Mama Hated Diesels, a new musical by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman (who co-created Fire on the Mountain and It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues); Eventide, the sequel to DCTC's popular Plainsong; and Rogelio Martinez's When Tang Met Laika, seen in a reading in the DCTC New Play Summit, are the trio of premieres.
The season also includes Shakespeare's Othello, Lisa Kron's Well starring local favorite Kathleen Brady, A Christmas Carol, Harley Granville Barker's Shaw-era The Voysey Inheritance, Karen Zacarias' Mariela in the Desert, Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular and Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun directed by Israel Hicks.
In a rare move, the not-for-profit DCTC is including the Denver engagement of the commercial national tour of August: Osage County on its subscription. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama (which also won the Best Play Tony Award) will start the new season July 24-Aug. 8 at The Ellie Caulkins Opera House. (This also marks the launch of the national tour.)
The season will also include the Fifth Annual Colorado New Play Summit, Feb. 11-13, 2010.
The three Denver Center world premieres will be: When Tang Met Laika by Rogelio Martinez, directed by Terry Nolen, Jan. 22–Feb. 27, 2010 in The Space Theatre. "Heavy issues confront weightlessness when Soviets and Americans join together to establish the International Space Station. Playwright Rogelio Martinez explores the 1990s Cold War thaw as two intensely driven people find love in space, a breakfast drink, a stray dog and a ghost named Yuri." Commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre Company and Magic Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation New Science & Technology Plays Initiative.
Eventide by Eric Schmiedl, from the novel by Kent Haruf, directed by Kent Thompson, Jan. 29-Feb. 27, 2010 in The Stage Theatre. "Eric Schmiedl's companion piece to last season's adaptation of Kent Haruf's Plainsong finds the McPheron brothers getting older while their maturing 'adopted' daughter Victoria navigates college, romance and motherhood. This is a family forged from necessity in rural Holt, Colorado, where everyone does what it takes to overcome loss, survive harsh winters and find that love is never out of reach." Philip Pleasants and Mike Hartman will return as the McPheron brothers. Commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre Company.
Mama Hated Diesels by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman, directed by Randal Myler, musical direction by Dan Wheetman, March 19-May 9, 2010, in The Stage Theatre. "Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman, co-authors of the Denver Center hits Fire on the Mountain and It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, create a rambunctious musical portrait of America's long-distance truckers. Drawn from interviews with the men and women who criss-cross the country in their 18-wheelers, the musical marries Myler's gift for real-life grit and high-rolling entertainment with Wheetman's ear for the midnight jukebox sounds of a truck stop café."
Mariela in the Desert, one of the season's lesser-known titles, is the winner of the National Latino Playwriting Award. Bruce K. Sevy will direct the play, to run April 2-May 15, 2010, in The Ricketson Theatre. According to DCTC, "In the desert of Northern Mexico, in 1950, a daughter returns home to make peace with her dying father. Her mother, Mariela, must navigate the thorny relationships she has with her daughter and husband, both accomplished painters. What is the shrouded painting that is the only artwork in their house? Why does the ghost of Mariela's other child keep coming back to visit her? This play, full of passionate emotions and familial drama, looks at what it takes to be an artist."
For more information call (303) 893-6030 or visit denvercenter.org.
