The downtown troupe — which currently presents Annie Baker's acclaimed The Aliens (extended through May 29) — has announced the lineup for its upcoming 16th anniversary season.
The 2010-2011 season, to be performed at the company's stage at 224 Waverly Place, follows:
John Gould Rubin directs filmmaker Klores' first full-length work for the stage. In his new drama, set in 1970’s Brooklyn, Klores "centers on four childhood friends who find themselves in a life-threatening situation that challenges the validity of the virtues they've adopted from a sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll culture," according to the announcement.
Circle Mirror Transformation actress Schreck delves into her personal experience as a reporter in Siberia and St. Petersburg for her latest play, which focuses on "American expat Gabe [who] hasn't seen Charles and Maxine in years. When he returns to the United Stages with his Russian journalist wife Nina, and their daughter, he seeks refuge for his family in the home of his old friends."
Pedro Pascal directs the newest work from the actress and playwright that "tells the story of Argentinean parents raising their two daughters in New England and the relationship one daughter has with a small girl believed to be living underneath her bed. The play, which uses Spanish and English, will be preceded by a workshop production in Buenos Aires
The three-part presentation starts with The Hallway, "a ten-character drama that takes place on the evening of November 28th, 1953, the day following the death of Eugene O’Neill. A young actress has been struggling with severe depression (diagnosed as melancholia in those days) and has constructed a myth that Eugene O’Neill, the great playwright, has staged his own death to escape the trappings of fame." The trilogy continues with Parafin, "set on the first evening of the 2003 New York City blackout and concerns a married couple, the wife expecting, the husband addicted to heroin, and his brother’s unrequited love for his wife." The series ends with Wolf in the Window, which is "set in 2053 in a disease-free New York. The hallway has been transformed into a museum where young men and women in need of cash are injected with old-fashioned diseases for the amusement of the public. On this night the air-tight glass wall fractures."
Kay Matschullat directs the new work that mixes both spoken word and song. Vega — known for such songs as "Luka," "Tom's Diner" and "Caramel" — will perform as the American writer known for the novel "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" and more. In the play, McCullers "talks and reminisces about love and art and life. In trying to explain, she strives to conquer the demons that intrude on the course of love that for her and her characters never runs smoothly." Memberships and tickets for the new season at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place (between West 11th and Perry St.), are available by calling (212) 868-4444. For more information, visit rattlestick.org.