That gem of a company (and a theater) in Red Bank has just announced its upcoming season—the first one planned by Artistic Director John Dias. Check out the offerings and mark your calendar so you won’t forget to order tickets:
| JOHN DIAS ON THE 2011-12 SEASON | MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Sam Buntrock
WHEN: September 10 – October 2, 2011
WHERE: Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank
“Much Ado is perhaps Shakespeare’s wittiest romantic comedy. One of the things I love about it is that the romantic leads are no longer young, but mature people who are comfortably settled. The sparks that fly are surprising to them, and make for something fun and unusual for audiences. I’m especially delighted to launch my first season with this play, and to work with two exceptional artists, the director Sam Buntrock and actor Michael Cumpsty.” |
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IN THIS HOUSE
Music by Mike Reid
Lyrics by Sarah Schlesinger
Book by Jonathan Bernstein and Sarah Schlesinger
WHEN: October 15 – November 6, 2011
WHERE: Marion Huber Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank
“Written by a great team that includes Grammy-winning songwriter Mike Reid, this intimate chamber musical has a uniquely American sound. It tells a beautiful story about the challenges and the rewards of being in a relationship, through the accidental meeting of two couples—one at the beginning, the other at the end of their time together. It’s a story that anyone who has ever been in love can relate to, and that touches people no matter where they are in their own lives.”
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| NO CHILD…
Written and Performed by Nilaja Sun
Directed by Hal Brooks
WHEN: November 1 – November 20, 2011
WHERE: Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater
“No Child… is the story of an actor who goes into a Bronx public school as a teaching artist, and the discoveries she makes about her students—and herself. Nilaja Sun, who artfully evokes multiple characters, based the play on her own experiences, and brings us theater at its purest and most powerful. We see a transformation on stage, told through the storytelling of an immensely gifted writer and actor.” |
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JITNEY
By August Wilson
Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
WHEN: January 31 – February 19, 2012
WHERE: Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater
“There is no other writer who captures the rhythm, sound, and musicality of theatrical dialogue quite like August Wilson, the theater’s greatest chronicler of the African-American experience. There are very few artists who are as much a part of the tradition of his work as Ruben Santiago-Hudson, a Tony Award-winning actor who has now turned to directing Wilson’s plays for a new generation. I am thrilled that he is part of our season, and that we will hear Wilson’s words on our stage.”
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SEVEN HOMELESS MAMMOTHS WANDER NEW ENGLAND
By Madeleine George
WHEN: March 3 – March 25, 2012
WHERE: Marion Huber Theater
“Seven Homeless Mammoths is a satirical ‘academic sex comedy’ about tangled relationships in a New England college town. Smart and funny, it does what theater does best—tells a great, human, recognizable story with imagination and intelligence, and with enormous warmth and love for its characters.”
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Maureen McGovern in
CARRY IT ON
Co-conceived and Written by Philip Himberg and Maureen McGovern
Directed by Philip Himberg
WHEN: April 3 – April 22, 2012
WHERE: Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater
“Maureen McGovern is a legendary pop singer and Broadway star, and simply a wonderful performer. In this show, she tells us about her own life, using the music of her generation—the Beatles, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and many others. We also hear, of course, the songs that made her famous. The whole show is a special kind of theater experience.”
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MY WONDERFUL DAY
By Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Nicholas Martin
WHEN: May 15 – June 3, 2012
WHERE: Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater
“I find Alan Ayckbourn utterly hilarious. He is bitingly—yet lovingly—honest about the foibles of the British middle class. In this comedy, set in the home of a minor television celebrity, he tells his story through the eyes of an Anglo-Caribbean, nine-year-old girl with a school assignment to write an essay about her day. She witnesses the goings-on around her with a quiet sense of calm that just grows funnier as the events around her become increasingly frantic.”
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…AND THEIR ANNUAL FAMILY SHOW!
HONK!
A Musical Tale of The Ugly Duckling
Music by George Stiles
Book and Lyrics by Anthony Drewe
Directed by Matt Pfeiffer
WHEN: December 6, 2011 – January 1, 2012
WHERE: Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater
“The Ugly Duckling—the basis of Honk!—is one of my favorite stories, and I am glad to continue Two River’s tradition of producing a family show for the holiday season. This is an old-fashioned musical with charm and heart, and yet fresh enough to have won London’s Olivier Award, the British version of the Tony Award. Matt Pfeiffer returns to the theater to direct, following his successful productions of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown and Charlotte’s Web.”
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