Dear theatre-lover, I’m proud to say this is my tenth year as artistic director of Berkeley Rep. In the last decade, we’ve brought you 15 world premieres and 12 West Coast premieres—as well as unforgettable new perspectives on classics like The Glass Menagerie and The Miser. I keep at it for the same reason that people like you keep coming to our Tony Award-winning theatre. Our plays—and our audiences—are adventurous, ambitious, courageous and intelligent. You don’t want the ordinary. You challenge us to give you the extraordinary every night, to outdo ourselves year after year. And I believe that next season we’ll do it again. Strap yourself in: we’re taking flight with a fresh look at a timely masterpiece and then soaring into an audacious display of new work, including two world premieres, one West Coast premiere and two regional premieres. I’m proud to continue our tradition of presenting the best new voices in American theatre as well as investigating classic plays from the past. This year, we’re not just presenting new work—we’re also introducing a new way to ensure that theatre-lovers like you get seats to the shows you want to see. Look at “Your Choices” for details. And I’ll look for you at the Theatre. All the Best, Tony Taccone WHY SUBSCRIBE? THE PLAYS THE PLAYERS THE BUZZ YOUR CHOICES DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF OUR 2006/07 BROCHURE (1.3 MB) (You must have Adobe Acrobat to view this document. Download a free Adobe Acrobat reader.) WHY SUBSCRIBE? The number one reason to subscribe is simple: when you plan to see theatre, you go to more theatre. And, if your constantly changing schedule makes it difficult to plan ahead, being a subscriber offers you protection, too—you can exchange your tickets for any other performance night for FREE! Just call us by 7PM the night before your show. (Upgrade charges apply if you exchange to a more expensive performance.) Plus, subscribers save money on their tickets—up to 33% over the general public, and: • Have the best seats in the house—guaranteed • Are the first to get tickets to non-subscription events like this summer’s Ennio • Save money on extra tickets for friends • Receive additional discounts for teachers, students and seniors • Get an inside look at the muscle behind the magic with insightful pre-show notes from our literary staff and much more. So subscribe today, and start enjoying the benefits! Call 510.647.2949 Tuesday–Sunday, NOON to 7PM. BACK TO TOP THE PLAYS Whether classic or contemporary, each play we do is “clearly conceived as if it were a new play” (San Francisco Chronicle). When we revisited Our Town last year “it was a theatrical treat to see this treasured American classic brilliantly brought back to life” (KGO). When we do new work like Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell or Finn in the Underworld, it’s “a risk well worth taking for intrepid theatregoers” (Oakland Tribune). So join us for a fresh look at familiar favorites. And join us for premieres of future classics. Take a look at the plays that will show you a new way to look at the world. MAIN SEASON MOTHER COURAGE by Bertolt Brecht / translated by David Hare / directed by Lisa Peterson / The Roda Theatre / September 8–October 22, 2006 “one of the most inspired plays of the 20th century…as topical as it is timeless”—San Francisco Chronicle A religious war ravages the civilized world, killing soldiers and civilians alike. Plodding along in its wake is an itinerant peddler, shadowing the destruction and selling supplies to whichever side will grease her palm. Bertolt Brecht penned his anti-war epic as the Nazi war machine rolled through Poland, and in David Hare’s vigorous translation, its prescient lessons and surprising humor remain relevant today. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW’S MAJOR PLAYERS READ MORE BUZZ PASSING STRANGE book and lyrics by Stew / music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald / directed by and created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen / Thrust Stage / October 20–December 3, 2006 WORLD PREMIERE “Music this smart and tart, fussy and funny will never hit the mainstream”—Village Voice Passing Strange is an exuberant stage show about an African American’s search for authenticity through music. It’s loaded with soulful lyrics, hook-filled melodies, sardonic insights and heartfelt passion. Developed at the Sundance Theatre Lab and making its world premiere at Berkeley Rep, the show takes us from black, middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond. Join Stew and our superb company of actors and musicians for Passing Strange…See it now before it goes to New York! LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW’S MAJOR PLAYERS READ MORE BUZZ THE PILLOWMAN by Martin McDonagh / directed by Les Waters / Thrust Stage / January 12–February 25, 2007 “This season’s most exciting and original new play…a spellbinding stunner…the laughs trail into gulps and gasps”—New York Times Get ready for an edgy and enthralling evening with The Pillowman, which blends black comedy and mystery until “whodunit” is the least of your concerns. A man tells ghost stories to entertain his mentally challenged brother—but then grisly murders that mirror these tales slice through town, and two cops come knocking. The Pillowman mesmerized audiences during its recent London and Broadway runs—don’t miss it when it leaps to Berkeley Rep. