The California theatre announced six of its upcoming seven upcoming 2006-07 shows. One final production, to close the company's 39th season (May 11-June 24, 2007), is yet to be announced. Productions will play at the Roda Theatre and Thrust Stage.
"I feel that no other theatre in America could present this combination of work," artistic director Tony Taccone (Bridge & Tunnel) said in a statement. "We open our doors to as many artists and audiences as possible, and we're committed to making Berkeley Rep a comfort zone for as many different people as we can. I'm proud to continue our tradition of presenting an array of the best new voices in American theatre as well as investigating great plays from the past."
The 2006-2007 season (subject to change) includes:
Lisa Peterson directs the translation of the original anti-war epic text by Bertolt Brecht. Gina Leishman provides an original score for the production.
Commissioned by Berkeley Rep and The Public Theater, this new work features a book and lyrics by Stew (singer songwriter of the band The Negro Problem) with music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald. Annie Dorsen — who collaborated on creating the musical — directs the world premiere, which will take audiences "from black, middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin, and beyond." The show heads to New York for a spring 2007 run.
Aleksandra Wolska directs creator-performers Sobelle and Lyford in the work where two silver screen clowns literally break through the fourth wall of their silent movie.
Les Waters directs the dark story of a writer who is brought in for questioning when plotlines of his stories — which involve disturbingly gruesome tales — begin to resemble real-life murders.
Waters then stages the world premiere of this work adapted from the Virginia Woolf novel, featuring an original score by Paul Dresher, set in a house "where a couple live, argue, love, and endure; where children play, cry, and grow up; [and] where a woman paints."
Actor Delroy Lindo (Joe Turner's Come and Gone, "Get Shorty") directs the play, which finds a mathematics professor who during one sleepless night is visited by four generations of ancestors who challenge and enlighten him on "what it means to be black." Subscriptions to the season at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison Street in Berkeley, CA are available by calling (510) 647-2949 or toll free at (888) 4-BRT-tix. Single tickets to shows will go on sale in August. For more information, visit www.berkeleyrep.org.
