The big news from the American Conservatory Theatre is that the San Francisco venue will host the premiere dates for Urinetown's national tour. The wildy satiric Greg Kotis-Mark Hollmann musical about a place where the poor have to pay to pee plays the Geary Theatre June 24-July 27, 2003. Original director John Rando and original choreographer John Carrafa return for the tour launch, which will travel from ACT to Denver, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Cleveland.
But before Urinetown becomes home for San Franciscian theatregoers, American Conservatory Theatre has planned a season of classics, a rarely revived Tom Stoppard play and Ruben Santiago-Hudson in his solo drama Lackawanna Blues.
Night and Day, in its first major revival since its premiere 25 years ago, is Stoppard's examination of international journalism and the price truth pays in it. Two Western journalists and a photographer are in Africa reporting on a country's attempts at revolution, when they meet a beautiful woman who may be hiding the scoop of a lifetime. ACT core company actors Rene Augesen, Marco Barricelli, Steven Anthony Jones and Gregory Wallace will star with Carey Perloff directing. Night and Day plays Sept. 19-Oct. 20.
Santiago-Hudson, known for his TV appearances on "NYPD Blue" and "Michael Hayes" and his Tony win for Seven Guitars, plays over twenty characters in Lackwanna Blues, set in his home town of Lackawanna, New York in 1956. The Obie-winning drama centers on Miss Rachel's boarding house, where a parade of eccentric, dreaming and lost souls come to stay. Original blues music is composed and performed live by guitarist Bill Sims.
Since its premiere at the Public Theatre, Santiago-Hudson has traveled with Lackawanna to Seattle, Philadelphia and Princeton. Lackawanna Blues plays ACT Oct. 27-Dec. 1. The classic offerings include David Mamet's American Buffalo with Barricelli and Richard E.T. White directing (Jan. 10-Feb. 9, 2003), Mary Chase's comedy Harvey with Wallace as Elwood Dowd, the man with the giant imaginary rabbit (Feb. 20-March 23, 2003) and Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters, directed by Perloff with Augesen, Barricelli, Jones and Wallace (May 8-June 8, 2003).
American Conservatory Theatre is located at 415 Geary Street. For ticket information, call (415) 749-2250. American Conservatory Theatre is on the web at http://www.act-sfbay.org.
— By Christine Ehren
