10/11 Season
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Season 2010/11 plays

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• Compulsion
• The Great Game: Afghanistan
• The Composer is Dead
• The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs / The Last Cargo Cult
• Ruined
• The Three Sisters
• A new show for Rita Moreno

Subscribe now and enjoy substantial savings on tickets to all these plays, as well as other benefits, discussed here.

Dates are tentative and subject to change. We promise, if we have to change the performance schedule, to make sure your new date works for you.

 

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compulsion

Written by Rinne Groff
Directed by Oskar Eustis
Co-production with Yale Repertory Theatre and The Public Theatre
Main Season | Thrust Stage
September 10–October 24, 2010
World-premiere production

The play

Sid Silver is obsessed. When he learns about a young girl named Anne Frank and her extraordinary diary, he makes it his mission to ensure her tale is heard. But is the manuscript a work of art? A cultural treasure? Once publishers and producers get involved, it becomes “a very valuable product”—and Silver’s good intentions prove to be his undoing. Acclaimed director Oskar Eustis returns to the Bay Area with Rinne Groff’s Compulsion, a kaleidoscopic collision of history and culture inspired by the life of Meyer Levin and commissioned by Berkeley Rep. A moving story that combines stellar acting with marvelous marionettes, this world-premiere production takes us on a journey from passion to Compulsion.

The players

Rinne Groff is the award-winning author of The Ruby Sunrise and a former writer for Showtime’s Weeds. Her plays have been seen off Broadway and at theatres across America.

Oskar Eustis is artistic director of The Public Theater. He collaborated with Tony Taccone on landmark works such as Angels in America and Execution of Justice and has staged world premieres for many eminent writers.

The buzz

“Majestic…a work of brilliant and compelling art…an enthralling drama of immense imagination, of emotional and moral complexity, and—of all things—sparkling humor.”—Hartford Courant

“Fascinating…The puppets eloquently express one of the play’s major themes: how real life differs from stage life, how theater lies even when it tells the truth.”—New York Times

“Propulsive…Compulsion takes extraordinary risks—in structure, in style, and in its sarcastic and strident questions about who gets to make art when and for what greater purpose…It’s all quite staggering—and unexpectedly moving.”—New Haven Advocate

“Rinne Groff takes us to the intersection of history and show business in her very powerful new play…Compulsion is a rich mix of history, entertainment world gossip, and a man’s obsession over a work of art that doesn’t really belong to him. It’s a terrific show.”—Connecticut Post

“Fascinating and engrossing…I watched, after intermission, as a middle-aged man, seated in the row just ahead of me, jumped off the end of his seat and punched his fist into the air—during mid-dialogue. That’s the type of reaction Compulsion elicits.”—Talkin’ Broadway

 

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the great game: afghanistan

Directed by Nicolas Kent and Indhu Rubasingham
Limited Season | Roda Theatre
October 22–November 7, 2010
West Coast Premiere

The play

Whether you know it or not, you’re part of The Great Game. A sweeping cycle of short scripts by 12 top playwrights, this unprecedented show explores Afghanistan over the last 150 years. Direct from London, where it debuted to rave reviews, The Great Game makes its West Coast premiere at Berkeley Rep. It’s a captivating collection of stories performed by Britain’s finest actors. Presented in three parts—on different days or in one impassioned marathon—The Great Game explores the eternal struggle to control Central Asia. World powers and warlords, diplomats and activists, opium farmers and ordinary people…all of them tangle with the tribes and traditions of Afghanistan. It’s an emotional event that illuminates the complex culture of another land.

See one part or see them all. See them in any order—or as part of an impressive marathon. Get into The Game!

Part One: Invasions & Independence (1842–1929)

• The saga begins with Bugles at the Gate of Jalalabad by Stephen Jeffreys. After a devastating defeat, four British soldiers struggle with passionate questions about their purpose in a distant land: Are they following God’s will? Spreading civilization? Or just following orders? Then, in Durand’s Line by Ron Hutchinson, a British diplomat and the amir of Afghanistan engage in a stunning duel of wits. Can the simple act of drawing lines on a map impose order on a “lawless” culture? Or is it folly to forge a nation from competing tribes? Finally, Campaign by Amit Gupta and Now is the Time by Joy Wilkinson examine the legacy of Afghanistan’s first president. Can one man with a glorious vision throw off British rule and create a secular democracy? Or will warlords enforce a new agenda? Questions that haunted history in 1842 continue to resonate in ways we can’t help but hear today.

