Ashland, Ore.--Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Bill Rauch unveiled the 2009 season at a member event today in the New Theatre.
Rauch noted that while some of his goals for the 2009 season are reiterations and amplifications of the 2008 season commitments, there are some new goals that he is thrilled to have met. These include: staging Shakespeare, new plays and family-friendly work in all three theater spaces; production of non-Western classics and drama from different parts of the world; continued commitment to staging classic American drama and this season to produce a classic American musical; expand the boundaries of what's possible in the different theater spaces by putting the first ever non-Shakespeare classic in the New Theatre and the first ever play written by an artist of color on the Elizabethan Stage; and to stage a selection of plays that can be in direct conversation with one another.
The season will be anchored by four plays by William Shakespeare, and Shakespeare aficionados will be delighted that they can see some long-awaited plays to complete their Shakespearean canon. MACBETH will run the length of the season in the Angus Bowmer Theatre, directed by one of the world's leading stage directors and interpreters of Renaissance drama in performance, GALE EDWARDS. AMANDA DEHNERT, freelance director and assistant professor at Northwestern University will bring her directorial vision to the New Theatre production of ALL'S WELL THAT END'S WELL (last produced at OSF in 1992). On the Elizabethan Stage, OSF veteran JOHN SIPES (who directed the 2006 production of KING JOHN) will direct HENRY VIII (last produced at OSF in 1984) and KATE BUCKLEY, who directed the 2007 production of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, will direct the ever popular MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
Staying true to his mission of bringing world classics to OSF stages, Rauch announced that DEATH AND THE KING'S HORSEMAN, by Nobel Prize-winning Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka, will run in the Bowmer Theatre from February through July. The drama, considered by many to be Soyinka's greatest play, is based on a real incident in Nigeria during British colonial rule. It will be directed by Goodman Theatre resident director CHUCK SMITH. The family-friendly 300-year-old Italian comedy THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS, by Carlo Goldoni, will open in the New Theatre. Staged by TRACY YOUNG, who is directing this season's production of BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER, the play will run from March through November. And debuting on the outdoor Elizabethan Stage will be the Spanish classic about the knight errant and his squire Sancho Panza, DON QUIXOTE, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, with a world premiere adaptation by playwright Octavio Solis. This enduring classic will be directed by OSF veteran LAIRD WILLIAMSON.
RAUCH is extremely excited to offer the classic American musical THE MUSIC MAN, opening in the Angus Bowmer Theatre in February and running throughout the season. While remaining true to Meredith Willson's original version of the 1957 Broadway hit, Rauch will give a new look and feel to the play, having first workshopped his vision of the musical while teaching at UC Irvine in 2007. Another great American classic will open in July in the Angus Bowmer Theatre - Clifford Odets' powerful drama PARADISE LOST, about one family's struggle through the Great Depression. OSF Artistic Director Emeritus LIBBY APPEL will direct.
In addition to THE MUSIC MAN, RAUCH will also direct the world premiere production of Bill Cain's EQUIVOCATION, playing in the Bowmer Theatre from April through November. This smart, complex, engaging play involves Shakespeare and his company of players during rehearsals for MACBETH. Shakespeare is commissioned by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and minister to King James I, to write a play about the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The play explores what it means to tell the truth, to equivocate--and to lie--in politics, art and life. Playgoers will find this new play deeply resonates with the political intrigues of HENRY VIII and MACBETH.
Last but not least, opening in February and playing in the New Theatre is Sarah Ruhl's "beguiling new comedy" (New York Times review, 3/08) DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE, directed by freelance director CHRISTOPHER LIAM MOORE. The play blends real and fantastical elements in telling the story of what happens when a woman answers a ringing cell phone--that belongs to a dead man.
The 2009 season is sponsored by U.S. Bank, and Malia H. Wasson, President, U.S. Bank-Oregon, was delighted with the playbill announcement. "U.S. Bank congratulates Bill Rauch on putting together another exciting season. His creative energy is reflected in today's unveiling of the diverse productions we'll get to enjoy next year. We are pleased to be continuing our support of the important work that goes on at OSF."
The 2009 season begins previews on February 13 and closes November 1.
2009 Design Teams (subject to change):
ANGUS BOWMER THEATRE
MACBETH by William Shakespeare
February-November
Director: Gale Edwards; Scenic Design: Scott Bradley; Costume Design: Murrell Horton; Lighting Design: Mark McCollough; Music/Sound: Todd Barton.
DEATH AND THE KING'S HORSEMAN by Wole Soyinka
February-July
Director: Chuck Smith; Scenic Design: Linda Buchanan; Costume Design: Constanza Romero; Lighting Design: TBA; Sound/Music: Michael Keck; Creative Consultant: Olusegun Ojewuyi.
THE MUSIC MAN Book, Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson; story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey
February-November
Director: Bill Rauch; Choreography: Chase Brock; Scenic Design: Rachel Hauck; Costume Design: Shigeru Yaji; Lighting Design: TBA; Music Director: Gary Busby; Sound Design: Jeremy J. Lee.
EQUIVOCATION by Bill Cain - World Premiere
April-November
Director: Bill Rauch; Scenic Design: Christopher Acebo; Costume Design: Deborah M. Dryden; Lighting Design: Christopher Akerlind; Music/Sound: Andre Pluess; Movement: John Sipes.
PARADISE LOST by Clifford Odets
July-November
Director: Libby Appel; Scenic Designer: Marjorie Bradley Kellogg; Costume Designer: TBA; Lighting Designer: Robert Peterson; Music/Sound: Todd Barton.
NEW THEATRE
DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE by Sarah Ruhl
February-June
Director: Christopher Liam Moore; Scenic Design: Christopher Acebo; Costume Design: Alex Jaeger; Lighting Design: Lonnie Alcaraz; Music/Sound: Paul James Prendergast.
THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS by Carlo Goldoni
March-November
Director: Tracy Young; Scenic Design: Richard L. Hay; Costume Design: David Zinn; Lighting Design: Lap Chi-Chu; Sound/Music: TBA; Choreography: Ken Roht.
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL by William Shakespeare
July-November
Director: Amanda Dehnert; Scenic Design: Christopher Acebo; Costume Design: Linda Roethke; Lighting Design: Dawn Chiang; Sound Design: Fabian Obispo.
ELIZABETHAN STAGE/ALLEN PAVILION
HENRY VIII by William Shakespeare
June-October
Director: John Sipes; Scenic Design: Michael Ganio; Costume Design: Christina Poddubiuk; Lighting Design: Alexander V. Nichols; Sound/Music: Todd Barton.
DON QUIXOTE by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra; world premiere adaptation by Octavio Solis
June-October
Director: Laird Williamson; Scenic Design: Richard L. Hay; Costume Design: Deborah M. Dryden; Puppets: Lynn Jeffries: Lighting Design: Robert Peterson; Sound/Music: Paul James Prendergast.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare
June-October
Director: Kate Buckley; Scenic Design: Todd Rosenthal; Costume Design: Nan Cibula-Jenkins; Lighting Design: Robert Peterson; Music/Sound: Sarah Pickett.
Director and Designer bios will be posted soon on the OSF website .
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