2008/09 season

2008/09 Season

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main season

August 29–October 19, 2008
Nationally known playwright Itamar Moses returns to his hometown with a script set just around the corner in the halls of his alma mater, Berkeley High. When the school newspaper publishes an insensitive story, students suddenly find themselves embroiled in a volatile controversy—and even their teachers seem unprepared to deal with the repercussions.

October 31–December 14, 2008
Renowned actor Delroy Lindo returns to Berkeley Rep with the play that netted him a nomination for the Tony Award—but this time, he’s in the director’s chair. Haunted by seven years on a chain gang, Herald Loomis appears in Pittsburgh to reunite his family. Surrounded by the vibrant tenants of a black boarding house, he fights for his soul and his song in the dawning days of a century without slavery.

November 13, 2008–January 18, 2009
Mary Zimmerman made her career by reanimating ancient myths, and here she breathes new life into the legend of the 1,001 nights. To save her life, a beautiful bride must spin hypnotic tales of genies, jesters, thieves and kings—winning her freedom by eventually winning her husband’s heart. Amidst a thousand tales of honor, revenge and humor, only love emerges victorious.

January 30–March 15, 2009
In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) illuminates the lives of six lonely people seeking relief from a local doctor—but, despite his expertise with a strange new technology, all they really need is intimacy. It’s a tender tale that takes place in the twilight of the Victorian age, an elegant comedy lit by unexpected sparks from the approaching era of electricity, equality, science and sexuality.

May 15–June 28, 2009
In a new comedy from local writer Amy Freed, not only does Nero fiddle while Rome burns, he fills the Colosseum with an incendiary mix of sex and decadence. The egotistical emperor commands a washed-up scribe to create an extravagant show which flatters his regime. But to stage the script he must survive the real spectacle at the palace, where his mother, his mistress and an entourage of eunuchs play an elaborate game of deceit and seduction.

February 27–March 29, 2009
As a police inspector interrogates a man about murder, we journey through the mind of a criminal. What did he do? Why did he do it? And what would you be capable of in certain circumstances? Dive into the greatest crime story ever written, a tale of murder, motive and redemption that plumbs the depths of the human soul.

April 17–May 24, 2009
The Lieutenant of Inishmore employs explosive dialogue and a perfectly oiled plot that is brutal, bloody, yet irresistibly funny. Amidst the comedy and carnage, Martin McDonagh delivers cutting commentary on the endless cycle of violence that engulfs our world.

July 9–23, 2009
Last year, Carrie Fisher was a sold-out sensation at Berkeley Rep with her hilarious solo show, Wishful Drinking. Since then, it’s enjoyed a national tour and become a New York Times bestseller. Now she’s back at Berkeley Rep—the last stop before Broadway!