His newest play, Comic Potential, opened Nov. 16 at the Manhattan Theatre Club. However, Minnesota's Theatre in the Round Players chose one of his older plays to run this holiday season. Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular will run at the Twin City stage Nov. 24-Dec. 17.
TRP are no strangers to the Ayckbourn canon (which consists of over 50 plays) as they have previously mounted Taking Steps and How The Other Half Loves. For this production, director Scott Rubsam takes on the popular comedy which happens to be see on three different Christmas Eves. The play introduces three couples and their holiday party disasters.
For tickets to shows at the TRP, 245 Cedar Ave in Minneapolis, call the box office at (612) 333-3010 or enter TRP's URL, www.theatreintheround.org.. *
Now in their 49th year, the Theatre in the Round Players continue their 2000-2001 season, which boasts five area premieres. The season started with the area premieres of Impossible Marriageby Pulitzer Prize-winner Beth Henley, Shivaree by William Mastrosimone and Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan. Richardson and Berney's Dark of the Moon followed.
Following Absurd is perhaps the most provocative of the season, 2 by Romulus Linney. The area premiere set in 1945 Germany at the onset of the Nuremberg Trials will occupy the theatre Jan. 5-28, 2001. Focusing on Hermann Goering, Hitler's No. '2', who helped build the Third Reich. Directed by G. J. Clayburn. Peter Shaffer (Amadeus and Equus) penned Lettice and Lovage about a British tour guide who embellishes so much that she gets fired, but because of her romantic world view befriends the woman who fired her. Directed by Linda Paulsen, the comedy runs Feb. 9 - Mar. 4, 2001.
Shakespeare's shipwreck saga is marooned at TRP from Mar. 16 - Apr. 15, 2001. The Tempest, about the usurped Duke of Milan, Prospero and his daughter Miranda is presented under the direction of Craig Johnson.
The final area premiere of the season comes with Off the Map Apr. 27 - May 20, 2001. The play by Joan Ackermann centers on a New Mexican native who as a young girl lived off the land and hoped for a miracle. Her answer comes in the form of a displaced IRS agent. Directed by Lynn Musgrave.
Closing the millennial season will be the George Bernard Shaw classic Candida. The comedy about a Victorian love triangle between a reverend, his wife, and a poet, runs from June 1 -24, 2001.
Theatre in the Round Players was founded in 1952, with three other theatres in the Twin Cities: The Old Log in Excelsior and, the Edythe Bush and the Group Theatre in St. Paul. Today, the Minnesota area has over 150 theatre groups, and some major theaters including the Guthrie, the Childrens Theatre, and TRP. Next year will be their 50th season.
The play-by-play lineup for the TRP is as follows:
Absurd Person Singular by Ayckbourn Nov. 24 - Dec. 17
2 by Linney January 5 - 28, 2001
Lettice and Lovage by Shaffer Feb. 9 - Mar. 4, 2001
The Tempest by Shakespeare Mar. 16 - Apr. 15, 2001
Off the Map by J. Ackermann Apr. 27 - May 20, 2001
Candida by Shaw June 1 -24, 2001
