City Theatre Plans Three Premieres for One Acting Company; Reddin, Lowe and Aguirre-Sacasa Picked

Artistic director Tracy Brigden announced May 2 that the 2006-07 season's centerpiece will be called the "New American Trio," billed as "an innovative series that will produce three new plays by three talented playwrights writing for a single acting company cast in multiple roles."

Surrounding the New American Trio in 2007 "will be a constellation of readings, open rehearsals, feedback discussions, and writing workshops."

The three new works will be the premiere of a revised version of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's The Muckle Man, and the world premieres of Mezzulah, 1946 by Michele Lowe (String of Pearls) and a new play by Keith Reddin (author of Frame 312, Rum and Coke). The Reddin play is a City Theatre commission.

The new works are part of City Theatre's 2006-07 subscription series, which also includes The Good Body by Eve Ensler (Oct. 5–29), featuring the author, who explores issues of self worth, size and image in her world and around the world; A Picasso, Jeffrey Hatcher's play about a Nazi interrogator questioning a young Pablo Picasso in 1941 (Nov. 9–Dec. 10); and Intimate Apparel, Lynn Nottage's play about an African–American lingerie seamstress in 1905 New York (May 3–27, 2007).

The American Trio series includes:

The Muckle Man, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Newfoundland-set thriller about a marine biologist searching for the elusive giant squid, intent on solving its mysteries. "On dry land, Clarke's wife, Marina, chases a mystery of her own when she rescues a stranger who emerges from the surf. As the natural world is thrown off balance, what surfaces is a mystical tale of the sea and its secrets. Currents of pop culture, contemporary science, and ancient folklore run through this chilling edge-of-your-seat thriller." (Jan. 25-Feb. 18, 2007). The author's Based on a Totally True Story was produced by Manhattan Theatre Club in spring 2006.

Mezzulah, 1946 by Michele Lowe (March 8–April 1, 2007). In it, "the war is over and the boys are home, but at the Boeing airplane plant Mezzulah has no intention of giving her job to a man. Like her hero, Leonardo da Vinci, Mezzulah is ahead of her time and dreaming of flight. But she won’t be flying solo. Along with Mezzulah, the other women of Monroe, Washington, are about to take wing—each in her own way. A transcendent new play with heart, humor, and period music."

A World Premiere by Keith Reddin (April 12–May 13, 2007). "Keith Reddin's plays have a darkly comic world view, a modern and provocative edge, and a distinctive and theatrical flair. City Theatre has commissioned Reddin to write a new play as part of the New American Trio. City Theatre audiences will be given unique behind-the-scenes access as this original work is created and produced." In addition to the subscription season, Pittsburgh audiences can expect two special engagements: Late Nite Catechism 2 by Maripat Donovan (opening May 23, 2006) and Donovan's Sister's Christmas Catechism (Nov. 24–Dec. 31).

Also planned as two annual festivals: Young Playwrights Festival (Oct. 14–29), representing the best scripts submitted by middle and high school students, seen in e full productions, staged with professional actors, directors and designers; and "MOMENTUM 07: new plays at different stages" (June 14-17, 2007), at which playwrights, directors, actors and audiences gather at City Theatre for readings, workshops and events.

For more information, call (412) 431-CITY and www.CityTheatreCompany.org.

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