“I am so excited to announce Bay Street’s full 2014 season,” said Scott Schwartz, the new artistic director for Bay Street Theatre, in a statement. “It’s a season about art and revolution! By presenting two world premieres and a comic masterpiece by one of the greatest living playwrights, I hope to give our audience productions that are provocative, unusual, and most importantly entertaining. These plays and musicals start you thinking while engaging your heart and tickling your funny bone, and they tell compelling stories and raise issues that we hope will be the subject of conversation and debate all summer long.”
The season will begin May 27 with the world premiere of Carey Crim's Conviction, which will continue through June 15. Directed by Schwartz, the modern drama is produced in association with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Rubicon Theatre Company and Dead Posh Productions.
Conviction, according to press notes, tells the story of "Tom Hodges, a charismatic, confident and caring teacher that students adore and parents admire. The smart, wise-cracking colleague with all the answers. The neighbor who takes care of the neighborhood. The perfect husband and father. But when a student accuses Tom of crossing a line, everything changes. This delicately balanced, beautifully nuanced new family drama digs deep beneath the surface of a happy suburban existence to explore the damage done when seeds of mistrust are planted. It asks the question -- How can we live with conviction when some questions cannot be answered?"
Tom Stoppard's Tony-winning comedy Travesties will follow, running June 24-July 20. Directed by Gregory Boyd, the cast will be led by stage and screen veteran Richard Kind.
"Stoppard creates a smashing theatrical extravaganza with the wit of Oscar Wilde crashing headlong into song-and-dance, strip-tease, pie-fights, and brilliant wordplay," according to the Bay Street. "Set in 1917 and 1974 in Zurich, Switzerland, the play fantasizes how a British consul named Henry Carr (Richard Kind) encounters some of the most famous figures of the 20th century, including James Joyce, Tristan Tzara and Lenin, through an amateur production of The Importance of Being Earnest." The season will conclude with the world premiere of My Life Is a Musical, which runs July 29-Aug. 31. The new musical has book, music and lyrics by Adam Overett and will be directed and choreographed by Marlo Hunter. It will be presented in association with Martin Platt, David Elliott, Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Joan Raffe & Jhett Tolentino and Patrick Blake.
My Life concerns "Parker, who isn't like anyone else. When Parker wakes up in the morning and leaves his apartment, he hears people singing, he sees people dancing - and no other person on earth knows this is happening. Because Parker's life is a musical. And Parker hates musicals. ... Follow Parker’s journey, both hilarious and human, as he struggles to hide his predicament from the world, tries to save a rock band, is pursued by a mysterious blogger, and possibly even finds love along the way."
To purchase a 2014 Mainstage Season subscription, log on to www.baystreet.org or call the Box Office at (631) 725-9500.
