A.C.T. Will Stage Rock 'n' Roll, Peter and Jerry, Groag World Premiere in 2008-09; Metcalf to Appear
By Adam Hetrick
27 Mar 2008
San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre will host the West Coast premieres of Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll and Albee's Peter and Jerry for its 2008-2009 season.
The 42nd season officially kicks off with Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll Sept. 11-Oct. 12. Carey Perloff will direct Stoppard's drama "of a wily Marxist professor in Cambridge and his Rolling Stones–obsessed Czech protégé fighting for freedom in Soviet-dominated Prague." It will transfer to the Huntington Theatre Company later in the season.
Emmy Award winner Jane Anderson's The Quality of Life will follow Oct. 24-Nov. 23. Anderson directs her work, to star Dennis Boutsikaris (Sight Unseen, "In Dreams"), JoBeth Williams ("The Big Chill," "Kramer vs. Kramer") and Laurie Metcalf (November, "Roseanne"). In it, "Bill and Dinah (Williams), a religious Midwestern couple, visit free-spirited cousin Jeannette (Metcalf) and her husband, Neil, in Northern California, [as] both couples confront loss and survival in the face of an explosive circumstance."
Tony Award winner John Rando stages John Guare's Rich and Famous Jan. 8-Feb. 8, 2009. "Playwright Bing Ringling yearns to savor the sweet taste of celebrity, and he's hoping play number 844 will be his lucky break. But on opening night, Bing slips into a nightmarish phantasmagoria that shows him just how wrong things can go."
Tony Award winning actress Judy Kaye and Donald Corren reprise their Broadway performances in Souvenir for San Francisco audiences Feb. 13-March 15, 2009. Tony winner Vivian Matalon will again direct the work by Stephen Temperley that "imagines the story of real-life Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York socialite and tone-deaf diva who thought she was a great soprano."
The world premiere of War Music follows March 26-April 26, 2009. Adapted by Lillian Groag from the book by Christopher Logue, the drama "recounts the timeless tale of the wrath of Greek warrior Achilles against his archrival, Agamemnon — all while devious gods meddle in one of the mightiest conflicts of all time."
Academy Award nominee José Rivera's Boleros for the Disenchanted runs May 7-June 7, 2009. Perloff directs Rivera's "bittersweet tale of the strange powers of love [that] spans four decades, from Puerto Rico in 1953 to years later in the United States, when a shattered heart must face an astounding test of devotion."
The season concludes with the West Coast premiere of Edward Albee's Peter and Jerry June 12-July 12, 2009. Rebecca Taichman stages Albee's pairing of Zoo Story with its brand new "first act" which asks, "Who was Peter before his explosive encounter on that infamous park bench?"
The A.C.T. season will also include its annual holiday offering A Christmas Carol Dec. 4-27.
Season subscriptions, ranging $70-$101, are currently on sale by phoning (415) 749-2250 or by visiting www.act-sf.org. Single tickets begin sale in late August.
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