Part Two: Communism, the Mujahideen and the Taliban (1980–1996)

• A pair of provocative plays, David Edgar’s Black Tulips and Lee Blessing’s Wood for the Fire, burn up the stage when Soviet troops enter Afghanistan. Are the Russians invited guests or invaders? Who is the actual enemy, and where do they get their weapons? As victory proves elusive, the mission—and the meaning of success—must be redefined. Then, in Miniskirts of Kabul by David Greig, a journalist interviews the country’s deposed Communist leader. Their hilarious and horrific conversation covers everything from hemlines to the Kremlin as the Taliban lay siege to the capital. Finally, in The Lion of Kabul by Colin Teevan, two men hired by the United Nations disappear—and only a midnight meeting can reveal their fate. Two decades of turmoil ignite your curiosity and compassion in this thrilling series of shows.

Part Three: Enduring Freedom (1996–2009)

• America blithely rides an economic boom in Ben Ockrent’s Honey as an anxious CIA operative tries to buy back missiles that landed in the hands of militants. Next, in The Night is Darkest before the Dawn by Abi Morgan, a teacher invites girls to a free school—but fearful families of poppy farmers recall all too well the harsh justice of the Taliban. In On the Side of Angels by Richard Bean, employees of a British nonprofit struggle to retain their integrity while raising funds at home and brokering deals abroad. Then Simon Stephens’ Canopy of Stars captures a soldier in two intense encounters: one with a buddy before battle and the other when he returns to his wife. Has anything changed? What have we learned? The Great Game goes on in Afghanistan, yet the conclusions are up to you.

The players

A dozen prominent playwrights from Britain and America contributed to this epic: Richard Bean, Lee Blessing, David Edgar, David Greig, Amit Gupta, Ron Hutchinson, Stephen Jeffreys, Abi Morgan, Ben Ockrent, Simon Stephens, Colin Teevan, Naomi Wallace and Joy Wilkinson.

Nicolas Kent, artistic director of the Tricycle Theatre, has earned highest honors from the British press: the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement and the Evening Standard Award for Pioneering Political Theatre.

Indhu Rubasingham has directed on Britain’s most respected stages, including the Gate Theatre, the National Theatre, the Royal Court and the Young Vic.

The buzz

“Mind-blowing…Something remarkable is happening at the Tricycle, where Afghan history and culture are being made manifest in a uniquely challenging, theatrically exciting way.”—London Guardian

“Astonishing…No former undertaking has boasted anything like the scope or ambition of The Great Game.”—London’s Evening Standard

“Fascinating…Leaves you hankering for more. After seven and a half hours, that’s some accolade.”—Time Out London

“Witty and wise…Its scope is unparalleled…We get a vivid sense of the history, traditions and terrain that make Afghanistan such a booby trap for good and bad intentions alike.”—London Times

“Brilliant…It’s a wonderful theatrical presentation.”—London Independent

 

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the composer is dead

Written by Lemony Snicket
Music by Nathaniel Stookey
Set, Costume and Marionette Design by Phantom Limb
Directed by Tony Taccone
Main Season | Roda Theatre
November 26, 2010–January 15, 2011
World Premiere

The play

The show must go on? But the actor is mute, the director is crying, the dancer is lazy—and the composer is dead! This holiday season, Berkeley Rep presents a deliciously silly world premiere from beloved Bay Area artists. The Composer is Dead features text by bestselling author Lemony Snicket and a score by (living) composer Nathaniel Stookey. It’s a new theatrical adaptation of this wildly popular piece. Tony Taccone’s raucous production unleashes laughs through classic clowning and plenty of uppity puppets from the pioneering Phantom Limb Company (Jessica Grindstaff and Erik Sanko, Co-Artistic Directors). When Geoff Hoyle pops up as an outlandish inspector bent on solving a murderous riddle, the show crescendos into comic absurdity. To the delight of children and adults alike, The Composer is Dead comes alive on stage.