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW’S MAJOR PLAYERS READ MORE BUZZ THE BLUE DOOR by Tanya Barfield / directed by Delroy Lindo / Thrust Stage / April 6–May 20, 2007 “Barfield poses sharp questions and counter-questions on contemporary black identity. Her vision is fearless and humane.”—Los Angeles Times When he refuses to attend the Million Man March, an African-American professor finds his personal and professional lives thrown into turmoil. Unable to sleep in the bed abandoned by his wife, Lewis is visited by his ancestors—men who fought to be free, to vote, to obtain justice. Two exceptional actors embody three generations in this powerful new play from a promising young writer. The Blue Door is a searing examination of family and identity that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to live with—or escape—the past. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW’S MAJOR PLAYERS READ MORE BUZZ OLIVER TWIST based on the novel by Charles Dickens / adapted and directed by Neil Bartlett / The Roda Theatre / May 11–June 24, 2007 WEST COAST PREMIERE “Dickens in all his dark, gaudy glory…I really can’t recommend this show too highly. A great novel has been transformed into truly stunning theatre.”—London’s Daily Telegraph Inspired by the vivid world of the Victorian music-hall, Neil Bartlett’s staging of Oliver Twist uses the original language of Dickens’ novel to dramatize one of the most deeply felt stories ever written about childhood. A cast of unforgettable characters brings the underworld of 19th-century London to thrilling life—a city teeming with danger and fear—all seen through the eyes of an astonished child. By turns comic and tragic, musical and dramatic, Bartlett’s Twist was a runaway success in London. His works have been seen and celebrated around the world. We’re thrilled to present his Berkeley Rep debut with this sensational production. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW’S MAJOR PLAYERS READ MORE BUZZ LIMITED SEASON The Limited Season is Berkeley Rep’s opportunity to bring theatre lovers like you a more diverse range of theatre. The shows are limited, in one sense, because they have shorter runs—four weeks versus seven for the Main Season. This allows us to accommodate in-demand artists, like Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford in All Wear Bowlers. This limited run allows us to challenge ourselves, artistically—and to bring you theatre that is unexpected…unusual…and an unmatched experience. ALL WEAR BOWLERS created and performed by Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford / directed by Aleksandra Wolska / The Roda Theatre / November 24–December 24, 2006 “One of the funniest, gentlest and most endearing shows you will see…a reminder that underneath all the rubble, bleakness and sorrow, life is eternally beautiful.”—Edinburgh Fringe Festival In the tradition of Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton and Samuel Beckett, All Wear Bowlers is brimming with hilarious entertainment. These clowns may come from the era of silent films, but they’ve left a deafening trail of laughter across Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States. See what happens when they tumble out of their movie and into a wacky world without gravity. It’s an uproarious romp, a holiday treat that opens on the day after Thanksgiving and runs until Christmas Eve. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW’S MAJOR PLAYERS READ MORE BUZZ TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Adele Edling Shank / adapted from the novel by Virginia Woolf / original score by Paul Dresher / directed by Les Waters / The Roda Theatre / February 23–March 25, 2007 WORLD PREMIERE “Composer Paul Dresher has been turning the business of eclecticism on its head…he revels in an omnivorous sensibility that combines rock ’n’ roll, minimalism, Indian music and ambient sounds.”—San Francisco Chronicle To the Lighthouse is an ambitious adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s visionary novel, a captivating collaboration from Obie-winning director Les Waters, acclaimed composer Paul Dresher and accomplished playwright Adele Edling Shank. It illuminates the life of a house—where a couple live, argue, love and endure; where children play, cry and grow up; where a woman paints. She paints the sea. She paints the lighthouse. And, finally, she paints the stage. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW’S MAJOR PLAYERS READ MORE BUZZ Berkeley Rep proudly welcomes Wells Fargo as a returning sponsor of the 2006/07 Season. We reserve the right to change programming to bring you great plays. BACK TO TOP THE PLAYERS MOTHER COURAGE When renowned playwright Bertolt Brecht wrote Mother Courage, the Nazis exiled him, revoked his citizenship and banned his plays. Director Lisa Peterson won an Obie Award at the famed New York Theatre Workshop. She says, “Working at Berkeley Rep is like playing with the smart kids...There is a unique alchemy of audience, artists and staff.” The show features a spectacular new score by Gina Leishman, who creates music for theatre, opera, film and the Mr. Wau-Wa band, a quintet dedicated to Brecht’s songs. PASSING STRANGE A provocative musician known only as Stew has built an underground following with a band called The Negro Problem. The New York Times called one of his recent solo recordings “perhaps the finest collection of songs an American songwriter has come up with this year,” while the Los Angeles Times exclaimed that his music is “gorgeous, deeply felt, wildly sophisticated and at times hilarious.” ALL WEAR BOWLERS Drawing on their mutual love for silent films, vintage vaudeville and stage magic, Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford created Bowlers and rolled it around the world. THE PILLOWMAN Martin McDonagh won a Tony Award for Beauty Queen of Leenane and an Oscar for his short, Six Shooter. The Pillowman netted him England’s prestigious Olivier Award. Our own Les Waters continues his chilling journey through the genre of ghost stories: Time Out New York named his off-Broadway Apparition one of the Best 5 Plays of 2005, and local audiences won’t soon forget his haunting Eurydice or unnerving Finn in the Underworld. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE Virginia Woolf’s virtuosity poured forth in revolutionary novels which burst the boundaries of prose. To the Lighthouse is widely regarded as her masterpiece. Composer Paul Dresher has partnered with a wide range of artists such as poet June Jordan, choreographer Margaret Jenkins and playwright Charles Mee. Local audiences will recall his Berkeley Rep achievements: Ravenshead and Dream of a Common Language. Adele Edling Shank is head of the playwriting program at UC San Diego. Bay Area audiences embraced her many plays which premiered locally, like Grass House, Sand Castles, Stuck and War Horses. After his stunning staging of The Glass Menagerie, Obie Award winner Les Waters takes on another masterwork. THE BLUE DOOR Oakland’s own Delroy Lindo came to prominence with Broadway performances in Master Harold and the Boys and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. He reinforced his reputation with major roles in films such as The Cider House Rules, Get Shorty and Malcolm X. Now Lindo turns his hand to directing on Berkeley Rep’s intimate Thrust Stage. Tanya Barfield studied in the exclusive playwriting program at Juilliard under Christopher Durang and Marsha Norman. She won the Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, and Ms. Magazine recently named her “One of the 21 Young Women to Watch in the 21st Century.” Although her work has been seen at the legendary Humana Festival, the Guthrie Theater Lab and London’s Royal Court Theatre, this is her first script to receive a major production. OLIVER TWIST A master of prose, a comic genius and a scathing social critic, Charles Dickens is among the greatest novelists of all time. The natural theatricality of his work has inspired famous stage adaptations of books such as Great Expectations and Nicholas Nickleby. An acclaimed playwright, director, performer and novelist, Neil Bartlett is one of Britain’s most innovative theatre artists. From 1994 to 2004, he was artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith, among London’s most adventurous and beloved theatres. BACK TO TOP THE BUZZ MOTHER COURAGE “one of the most inspired plays of the 20th century…as topical as it is timeless”—San Francisco Chronicle “The awful power and prescience of Mother Courage is that at no time since its first performance in 1941 has it been irrelevant: There are always conflicts, always victims, always someone simply trying to survive.”—Variety “Brecht’s greatest script”—San Francisco Magazine PASSING STRANGE “Music this smart and tart, fussy and funny will never hit the mainstream”—Village Voice Album of the Year, 2000 & 2002—Entertainment Weekly ALL WEAR BOWLERS “a constant parade of classic slapstick, elegant pratfalls and rigorous sleight of hand…easily the most funny and original show this year.”—New York Times “One of the funniest, gentlest and most endearing shows you will see…a reminder that underneath all the rubble, bleakness and sorrow, life is eternally beautiful.”—Edinburgh Fringe Festival THE PILLOWMAN “This season&3146;s most exciting and original new play…a spellbinding stunner…the laughs trail into gulps and gasps”—New York Times “The audience, too, wants to know where the stories lead, even as it suspects that with every twist the plot will become more gruesome.”—The New Yorker “…latest from an Irish bad-boy of the theatre often likened to Quentin Tarantino for his boiling-oil-in-the-face suspense and pitch-black wit…this must-see show opens Jan.12”—San Jose Mercury News TO THE LIGHTHOUSE “Composer Paul Dresher has been turning the business of eclecticism on its head…he revels in an omnivorous sensibility that combines rock ’n’ roll, minimalism, Indian music and ambient sounds.”—San Francisco Chronicle THE BLUE DOOR “Barfield poses sharp questions and counter-questions on contemporary black identity. Her vision is fearless and humane.”—Los Angeles Times “People are afraid of big black men. Often they’re so intimidated that there’s no room for what we’re feeling. I hope this play will show people some of the things that we struggle with.”—Delroy Lindo OLIVER TWIST “Are you one of those people who can’t bear the fake Cockney jauntiness of Oliver!? If so help is at hand…Neil Bartlett’s Oliver Twist is richly satisfying. Unlike its hero, you aren’t left asking for more.”—London Independent “Dickens in all his dark, gaudy glory…I really can’t recommend this show too highly. A great novel has been transformed into truly stunning theatre.”—London’s Daily Telegraph BACK TO TOP