Denver Center Theatre Company will have no less than five world premieres in its 1999-2000 season, including a new translation of Moliere's The Miser.
Artistic director Donovan Marley's season, divided between three spaces, includes:
* Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, the return of last season's DCTC hit, the popular Off-Broadway docudrama about the fall and philosophy of Oscar Wilde, by Moises Kaufman, directed by Laird Williamson. The Ricketson Theatre, Sept. 15-Oct. 23.
* A Moon for the Misbegotten, Eugene O'Neill's drama of guilt, shelter, secret desires and repressed feelings, set in O'Neill's New England. The Stage Theatre, Sept. 23 - Oct. 23.
* The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the black comedy about a dysfunctional mother and daughter in Ireland, by Martin McDonagh, directed by Anthony Powell. The Space Theatre, Sept. 30-Nov. 6. * Barrio Babies, a world premiere musical about a young Latino screenwriter reinventing his world in order to get his work produced, with music by Fernando Rivas and book and lyrics by Luis Santeiro, directed by Susana Tubert. The production is expected to move to New York after Denver. The Ricketson Theatre, Nov. 10-Dec. 30.
* A Christmas Carol, the classic Dickens story, adapted by Laird Williamson & Dennis Pwers, directed by Laird Williamson. The Stage Theatre, Nov. 26-Dec. 24.
* Waiting to be Invited, a world premiere play by S.M. Shephard Massat, directed by Israel Hicks. A loving tribute to Shephard-Massat's grandmother, who, with three middle-aged friends, decided to dine at a "whites only" lunch counter in segregated Atlanta, at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement. The Space Theatre, Jan. 13-Feb. 19.
* The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare's classic romance, directed by Laird Williamson. The Stage Theatre, Jan. 27-Feb. 26.
* Byrd's Boy, a world premiere by Bruce J. Robinson, directed by Arthur Masella, about an African-American woman in her mid-thirties who offers a shattered 68-year old man solace, friendship and a key to his identity. It's based on a newspaper account of a real event. The staging is expected to have a New York transfer after its Denver run. The Ricketson Theatre, Feb. 2-March 11.
* The Cripple of Inishmaan, Martin McDonagh's exploration of the personalities in the isolated Aran Islands, where gossip is entertainment, and where misfit Cripple Billy longs for Hollywood, directed by Bruce K. Sevy. The Space Theatre, March 16-April 22.
* Side Man, Warren Leight's memory play about a dysfunctional jazz player and his troubled family, directed by Randal Myler. The Stage Theatre, March 23-April 22.
* Give 'Em a Bit of Mystery: Shakespeare and the Old Tradition, a world premiere written by and starring company member and Royal Shakespeare Company veteran Tony Church, chronicling the acting styles of Shakespearean work over the centuries, directed by Bruce K. Sevy. The Ricketson Theatre, April 26-June 10.
* The Miser, the comedy by Moliere, with a world premiere translation by director by Nagle Jackson. The Space Theatre, May 4-June 10.
DCTC performances are at Denver Performing Arts Complex, Speer and Arapahoe, in downtown Denver. Tickets are $23-$36. For information, call (303) 893-4100 or, outside Denver, call (800) 641-1222.
-- By Kenneth Jones