The players

Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler) penned A Series of Unfortunate Events, the fantastically successful collection of kids’ books, as well as three novels for adults.

Nathaniel Stookey is the youngest composer ever commissioned by San Francisco Symphony’s New and Unusual Music Series. His works include Big Bang, Junkestra, Wide as Skies and Zipperz.

Tony Taccone’s productions of Bridge & Tunnel and Wishful Drinking moved to Broadway, Brundibar and Taking Over played off-Broadway and Continental Divide transferred to London.

Geoff Hoyle has performed on Broadway, off Broadway and under the big top. Audiences at Berkeley Rep saw him in The Convict’s Return and Geni(us) before those shows toured the world.

Phantom Limb’s puppets have been spotted with distinguished artists like Danny Elfman and the Kronos Quartet in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, New York and Paris.

The buzz

“A hugely enjoyable undertaking for young and old alike…The piece seems destined to become a classic.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“He has become the Roald Dahl of our day, plying 11-year-olds with eloquently gleeful nastiness…Under the preposterous pen name of Lemony Snicket, he is a superstar, whose children’s books, collectively entitled A Series of Unfortunate Events, have all been international bestsellers.”—London Guardian

“Older children will pick up more of the satirical nuances in the tale, but any young listener is sure to enjoy the animated sounds as Stookey’s score playfully evokes the character of each instrument in turn. Parents, meanwhile, will relish the witty quotations from well-known pieces by Beethoven, Chopin, Stravinsky and others.”—Time Out New York

“A grimly humorous detective story…Author Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket) is an unapologetic champion of classical music, and with Stookey, another San Francisco native, he has created perhaps the best response to the tiresome trope of the death of classical music.”—Washington Post

“It’s a great piece of music, with spectacularly lousy text.”—Daniel Handler

 

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the agony and the ecstasy of steve jobs

in repertory with

the last cargo cult

Written and performed by Mike Daisey
Directed by Jean-Michele Gregory
Main Season | Thrust Stage
January 11–February 27, 2011

The play

The New York Times dubbed Mike Daisey “the master storyteller” and “one of the finest solo performers of his generation.” Our audiences loved Great Men of Genius, The Ugly American and 21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com. Now Daisey returns to Berkeley Rep in an incredible doubleheader: two provocative new monologues that examine our obsession with commerce. In The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, Daisey dives into the epic story of a real-life Willy Wonka whose personal obsessions profoundly affect our everyday lives—and follows the trail to China where millions toil in factories to create iPhones and iPods. With The Last Cargo Cult, Daisey travels to a remote island in the South Pacific whose inhabitants actually worship America and its goods. He observes their rituals as the world’s financial system collapses, spurring a soul-searching assessment of what money means and who is paying the price. With his wry eye and eccentric intellect, Daisey delivers two adventure stories—presented on different days—that cut deep with hilarious social critique.

Note: Subscribers receive tickets to one show and may swap to the other if desired; discounted tickets for both shows are available at any time.

The players

Mike Daisey’s monologues, 15 and counting, have been seen across the country and around the world. Weaving together autobiography and gonzo journalism, they tell hilarious and heartbreaking stories that cut to the bone.

Jean-Michele Gregory focuses on unscripted, extemporaneous works. Her shows ranked among the best plays of 2009 in New York Magazine, TheaterMania and Time Out New York.

The buzz

“The monologuist Mike Daisey has a masterful command of his art. Sitting alone at a simple desk, he is all-powerful for 100 minutes. When he wants you to laugh, you laugh; when he wants you to think, you think. Often, he can even get you to do both of these things at once…He doesn’t draw you into the stories he tells—not exactly. Rather, he shows how, perhaps unawares, you have been part of them all along.”—Time Out New York

“Mike Daisey’s rousing, hilarious monologue The Last Cargo Cult [is] an invigorating and infuriating examination of our relationship with money.”—Time Out Chicago

“[The Last Cargo Cult is] a stem-winding solo meditation on the meaning of money from the prolific storyteller Mike Daisey…The way Mr. Daisey makes his arguments, more than the arguments themselves, is what makes him one of the elite performers in the American theater.”—New York Times

“Mike Daisey has proven himself that rare theatrical creature: An entertaining performer with something valuable to say…He can be everything from a hysterical drinking buddy to the most convincing town council member, and his shifting energy keeps his work alive.”—Variety

