Public Theater announces 2014-2015 Season
The Public Theater has announced the line-up for its 2014-2015 Season, including the following productions:
The Winter's Tale (World Premiere)
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Music & Lyrics: Todd Almond
Genre: Musical
Director: Lear Debessonet
Dates: 05 Sep 2014 - 07 Sep 2014
Venue: Delacorte Theatre
Synopsis: 'Conceived and directed by Obie Award winner Lear deBessonet with musical adaptation by Todd Almond and choreography by Chase Brock, Public Works' THE WINTER'S TALE brings Shakespeare's tale of mystery and magic to life as never before. Featuring Public Works' signature blend of professional actors, community members, and special guests, 200 New Yorkers will come together to tell Shakespeare's fable of hard won joy and the promise of renewal.'
Rock Bottom
Playwright: Bridget Everett
Music & Lyrics: Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
Genre: Musical
Director: Scott Wittman
Additional Music: Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz and Matt Ray
Dates: Fall 2014
Venue: Joe's Pub at The Public
Synopsis: 'ROCK BOTTOM is what happens when you're too passionate to give up, and too big to fail. In it, Everett, who The New York Times has called an "early Bette Midler," barrels through life tip-toeing toward disaster, wine bottle by wine bottle and man by man. However, instead of succumbing to a chardonnay-induced stupor, Everett embraces a series of revelations that lead her and her voice of an angel to redemption.'
The Fortress of Solitude (World Premiere)
Playwright: Itamar Moses
Music & Lyrics: Michael Friedman
Genre: Musical
Director: Daniel Aukin
Dates: 30 Sep 2014 - 02 Oct 2014
Synopsis: 'Based on the novel by Jonathan Lethem, THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE is the coming-of-age story about 1970s Brooklyn and beyond — of black and white, soul and rap, block parties and blackouts, friendship and betrayal, comic books and 45s. And the story of what would happen if two teenagers obsessed with superheroes believed that maybe, just maybe, they could fly.'
Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) (World Premiere)
Playwright: Suzan-Lori Parks
Genre: Drama
Director: Jo Bonney
Dates: 14 Oct 2014 - 16 Nov 2014
Synopsis: 'Set over the course of the Civil War, this haunting drama is comprised of three plays presented in a single performance. In Part 1, "A Measure of Man," Hero, a slave who is accustomed to his master's lies, must now decide whether to join him on the Confederate battlefield in exchange for a promise of freedom. Part 2, "The Battle in the Wilderness" follows Hero and the Colonel as they lead a captured Union solider toward the Confederate lines as the cannons approach. Finally, in Part 3, "The Union of My Confederate Parts," the loved ones Hero left behind question whether to escape or wait for his return - only to discover that for Hero, freedom may have come at a great spiritual cost.'
Straight White Men (New York Premiere)
Playwright / Director: Young Jean Lee
Genre: Drama
Cast: Austin Pendleton, Scott Shepherd, Pete Simpson and James Stanley
Dates: 06 Nov 2014 - 07 Dec 2014
Synopsis: 'A conventionally structured take on the classic American father-son drama: When Ed and his three adult sons come together to celebrate Christmas, they enjoy cheerful trash-talking, pranks, and takeout Chinese. Then they confront a problem that even being a happy family can't solve: when identity is the cornerstone of one's worth, and privilege is increasingly problematic, what is the value of being a straight white man?'
Hamilton (World Premiere)
Book, Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Genre: Musical
Director: Thomas Kail Cast: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Dates: 20 Jan 2015 - 22 Feb 2015
Synopsis: 'A new show about the life, death and rhymes of a scrappy young immigrant who forever changed America: Alexander Hamilton. Tony and Grammy Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda takes the stage as the unlikely founding father determined to make his mark on the new nation as hungry and ambitious as he is. From bastard orphan to Washington's right hand man, rebel to war hero, a loving husband caught in the country's first sex scandal, the Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy, HAMILTON is a musical exploration of a political mastermind who was both sinner and saint. George Washington, Eliza Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and Hamilton's lifelong friend/foil Aaron Burr all make their mark in this new musical.'
The Total Bent (World Premiere)
Book, Music & Lyrics: Stew and Heidi Rodewald
Genre: Musical
Director: Joanna Settle
Dates: 03 Mar 2015 - 05 Apr 2015
Synopsis: 'A new show at the crossroads of the sacred and profane, survival and liberation, gospel and rock 'n' roll. When a British record producer arrives in Montgomery, Alabama to hook Marty Roy, a young black musical prodigy rebelling from the constraints of the world around him, he launches us back into Marty's tumultuous musical upbringing. The son of a gospel star and self-proclaimed healer, Marty spent his childhood writing the songs that have made his charismatic father famous. But in an America on the verge of social upheaval, Marty finds himself at odds with his complicated and spiritually forceful father, desperate to make his own way and his own sound. THE TOTAL BENT is about the passions that divide a father and son as they make their music and make their choice between salvation and selling out.'
Toast
Playwright: Lemon Andersen
Genre: Musical
Director: Elise Thoron
Dates: 02 Apr 2015 - 19 Apr 2015
Synopsis: 'TOAST weaves major characters from black oral narratives into a story about a group of inmates fighting to keep their minds free amidst the 1971 riots that rocked Attica Prison. After 27 years served for murder in Attica's D-Block, Willie Green, aka Dolomite, has become an unlikely father figure to his cellmates, folklore heroes like Jesse James, Hobo Ben, Annabelle Jones, Stackolee and Hard Rock. Though word is brewing throughout Attica that a riot is coming, Dolomite would rather not get involved. But when one of the youngest inmates in their block is viciously beaten by guards for protesting prison conditions, Dolomite has to decide whether to join the riots or lock himself in his cell and hope for a promised parole date and the chance to taste freedom.'
Artistic Director Oskar Eustis commented on the upcoming season: 'The Public's commitment to make theater that matters is brilliantly reflected in the power and diversity of the 2014-15 season. Starting with the return of the thrilling Public Works Shakespeare at the Delacorte, and proceeding through three explosive new musicals and major new work by Suzan-Lori Parks and Young Jean Lee, this season is truly of, by and for the people. This is work that we have developed and nurtured, and the artists have responded with astounding bravery and creativity.'
Originally published on