Artistic director Michael Halberstam and executive director Kathryn M. Lipuma revealed the season on March 7.
The revival of Sweet Charity, the Cy Coleman-Dorothy Fields musical, will feature a jazz combo — a choice that late composer Coleman, a citizen of jazz, probably would have loved.
In recent seasons, the Glencoe, IL, company's new works have moved on to Playwrights Horizons, Lincoln Center Theater, 59E59 Theatre in New York and across the nation at regional theatres.
Writers' Theatre performs in two performance spaces in Glencoe: its 50-seat venue at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave, and its 108-seat theatre at 325 Tudor Court in the Woman's Library Club.
For subscription information, visit www.writerstheatre.org. The 2012-13 Writers' Theatre season includes:
Hamlet
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Halberstam
Featuring Scott Parkinson (Hamlet), Shannon Cochran (Gertrude), Michael Canavan (Claudius), Liesel Matthews (Ophelia), Kareem Bandealy (Horatio), Julian Parker (Rosencrantz) and Witold Huzior (Fortinbras)
Sept. 4-Nov. 11
Performed at 325 Tudor Court
"The king is dead — murdered by his own brother, who has claimed the throne and the widowed queen. And the world goes on…but the Prince cannot. Shakespeare's greatest tragedy is equal parts ghost story, political intrigue, doomed romance and murder mystery, driven by one of literature's most intriguing, enigmatic and controversial characters."
The Letters
By John W. Lowell
Directed by Kimberly Senior
Oct. 30, 2012-Feb. 17, 2013
Performed at Books on Vernon
"When Anna is called in for a meeting with her superior, everything seems to be going well. But nothing is quite as it seems in this thriller of politics and disinformation set in 1930s Russia. A casual conversation quickly turns into a game of cat and mouse in which being the last to flinch may mean the difference between life and death. Who will claim the upper hand: those who suppress the truth, or those who will risk everything to liberate it?"
Sweet Charity
Conceived by Bob Fosse, based on the screenplay "Nights of Cabiria" by Federico Fellini, Tulio Pinelli and Enio Flaiano
Book by Neil Simon
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Musical Direction by Doug Peck
Choreography by Jessica Redish Directed by Michael Halberstam
Jan. 22-March 31, 2013
Performed at 325 Tudor Court
"Charity Valentine's problems aren't unique — a dead end job, a string of dates with identically flawed men and a knack for making the wrong choices. Of course, in her case the job is as a dance hall 'hostess' and her dates all seem to end with her being pushed into the lake — but that won't shake her belief that great things lie just ahead. And perhaps they do…"
Yellow Moon
By David Greig
Directed by Stuart Carden
April 2-July 21, 2013
Performed at Books on Vernon
"Boy meets girl…and now they're on the run. This is the ballad of Leila and Lee — a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde who learn that they aren’t alone in the world the night that they discover each other. Their wild ramble across the Scottish highlands in search of an absent father is told in a series of lyrical narratives that will immerse audiences in the action, forging a breathless drama of beauty in the darkness."
The Liar By David Ives
Adapted from the comedy by Pierre Corneille
Directed by William Brown
May 21-July 28, 2013
Performed at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe
"Hours after arriving in Paris, charismatic scoundrel Dorante is smitten by a pair of comely young ladies and confounded by a case of mistaken identity. Not to worry, Dorante is handsome, charming — and a pathological liar. He wins admirers wherever he goes…so long as he never has to tell the truth! Misunderstandings, secret agendas, and witty wordplay abound in this ingenious and irreverent update of a classic French romp."