“[The Last Cargo Cult] may constitute the finest hour—actually, make that two hours—ever devised by Daisey, a tale-spinner of amusingly footnoted outrage. His brand of bombast is perfectly calibrated for examinations of the colossal follies of our time.”—Washington Post

 

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ruined

Written by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Co-produced with the Huntington Theatre Company and La Jolla Playhouse
Main Season | Roda Theatre
February 25–April 10, 2011

The play

Berkeley Rep proudly brings you Ruined, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This powerful new play provides a bleak yet beautiful look at the lives of women in a land ruled by whiskey and bayonets. As civil war ravages the Congo, the lucky ones find a home—and a regular meal—in a ramshackle building that serves as both brothel and refuge. Whether merchant, miner or soldier, the man you meet in the morning may be your enemy by sundown. Yet all of them come through Mama’s door for booze and a bit of comfort. Mama Nadi protects her girls with rough compassion, even as she profits from their bodies. This celebrated script from Lynn Nottage tells an intense and important tale filled with humanity, hope and unexpected humor. When Mama talks, you better listen.

The players

Lynn Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined, as well as Obie, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards. A recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, she also penned Intimate Apparel, the nation’s most produced play in 2005/06.

Liesl Tommy, a South African native who grew up under apartheid, is known for working with young African-American writers like Eisa Davis, Danai Gurira and Tracey Scott Wilson.

The buzz

“Dazzling…Sincere, passionate, courageous and acutely argued, Ruined is a remarkable theatrical accomplishment [with] a strongly affirmative sense…This is both a celebration of the endurance and vitality of African women and an unstinting call for us to keep them safer.”—Chicago Tribune

“Explosive…A brash, searing, heart-of-darkness story—periodically shot through with moments of fearsome comedy and the redemptive spirit that suggests the sheer persistence of the life force.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“Raw and genuine…Ms. Nottage has endowed the frail-looking Sophie, as well as the formidable Mama, with a strength that transforms this tale of ruin into a cleareyed celebration of endurance.”—New York Times

“Tough and truthful…Lynn Nottage writes political plays—or, rather, plays about people whose lives have been touched by politics. This crucial distinction is what makes her a playwright rather than a propagandist, and Ruined, in which she shows us what things have come to in the bloody, brutal land that dares to call itself the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaves no doubt that the author of Intimate Apparel and Crumbs From the Table of Joy is one of the best playwrights that we have.”—Wall Street Journal

 

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the three sisters

Written by Anton Chekhov
English translation by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Les Waters
Main Season | Thrust Stage
April 8–May 22, 2011
West Coast Premiere

The play

Audiences and critics on both coasts embraced Eurydice and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), two shows steeped in longing from playwright Sarah Ruhl and director Les Waters. Now this talented team turns its attention to a fresh translation of a masterpiece. The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov depicts an entire village of unlucky lovers struggling with the bittersweet distance between reality and dreams. Ruhl enlivens this classic with the same elegant understanding of intimacy that infused those earlier collaborations, while Waters and a cast of 14 deliver another sumptuous production. The West Coast premiere of this new adaptation explores the intertwined mysteries of denial and hope. Discover the humor and heartbreak of one of the world’s great plays, told anew through the lyricism of two leading voices in contemporary theatre. Get to know The Three Sisters.

The players

Anton Chekhov remains the most important dramatist in Russian history and one of the greatest playwrights of all times. His four final plays—The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, The Three Sisters and Uncle Vanya—are considered masterpieces of modern drama.

Sarah Ruhl has earned many honors including a MacArthur Fellowship and two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. Her plays have been performed around the world in at least eight languages.

Les Waters is the associate artistic director of Berkeley Rep. In the last five years, his shows have ranked among the year’s best in The New Yorker, New York Times, Time Out New York, Time Magazine and USA Today.

