A First Look at
Theatrical Outfit’s 2009-10 Season*
Three musicals, a comedy-adventure, a comic drama and a novel in dramatic form!
“Despite the current economic conditions, the downtown playhouse’s 33rd season presents no shortage of artistic ambition...”
– Curt Holman, Creative Loafing
Brownie Points
By Janece Shaffer
Directed by Jasmine Guy
Feb. 3 – 28, 2010
This new comic drama by the popular Atlanta playwright masterfully mirrors modern families and society through the multi-cultural mayhem of a girls’ club camp-out in the north Georgia mountains. When a fierce, unexpected storm strands a group of mothers and daughters overnight in the woods, ethnic prejudices, some latent, others blatant, bubble to the surface and force the adults to examine which is deeper—the shared experience of motherhood or the divisive judgments of their upbringing. Brownie Points is both touching and comical in its portrayal of race, stereotypes and how people relate to each other, both unwittingly and intentionally.
Jasmine Guy, best known for her role on the popular late-1980s television show, A Different World, directs this production. Ms. Guy is building her directing career having recently directed For Colored Girls … at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company and several other shows in the Atlanta area. She has performed on Broadway in Chicago the Musical and also starred in the Sci-Fi hit, Dead Like Me.
*For ages 12 and up, for adult language.
The Sunset Limited
A Novel in Dramatic Form by Cormac McCarthy
Directed by Jessica Phelps West
March 17 – April 11, 2010
A startling encounter on a New York subway platform leads two strangers to a dilapidated tenement where a life or death decision begs the existential question: is there light at the end of the tunnel? In a split-second intervention, the character Black, a Christian ex-con, prevents the character White, a nihilistic and world-weary professor, from hurtling himself in the path of an oncoming commuter train. The ensuing philosophical sparring between the two sparks an intriguing articulation of opposing belief systems and the internal debate between innate human isolation versus transcendent communion. Published in 2006 and first performed at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, The Sunset Limited has been praised as “deft, spare, and full of artful tension,” and contains the brilliant, often darkly humorous, dialogue for which McCarthy is celebrated.
Jessica Phelps West, Assistant Artistic Director at Theatre in the Square directs this production. She is a beloved Atlanta actress and has an extensive resume of both acting and directing credits, including Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire and Hedda in Hedda Gabler and the direction of Much Ado About Nothing and The Poetry of Pizza, among others.
*For ages 16 and up, for adult themes and language.
“This is mind-expanding theater at its best.”
– Chicagocritic.com
Blues in the Night
Conceived and Originally Directed by Sheldon Epps
Director/Choreographer: Patdro Harris
Musical Director: JMichael
Musical Director Partner: Brett O’Hara
April 28 – May 23, 2010
Tony-nominated, this scorching Broadway musical, set in a seedy Chicago hotel, is a full-out compilation of blues songs that interweaves stories of life, loss and love through the unrivalled tunes and lyrics of Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, and many more.
The director/musical director team that brought you The Wiz and Black Nativity at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company have teamed up again. Patdro Harris, 2009 Suzi Award Winner for Choreography in Black Nativity and 2009 Suzi Award Nominee for Best Director for Black Nativity and JMichael (Musical Director) are creating a powerhouse production to close out our 2009 – 2010 season.
*For ages 16 and up, for adult themes.
“…crowd-pleasing appeal … knock ’em dead vocalizing…”
– Variety
“…it should offer a showcase for some of Atlanta’s best chanteuses.”
–Curt Holman, Creative Loafing
Additional Productions in 2009
In addition to our regular season, Theatrical Outfit will present these two must-see co-productions:
Blood Knot
By Athol Fugard
July 10 – August 2, 2009
Acting powerhouses Tom Key and Kenny Leon reprise their acclaimed 1998 roles as half-brothers, one white, the other black, in 1960s Apartheid-era South Africa in this searing masterpiece about the corrosive effects of institutionalized racism and the inextricable familial ties that bind. Although they share the same mother, Zack (Leon) and Morrie (Key) have fathers of different races, and Morrie can “pass” for white in society, a fluke of fate that dictates both brothers’ lives. The two share a one-room, cardboard and corrugated-tin shack, as well as the dream to save enough money to buy a farm; but when a female pen-pal suddenly proposes a face-to-face meeting, their mutual fondness for imaginary game-playing turns dark and reveals the inner fears and wounds haunting each man’s sense of self. This is a co-production with Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company.
