(CINCINNATI, June 14, 2016) – Now in its fourth year as a degree program, Xavier University Theatre continues to foster professional collaborations for students by assembling its most ambitious slate of directors to date. The theatre is thrilled to announce the addition of Ed Stern, the two-time Tony Award winning former artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and D. Lynn Meyers, producing artistic director of Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, to its 2016-17 season. They join Bridget Leak, Dee Anne Bryll, Ed Cohen and Craig Wesley Divino.
“I could not be more excited to have Ed and Lynn joining next year,” says Xavier Theatre Director Stephen Skiles. “They are not only two of the most dynamic directors in our region, but they also have been incredibly supportive of our students. The experience, knowledge and passion that they bring to their work is extraordinary. We are grateful to call them part of our theatre family.”
Ed Stern will direct The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] from Feb. 16-19, 2017. The show features all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 97 minutes. An irreverent, fast-paced romp, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: (ABRIDGED) was London’s longest-running comedy. The play showcases three madcap men in tights as they weave their way through all of Shakespeare’s comedies, histories and tragedies in one wild ride that promises to leave audiences breathless and helpless with laughter.
Lynn Meyers will direct Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical INTO THE WOODS. What if Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and the Baker and his Wife lived in the same story? All must venture into the woods to seek fulfillment of their deepest wishes, but what they find there is that dreams are rarely simple and wishes are not often granted free of complications. This charming story is at once hilariously funny and deeply moving, a fractured look at the flip side of classic fairy tales as only master storyteller Stephen Sondheim (composer of Sweeney Todd and Company) could imagine. INTO THE WOODS will run April 20-22, 2017.
Tickets for the 2016-17 season productions will be available starting July 1, 2016, through the Xavier University Theatre Box Office. Tickets are $17 each for adults and $12 each for students, as well as Xavier faculty and staff. Tickets for THE ALIENS are $15. Subscription packages also are available. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.xavier.edu/theatretickets or call 513-745-3939.
Complete season details:
Xavier Theatre’s 2016-17 Season
SLUT SHAMING by Trey Tatum
Directed by Bridget Leak
Aug. 24-28, 2016
Gallagher Student Center Theatre
Lauren Lucas, time traveler, views her attack, the trial, the aftermath and her life-at-large simultaneously. She sees the woman she will become, the undamaged girl she once was; she learns how far into the future this event will consume her. And then she wakes up in the present, in high school, and she knows the struggles that lay waiting. The Artists’ Pick of the 2014 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, SLUT SHAMING explores how small-town communities aggravate teenage sexual assault.
“Slut Shaming reminds us of the power of forcing labels on people to whom absolute labels only rarely apply and of how the truth of a person — of their history and their character — can almost never be found in absolutes.” – CityBeat
THE MUSIC MAN
Book, Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson
Directed and Choreographed by Dee Anne Bryll and Ed Cohen
Oct. 20-22, 2016 (Xavier Family Weekend)
Gallagher Student Center Theatre
THE MUSIC MAN follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band he vows to organize, despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. By turns wicked, funny, warm, romantic and touching, THE MUSIC MAN is family entertainment at its best. With classic songs such as “Ya Got Trouble,” “Seventy Six Trombones” and “Till There Was You,” THE MUSIC MAN is a six-time, Tony Award winning musical comedy to be shared with every generation.
“If you’re a musical comedy buff, THE MUSIC MAN will show you just why.” – The New York Times
THE DIVINERS by Jim Leonard Jr.
Directed by Stephen Skiles
Nov. 11-19, 2016
Gallagher Student Center Theatre
THE DIVINERS is the story of a mentally disturbed young man and the unlikely, and ultimately life-changing, friendship he develops with a disenchanted preacher in early 1930s Indiana. As the small town of Zion searches to find its way through the economic struggles of the Great Depression, CC Showers seeks to find his redemption through the eyes and trust of Buddy Layman. A story of vulnerability, loss and the redemptive power of faith, THE DIVINERS is a harrowing drama full of humor, heartbreak, hope and love.
“THE DIVINERS … renders the humor and horror of the hinterlands with staggering accuracy … Compelling.” – New York Magazine
HAMLET by William Shakespeare
Directed by Craig Wesley Divino
Feb. 9-12, 2017
Gallagher Student Center Onstage Theatre
A country on the brink of war. A family torn apart. A son tortured by secrets. What does it mean to live? What does it mean to die? How far will we go to remain true to those we love? Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, HAMLET remains one of the greatest stories of all time.
“The seminal masterpiece of Western literature.” – Newsweek
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, ABRIDGED (REVISED)
by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield
Directed by Ed Stern
Feb. 16-19, 2017
Gallagher Student Center Onstage Theatre
All 37 plays in 97 minutes! An irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Bard’s plays, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: (ABRIDGED) was London’s longest-running comedy. Join these madcap men in tights as they weave their wicked way through all of Shakespeare’s comedies, histories and tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter.
“Pithier than Python … Irresistible.” – The New York Times
INTO THE WOODS
music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; book by James Lapine
Directed by D. Lynn Meyers
April 20-22, 2017
Gallagher Student Center Theatre
Be careful what you wish for … What if Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and the Baker and his Wife lived in the same story? All must venture into the woods to seek fulfillment of their deepest wishes, but what they find there is that dreams are rarely simple and wishes are not often granted free of complications. This charming story is at once hilariously funny and deeply moving, a fractured look at the flip side of the classic fairy tales as only master storyteller Stephen Sondheim (composer of Sweeney Todd and Company) could imagine.
“Blends imagination and playfulness.” – Newsday
THE ALIENS by Annie Baker
Directed by Stephen Skiles
April 5-8, 2017
Xavier’s XHaus – 1123 Walnut Street in Over-the Rhine
Two angry young men sit behind a Vermont coffee shop and discuss music and Bukowski. When a lonely high-school student arrives on the scene, they decide to teach him everything they know. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Circle Mirror Transformation and The Flick, THE ALIENS is a play with music about friendship, art, love and death. A new Xavier Theatre collaboration with the Center for Innovation, THE ALIENS will be presented at the XHaus space in OTR. Limited seating available. All tickets $15.
“A gentle and extraordinarily beautiful new play.” – The New York Times
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