The buzz

“She’s one of the hottest playwrights around, a Pulitzer nominee and MacArthur ‘genius’ letting her imagination run wild.”—San Jose Mercury News

“In Les Waters, who directed her exciting Eurydice a few seasons back, she has found an expert collaborator.”—The New Yorker

“Three Sisters is the kind of theater I love…Sarah Ruhl’s smart new translation feels just right to contemporary American ears—lean, colloquial and conversational for us and true to Chekhov’s original work.”—Cincinnati Enquirer

“Ruhl’s a great intellect, a true entertainer, an authoritative American voice.”—New York magazine

“It’s all the same fucking day, man.”—Janis Joplin, as quoted by Ruhl in a foreword to The Three Sisters

 

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a new show for rita moreno

Written by Tony Taccone
Directed by David Galligan
Limited Season | Roda Theatre
May 13–June 12, 2011
World Premiere

The play

During her spectacular career, Rita Moreno has portrayed some tough women, from Anita in West Side Story to Maria Callas in Master Class. Now this legendary performer takes on the toughest woman of all—herself. The star of stage and screen returns to Berkeley Rep to tell her tale in an irreverent and entertaining new show that’s full of surprises and songs. Expect another breathtaking performance from the lady who won the Oscar, the Tony, the Grammy and two Emmys. Artistic Director Tony Taccone makes his debut as a playwright with this touching script, drawing on decades of experience developing shows with leading solo artists, and he hands the reins for this world premiere to a renowned director: David Galligan. Don’t miss the rollercoaster ride as Rita Moreno takes you through the highs and lows—and solos—of her improbable life.

The players

Rita Moreno is one of a select group of performers who have won all four of the foremost awards in show business. She starred in two previous hits at Berkeley Rep: Master Class and The Glass Menagerie.

Tony Taccone creates award-winning shows with solo performers such as Carrie Fisher, Danny Hoch and Sarah Jones, which begin in Berkeley and end up on Broadway, off Broadway and around the world.

David Galligan is a Los Angeles director (and San Francisco native) known for his work on musicals, revues and cabarets.

The buzz

“Do not even think about typecasting Rita Moreno. She’s done everything every other actress ever dreamed of, sometimes twice, and almost always better.”—New York Observer

“Tony Taccone may very well be the most prominent artistic director in America right now.”—Playbill

“One could see this string of accomplishments as inevitable, given the quality of the artists who seek out Taccone’s talent, or as the hard-earned culmination of a career as one of American theatre’s most versatile and generous collaborators.”—American Theatre

“There are few other directors who have the kind of name recognition with producers and track record with audiences that David Galligan has.”—Back Stage West

 

Subscribe now and enjoy substantial savings on tickets to all these plays, as well as other benefits, discussed here.

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Berkeley Rep opens its season with the world-premiere production of Compulsion, a compelling new play by Rinne Groff.
(Photo by Heather Phelps)

 

Acclaimed director Oskar Eustis returns to the Bay Area to stage the world-premiere production of Compulsion at Berkeley Rep.
(Photo by Brigitte Lacombe)

 

Berkeley Rep presents the West Coast premiere of The Great Game: Afghanistan, a sweeping cycle of short plays from London that features Britain’s finest actors.
(Photo by Zahra Qadir)

 

For the holidays, beloved author Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler) brings his deliciously silly humor to Berkeley Rep with the world premiere of The Composer is Dead.
(Photo by Meredith Heuer)

 

In 2011, Mike Daisey debuts two audacious new monologues at Berkeley Rep: The Last Cargo Cult and The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.
(Photo by Ursa Waz)

 

Berkeley Rep presents a powerful new play that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Ruined by Lynn Nottage.
(Photo by Susan Johann)

 

MacArthur genius Sarah Ruhl returns to Berkeley Rep with a refreshing new translation of The Three Sisters, given its West Coast premiere by director Les Waters.
(Photo courtesy of Berkeley Rep)

 

Legendary performer Rita Moreno returns to Berkeley Rep for the world premiere of a new show written by Artistic Director Tony Taccone.
(Photo courtesy of Berkeley Rep)

 

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box office contact info

Location

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Berkeley, CA 94704

Hours

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Telephone

510 647–2949
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Fax

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Both our theatres are wheelchair-accessible, and we offer free assisted-listening devices at all performances. We also offer audio descriptions of the performances for the visually-impaired and scripts for the hearing-impaired through our box office. We are happy to work with you to accommodate any other needs you may have.

For more information on these services call us at 510 647–2949.

 

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