*For age 12 & up, for adult themes and language.
“…you couldn’t do much better than Athol Fugard’s Blood Knot with Kenny Leon and Tom Key … for once, a dream cast lives up to the dream … Leon and Key deliver gutsy, riveting performances … the richness of the roles and conflict require close work with the two actors, (who) seem utterly generous with each other.”
– Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Composed and written by Gian Carlo Menotti
Director: W. Dwight Coleman
Musical Director: Daniel E. Solberg
Dec. 13 – 23, 2009
This vocal score is a new and revised edition of the well-known opera that made television history on Christmas Eve, 1951, and is in collaboration with the Georgia State University School of Music. Haunting and vivid musical interpretations capture the humble life of a crippled child and his impoverished mother and describe one mesmerizing evening when traveling magi from the East mysteriously seek rest with them. Among the unforgettable songs are Don’t Cry Mother Dear; From Far Away We Come; Good Evening!; Come In!; Have You Seen a Child?; Dance of the Shepherds; and All That Gold. In one night’s brief encounter, gifts both spiritual and material are bestowed on Amahl, who is miraculously healed and able to join the kings on their quest to find the Christ child.
W. Dwight Coleman and Daniel E. Solberg provide direction and musical direction for this production. Mr. Coleman is the director of the School of Music. He is a lyric baritone and performs actively in the local, national and international opera communities, including appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Pensacola Opera and the Atlanta Opera. He has directed many operas and won several awards. Mr. Solberg is a pianist and has performed and accompanied performers in the United States and beyond. He is a staff accompanist and vocal coach at Georgia State University.
*For all ages.
“Amahl is the modern equivalent of a medieval mystery play…not biblical but an invented fable … Menotti’s music is attractive and unfailingly lyrical.”
– The New York Times
Cotton Patch Gospel
Written by Tom Key and Russell Treyz,
with music and lyrics by Harry Chapin
Aug. 12 – 30, 2009
A gem of musical theater, Cotton Patch Gospel adapts Clarence Jordan’s “Cotton Patch” versions of the gospels of Matthew and John for the stage, transplanting the story of Jesus into the mid-20th-century American South and considering what might have happened had Jesus been born in Georgia — with Gainesville standing in for Bethlehem, Valdosta for Nazareth and Atlanta as the fateful Jerusalem. This perennial favorite plows new ground with an all-new cast and is co-produced with Third Coast Productions and Georgia Ensemble Theatre.
*For all ages.
“Cotton Patch Gospel is the musical that asks: Would the people of today’s world know a savior if they saw him? … the underlying message is spiritual … it’s deeply moving … ”
– Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Around The World In 80 Days
Adapted by Mark Brown from the novel by Jules Verne
Directed by Clint Thornton
Oct. 14 – Nov. 8, 2009
The original “Amazing Race,” this comedy/adventure, set in 1872, is a high-spirited romp through different continents, cultures and time zones that puts one man’s life and fortunes at risk. After making an outrageous wager, the unflappable Phileas Fogg and his man-servant Passepartout, embark on an extraordinary itinerary and global race against the clock, all the while eluding a misdirected detective. Complete with angry natives, typhoons, runaway trains and a damsel in distress, 80 Days is a delightful odyssey for the entire family.
This production is directed by Clint Thornton, known for his work at the Center for Puppetry Arts and Synchronicity Theatre, where he directed last year’s critically acclaimed The Snow Queen, as well as the popular A Year with Frog and Toad. He has directed in several other Atlanta theaters, and is well known for his ten year stint directing The Santaland Diaries at the Horizon Theatre. Also an actor, Clint recently appeared as Salieri in Amadeus at Trinity Theater, and will appear this winter at Theater Emory in Frankenstein, directed by Jon Ludwig.
*For all ages.
“Action and hilarity to spare.”
– Boston Globe
* Titles and order of plays are subject to change and based on artist availability and licensing requirements.
