Director Jessica Thebus' production opens Feb. 24 in the New Theatre in Ashland, OR. Performances continue in repertory through June 20.
According to production notes, "When U.S. Marine Jenny Sutter returns from Iraq, she lays down her rifle but isn't ready to pick up her children. Buying some time, Jenny takes a one-way trip to a desert community where misfit residents gently nurture her wounded spirit and nudge her back to her own humanity."
The play is billed as a "humor-filled and tender-hearted tribute to those who serve and those who welcome them home."
The play will move to the Kennedy Center in July. Jenny Sutter is one of four OSF productions opening on two stages Feb. 22-24 under the new artistic direction of Bill Rauch.
Rauch stated, "Of particular note this year, we present the world premiere of Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter. With humor and tenderness, this important play gives us emotional space to witness those returning from serving our country in war. It is a special honor that we will be touring this production to the Kennedy Center in our nation's capital." The cast features Gwendolyn Mulamba as Jenny Sutter, OSF veterans David Kelly and Gregory Linington, as well as newcomers Kate Mulligan, Cameron Knight and K.T. Vogt.
The creative team includes scenic designer Richard L. Hay, costume designer Lynn Jeffries, lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes and composer Paul James Pendergast. Lue Morgan Douthit is dramaturg and Scott Kaiser is voice and text director. Ross Matsuda is assistant director.
For more information, visit www.osfashland.com or call (541) 482-4331 or (800) 219-8161.
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Also opening the weekend of Feb. 22 are William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Mark Rucker (Feb. 22 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre); August Wilson's Fences directed by Leah C. Gardiner (matinee Feb. 23 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre); and ?udraka's 2000-year-old Indian classic The Clay Cart (translated by J.A.B. van Buitenen) directed by Rauch (evening Feb. 23 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre).
Later in the season, OSF will open seven more plays on its three stages. Also playing in the Angus Bowmer Theatre are Tony Award-winning playwright Jeff Whitty's The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, directed by Rauch; and Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge, directed by OSF artistic director emeritus Libby Appel. Opening in the New Theatre is Shakespeare's Coriolanus, directed by Laird Williamson; and Luis Alfaro's Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, under the direction of Tracy Young.
Productions on the Elizabethan Stage open the weekend of June 13-15, and for the first time ever, a 20th-century American classic, Our Town, directed by Chay Yew will play under the stars. Also playing outside are Shakespeare's Othello, directed by Lisa Peterson, and The Comedy of Errors, directed by Penny Metropulos (former OSF associate artistic director); OSF's 2008 season runs from Feb. 15-Nov. 2 and offers 783 performances of 11 productions.
