of England. The crown-prince spends his days carousing in taverns with his friend Sir John Falstaff, one of Shakespeare’s most dynamic and beloved characters. Shakespeare’s coming-of-age story of privilege, politics and power will run April 25 – May 5 at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.
In the Studio Workshop Series, CRT welcomes new playwright Tracy Thorne with the regional premiere of Good Children directed by Michael Bradford. In a dystopian world, young Val doesn’t know how to comfort his traumatized mother. He longs to overcome the constant fear of losing the people closest to him. But in this upside-down society, the ones who protect you the most are the ones you should fear the most. Thorne’s new play will run in the Studio Theatre from October 25 – November 4.
CRT presents If We Were Birds by Erin Shields as the second and final play of the Studio Workshop Series. Helene Kvale, who most recently staged Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice at the theatre, will direct this beautiful, powerful and disturbing play. The war in Athens is over. Yet, even in the aftermath, the horrors continue. A story of tragedy, empowerment, and triumph, Philomena, a victim of sexual assault, speaks up with many other female survivors as they share their stories in a way that strikes a contemporary chord. This 2010 Dora Mavor Moore Award winner will run March 28 – April 7 in the Studio Theatre.
Connecticut Repertory Theatre is the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. CRT productions are directed, designed by, and cast with visiting professional artists, including Equity actors, faculty members, and the department’s most advanced student artists. The synergy between professional and advanced student artists creates extraordinary theatre and a unique learning environment.
Subscriptions for the 2018-19 Season are on sale now at crt.uconn.edu, by calling 860-486-2113, or in person at the CRT Box Office located at the Nafe Katter Theatre, 820 Bolton Road, on the Storrs campus.
