What's playing on the East Coast outside New York? The list below provides information on shows running from late May through June, and gives you a glimpse into several theatres' 1996-1997 season.
Stamford Center for the Arts, CT:
Upcoming: Stamford Center for the Arts' 1996-97 season includes Elliot Gould and Mariette Hartley in Ira Levin's Deathtrap (Sept. 17-Sept. 22), two-time Tony Award-winner Uta Hagen in the current Off-Broadway hit Mrs. Klein (Oct. 22-Oct. 27), Belfast's Lyric Theatre's version of Philadelphia, Here I Come! by Brian Friel (Nov. 5-10), Martha Reeves and The Vandellas in the musical Ain't Misbehavin' (Feb. 25-March 2), Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller in After-Play (April 15-20), G.B. Shaw's Don Juan in Hell with an all-star cast including six-time Emmy Award-winner Ed Asner, Tony Award-winner Rene Auberjonois and two-time Academy Award-winner Dianne Weist (May 13-18). Seventh production to be announced. Subscription prices range from $200 to $250.
Hartford Stage, CT:
Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky has extended its run through Sunday, June 16. Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) stars as a free-spirited Cotton Club singer. Tickets are $27.50-$36.50, call 860-527-5151.Upcoming: Hartford Stage's 1996-1997 season includes Carlo Goldoni's comedic tale The Servant of Two Masters (Sept. 28-Nov. 2), Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night (Nov. 9-Dec. 14), Alan Ayckbourn's Intimate Exchanges (Dec. 28-Feb. 1), musicals Thunder Knocking at the Door by Keith Glover or Comfortable Shoes by Clint Holmes (Feb. 15-March 22), the world premiere of Pearls for Pigs written and directed by Richard Foreman (March 29-May 3) and George Feydeau's French farce An Absolute Turkey (May 10-June 15). Greg Leaming, formerly associate artistic director for Hartford Stage from 1985-1992, becomes Producing Director as of June 15th. Previously artistic director at Portland Stage, Leaming directs Intimate Exchanges this season. Subscription prices for the 1996-97 season range from $123 for previews to $198 for Saturday evening and opening night.
Westport Country Playhouse, CT:
Summertime shows include: Patrick Edgeworth'sLove, Julie, the story of a jilted housewife and the neighbor who comes to her rescue. Starring Helen Reddy and Millicent Martin. June 24-July 6. Tickets $10-$30; Patrick Hamilton's suspense storyAngel Street about a husband who tortures his wife into insanity. Starring David McCallum and Jean LeClerc. Tickets $10-$30; The Lerner & Loewe tale of a magical Scottish village which comes to life once every 100 years, Brigadoon, plays from July 22-August 3. Tickets $13-$33; The Preservation Hall Jazz Band jams on July 28th. Tickets $12-$26; The dark comedy Men in Suits by Jason Milligan starring Dan Lauria. August 5-7. Tickets $10-$30; A.R. Gurney's recent Off-Broadway hit about a man, his wife and the dog that comes between them. August 19-31. Tickets $10-$20; Snapshots, with music by 1996 Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz, tells the story of the rekindling of one couple's love. Tickets $13-$33. For tickets to all shows call, 203-227-4177.
Center Stage, MD:
Upcoming season for 1996-97 features collaborations with the Yale Repertory Theatre and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, along with the presentation of classic works by Bertolt Brecht, Tennessee Williams and August Wilson. Includes Brecht's Galileo, Oct. 4-Nov. 3; the world premiere of the musical Triumph, co-produced with the Yale Repertory Theatre. Inspired by the James Magruder's 1994 play, The Triumph of Love, Truimph has music by Jeffrey Stock, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead; the world premiere of Keith Glover's Thunder Knocking on the Door, in collaboration with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Dec. 13-Jan. 26; Romeo and Juliet, or The Merchant of Venice, Jan. 31-March 9; The Glass Menagerie, March 14-April 27; August Wilson's The Piano Lesson or Seven Guitars, April 25-June 1. Subscriptions start at $60 for all six plays, $45 for students. Call 410-332-0033.
Arena Stage, Washington D.C.:
Anna Deavere Smith's (Fires in the Mirror, Twilight, Los Angeles: 1992) new theater piece on the press and the presidency will premiere in the fall of 1997 at the Arena Stage. The 16th installment in her On the Road: A Search for American Character series, the new piece is co-produced by Chicago's Goodman Theatre, L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum and the Arena Stage.
Smith, a residence at Arena Stage, is currently researchin and interviewing journalists, historians, politicians and others from current and past administrations. Smith will cover the presidential campaign as part of her research and as a contributor to Newsweek. Workshops at the Arena Stage during the spring of 1997 will further develop the script. Unlike her earlier one-women projects, this piece uses several actors.
A book based on materials from the play will be published in 1997 for Times Books.
Long Wharf Theatre, CT:
Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight, Los Angeles: 1992 will be performed at the Long Wharf Theatre from June 11-June 23. Using interviews with dozens of individuals involved in the Rodney King beatings and the subsequent riots, Smith created a one-woman performance piece that garnered a New York Drama Critic's Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award and an Obie. Tickets are $28-$38. Call 203-787-4282.
