For Immediate Release:
Media Contact:
Rachel Gorman
Marketing and Development Director
pr@southernrep.com
ABOUT SOUTHERN REP THEATRE'S MAINSTAGE SEASON:
Southern Rep Theatre's 2014-15 Mainstage Season will be focused on productions that share the stories of, and about, Louisianans. Details are as follows:
National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere
BROOMSTICK
By John Biguenet
Directed by Amy Holtcamp
Featuring Liann Pattison
October 4 - November 2, 2014 (Previews October 1 - 3)
Performances: 8:00 pm/Sunday Matinees: 3:00 pm
Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70113
In a remote cabin deep in the woods, an old crone spins a spellbinding tale about her life, her love affairs, and her cursed reputation. Mischievously funny, dark, and just in time for Halloween, BROOMSTICK is the story of one woman who hovers in the shadowy space between good and evil, fantasy and reality, and who, some say, may be a little too hungry for justice.
Produced in partnership with the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Aimée Hayes
Featuring Brenda Currin
March 7 - April 5, 2015 (Previews March 4 - 6)
Performances: 8:00 pm/Sunday Matinees: 3:00 pm
Location to be announced
Set in the Garden District of New Orleans, Tennessee Williams' masterwork, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER, follows a wealthy society matron, Violet Venable, who attempts to lobotomize her niece Catherine in a struggle to cover up the truth about her son Sebastian's sudden death. When her doctor tries to unravel the mystery, will Catherine share the shocking and terrible truth of what happened, or succumb to the pressure to protect the legacy of a powerful family?
Presented in partnership with the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER raises bold questions about mental illness, sexuality, guilt, brutality, and the search for truth.
World Premiere
BOUDIN: The New Orleans Music Project
Concept by Sean Daniels, Curated by Sean Daniels, Aimee Hayes and Matt Callahan
Directed by Sean Daniels
April 18 - May 17, 2015 (Previews April 15 - 17)
Performances: 8:30 pm/Sunday Matinees: 3:00pm
Location to be announced
Southern Rep asked locals from all over the city to answer the question "How Has New Orleans Music Saved Your Soul?" and the hilarious, poignant, powerful, and personal responses that we received have got us jazzed. Now, Southern Rep has mixed the best of the bunch together and cooked up BOUDIN: The New Orleans Music Project, a musical performance that celebrates our music, history, and the magic nature of New Orleans. Performing true tales from New Orleans writers, musicians, and regular folks from around New Orleans, live music, and custom-made visual art to make a brand new, "soul saving" good time at the theatre.
Regional Premiere
DETROIT
By Lisa D'Amour
Directed by Aimée Hayes
Featuring Jessica Podewell, Mike Harkins, Laura Friedmann, Todd D'Amour, and David Hoover
May 30 - June 21, 2015 (Previews May 27 - May 29)
Performances: 8:00 pm/Sunday Matinees: 3:00 pm
Location to be announced
In a first-ring suburb just outside a city that might be Detroit, Ben and Mary see sudden signs of life at the deserted house next door and invite their new neighbors Sharon and Kenny over for a barbecue. As the action unfolds we learn that Sharon and Kenny met at rehab, neither is employed, and they don't own a stick of furniture. In the Regional Premiere of the Pulitzer Prize and Susan Smith Blackburn Award-nominated DETROIT, a quintessentially American backyard party quickly becomes something funnier - and more dangerous, too.
ABOUT SOUTHERN REP THEATRE'S LAGNIAPPE SERIES:
Southern Rep Theatre's Lagniappe Series is designed to give audiences a little something extra: high-quality productions outside of the Mainstage Season schedule and the best new theatre from fresh, local talent. Details are as follows:
** JUST ANNOUNCED! **
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Charles Dickens, adapted by Doris Baizley
Directed by Ann Mahoney Kadar
Featuring John "Spud' McConnell
December 6 - December 21, 2014 (Previews December 3 - 5)
Performances: 8:00 pm/Sunday Matinees: 3:00pm
Location to be announced
The delightful Dickens tale, lushly reimagined as a winter wonderland with music, dance, clowns and spectacular visual effects. Starring John "Spud" McConnell, returning as the iconic Scrooge in a holiday production full of unforgettable family fun.
6x6: THE NEW PLAY SLAM
Upcoming Dates: August 20, September 24
Showtime: 7:30 pm
Mid City Theatre, 3540 Toulouse St., New Orleans, LA 70119
Six passionate Playwrights, six unpredictable plays, one wild hour: Southern Rep's 6x6 is a monthly play-slam of inventive proportions. 6x6 Playwrights are given a "surprise" theme about which they must write a ten-minute play. After a blind reading, the six plays with the most votes are given a staged reading at Mid City Theatre. Every month, a new theme, and six new plays!
DEBAUCHERY!
By Pat Bourgeois
Upcoming Dates: July 2, August 6, September 10, October 8, November 5
Showtime: 7:30 pm
Mid City Theatre, 3540 Toulouse St., New Orleans, LA 70119
An ongoing production that Theodore P. Mahne from the Times Picayune/Nola.com calls "pure, escapist entertainment," this campy melodrama has developed into a cult phenomenon - drawing unexpectedly fervent audiences and inspiring Southern Rep and Playwright Pat Bourgeois to continue DEBAUCHERY! as a monthly event. Now ready to embark on its fifth year, DEBAUCHERY! is New Orleans only live soap opera and stronger than ever, with regular characters, re-occurring guest stars, and rabid audience support, including an independently-operated fan club.
ABOUT SOUTHERN REP THEATRE:
Now in its 28th Season, Southern Rep Theatre produces award-winning programs that are engaging, educational, and accessible for audiences of every socioeconomic background. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director, Aimée Hayes, Southern Rep Theatre's Mainstage Season work includes bold World and Regional Premieres as well as the best of Broadway, off-Broadway, and classic plays. Southern Rep Theatre's Lagniappe Series and "School to Stage Pipeline" of Arts Education Programs reflect the company's ongoing commitment to new play development by providing resources for students and burgeoning theatre professionals and supporting a more diverse theatre community. A mainstay of New Orleans' arts community, Southern Rep Theatre continues to build on its unique position as a sector leader, creative force, and important resource for contemporary American theatre.
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