Fishburne, Bening, Modine and Musical Nightmare Alley Will Play Geffen Playhouse in 2009-10 | Playbill

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News Fishburne, Bening, Modine and Musical Nightmare Alley Will Play Geffen Playhouse in 2009-10 Annette Bening, Laurence Fishburne and Matthew Modine will appear in the 2009-10 season of Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse.
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Annette Bening

The new season will feature two world premieres, a North American premiere and a West Coast premiere, beginning with the world premiere of Blair Singer's Hollywood parody Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas, featuring the actor.

Academy Award nominee Bening will star in the North American premiere of Joanna Murray-Smith's comedy The Female of the Species.

Fishburne will re-create his Broadway turn as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in the West Coast premiere of the solo biographical show, Thurgood, written by George Stevens, Jr.

The world premiere of Jonathan Brielle's gritty musical Nightmare Alley (postponed from the current season) will finally bow.

One production is still to be announced in the season. Here's the Geffen Playhouse season ay at a glance:

Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas
Written by Blair Singer
Directed by TBD
Sept. 8–Oct. 18

"Matthew Modine stars as Matthew Modine in Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas, the world premiere of this rollicking satire that parodies celebrity humanitarianism, Hollywood and hand sanitizer. As the big screen star of Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket,' heartthrob Matthew Modine was 'A-List' all the way. But, that was 1987. Now, he's so far off the A-list, he's not even on The List. He needs to get back in the limelight — he needs ... a Cause. With the help of uber-publicist Whimberly North, Matthew channels his talents toward the common good and heads off to a small South American village to meet the Chimborazzi tribe and save their alpacas. Now, if only there wasn't so much dirt in Ecuador..."

The Female of the Species
Written by Joanna Murray-Smith
Directed by Randall Arney
Feb. 2–March 14, 2010

"Academy Award nominee Annette Bening returns to the Geffen Playhouse in this wildly wicked farce. Loosely inspired by a real-life incident involving feminist philosopher Germaine Greer, The Female of the Species tells the story of Margot Mason — famed auteur of such influential works as 'Madame Ovary,' 'Love and Other Four Letter Words' and 'The Complete Insignificance of Male Sexuality' — who has retreated to her country home to pen her next masterpiece. Problem is, nothing's coming. Nothing, that is, except for a young former student who is intent on taking Margot hostage as punishment for her mixed message ideology. Enter Margot's overlooked daughter, her simplistic son-in-law, her longtime publisher and a disgruntled cab driver ... and all of a sudden a simple kidnapping turns into a battle over who can throw the first punch and get the last word."

Nightmare Alley
Music, Book and Lyrics by Jonathan Brielle
Directed by Gilbert Cates
April 13-May 23, 2010

"Step into Nightmare Alley and enter the titillating world of carnies, cons and clairvoyants. With a score as wild as a funhouse and as evocative as a beautiful tightrope walker, this world premiere musical tells the tale of a young carnie couple who tempt the fickle hand of fate. Based on the darkly evocative 1946 William Lindsay Gresham novel of the same name, Nightmare Alley is a night at the theatre full of special effects, wondrous feats and enough spirit to make believers of us all. But remember, here, things are never as they seem."

Thurgood
Written by George Stevens, Jr.
Directed by TBD
June 27-Aug. 8, 2010

"Witness one of America's greatest stories told from the stage by one of our greatest story tellers. Tony Award Winner, Emmy Award Winner and Oscar Nominee Laurence Fishburne transforms into Thurgood Marshall to tell the triumphant story of how a boy from the backstreets of Baltimore changed history. From arguing the 1954 landmark case Brown v. Board of Education to becoming the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall's tenacious advocacy broke open the civil rights movement, paving the way for the young African-American leaders of our future. Fishburne's acclaimed Broadway performance of Thurgood earned him a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, as well as a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play."

For more information, please visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.

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The Geffen Playhouse opened its doors in 1995. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theatre, the company is helmed by producing director and president of the board Gilbert (Gil) Cates, artistic director Randall Arney, managing director Susan Barton and chairman of the board Frank Mancuso.

 
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