THE THEATRE @ BOSTON COURT ANNOUNCES
AN ENTIRE SEASON OF WORLD PREMIERE PLAYS IN 2010
PLAYWRIGHTS INCLUDE ALFARO, JACOBSON, POMERANCE AND HARRISON
PASADENA, Calif., November 18, 2009 – The Theatre @ Boston Court announces its 2010 Season comprised of world premiere plays by Los Angeles playwrights Luis Alfaro and Tom Jacobson, British playwright Moby Pomerance, and New York playwright Jordan Harrison.
Opening the season on February 27 is Alfaro's "Oedipus El Rey," directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera. "Oedipus El Rey" is a gritty reimagining of Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex," where the modern kingdom is the barrio of East LA and Oedipus was just released from Federal prison. This play is a shared world premiere with San Francisco's Magic Theatre.
Premiering May 8 is Tom Jacobson's "The Twentieth-Century Way," directed by The Theatre @ Boston Court's Co-artistic Director Michael Michetti. This theatrical thrill ride is based on a little-known incident in LA history: the entrapment of homosexuals for "social vagrancy" in the public restrooms of 1914 Long Beach. Two actors juggle various roles, exploring the collision of reality and fantasy.
Premiering July 31 is Moby Pomerance's "The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder," a co-production with Circle X Theatre Company directed by John Langs. In 1880's England, James Murray pursues the Sisyphean task of creating the Oxford English Dictionary, alongside his brilliantly caustic daughter who is now responsible for Murray, his seemingly prodigal son, and a garden shed full of thousands of slips of paper bearing definitions.
Premiering October 9 and closing the season is Jordan Harrison's "Futura," directed by The Theatre @ Boston Court's Co-artistic Director Jessica Kubzansky. Set in a not-distant future when the idea of writing words on paper is history, the play begins as a rogue professor sets out to avenge her missing husband – and the lost art of ink on paper – by conducting a dangerous lesson on typography. When the Professor's lecture jumps the rails, we peer into a near future where desperate people search for the tangible in an ever more virtual age. "Futura" is a shared world-premiere with Portland Center Stage and The National Asian American Theatre Company.
On producing the season, Michetti says, "We have the rare opportunity to present an all world- premiere season, which honors our mission that emphasizes new plays and new play development."
"The fact that we are offering several of these plays in co-world premiere arrangements with exciting theatres around the country is a continued opportunity to cross-pollinate with theaters in other cities to share the work nationally," adds Kubzansky.
Said Boston Court Executive Director Michael Seel, "Though some theatres find it difficult to attract audiences to new plays, we have learned that our community responds positively to quality work and enjoys taking risks when it comes to theatre."
Each play previews for six performances prior to its opening date and runs for four weeks, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets for individual plays in the 2010 season are $17 for previews and $32 for regular performances and may be purchased online at www.bostoncourt.org. Season memberships and discounted senior/student tickets are also available.
The Theatre @ Boston Court is the non-profit company that programs the state-of-the-art 99-seat main stage theatre at Boston Court Performing Arts Center, 70 North Mentor Avenue at Boston Court. Z. Clark Branson is the developer of the center and founding director of The Theatre @ Boston Court. Michael Seel is the executive director of Boston Court Performing Arts Center.
The Theatre @ Boston Court productions are made possible in part by the generosity of Branson, patron donors, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
-30-
For more news and background contact:
Brian Polak
Boston Court Performing Arts Center
brianp@bostoncourt.com
Tel: (626) 683-6883