The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Season features ‘Minor Character,’ ‘Far Away’ and ‘The Music Man’
SHARON » Sharon Playhouse has announced its 2017 season. The season kicked off with Minor Character: Six Translations Of Uncle Vanya, created by New Saloon. which opened June 9 and continues through June 25, followed by “Far Away” by Caryl Churchill, July 7-23. The season will conclude with a new, intimate chamber production of Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man,” from aug. 4-20.
In a shift that begins this season, Morgan Green will direct all three productions, showcasing the talents and range of the rising director.
The season will also feature the Youth Theater production of “Footloose” by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, with music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pitchford, running July 1416.
“The Sharon Playhouse is uniquely situated to capitalize on the limited production opportunities for early career directors,” said Artistic Director Johnson Henshaw. “Our new director-oriented season aims to work with these emerging artists to assist them in curating their own season and give them full productions of both classics and new works. After seeing “Minor Character” at the Under the Radar Festival earlier this year, we knew Morgan would be the perfect director to kick off this new format. We’re so excited to work with her this summer, especially as she tackles The Music Man with a new national outlook on con artists and the women who see through them.”
“Minor Character: Six Translations Of Uncle Vanya,” an adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, is an irreverent mash up of six different English-language translations – from the dusty 1916 edition to Google Translate’s whack results. A kaleidoscopic amplification of Chekhov’s tragic comedy, each character is interpreted by multiple actors and through multiple translations in an athletic attempt to say one true thing. Created by New Saloon (Brooklyn-based theatre company made up of Morgan Green, Madeline Wise, and Milo Cramer), directed by Morgan Green, and featuring dramaturgy by Elliot B. Quick, Minor Character will run in Sharon Playhouse’s Bok Gallery, through June 23.
In “Far Away,” Caryl Churchill’s fable about a world where the line has disappeared between the normal and the fantastic, beauty and horror, plain talk and poetry, Joan has just seen something she shouldn’t have. Far from home, she hears screams in the night. She’s uncovered a terrible secret that will change the course of her life. Churchill confronts our deepest fears, depicting a chilling world where everyone is at war, and not even the birds in the trees or the river below can be trusted. Directed by Morgan Green, it will run in the Bok Gallery from July 7-23.
The season will conclude with “The Music Man,” written by Meredith Wilson, in celebration of the musical’s 60th anniversary as an American Classic. Under the direction of Morgan Green, Sharon Playhouse invites you to experience the story of a lovable con man who warms his way into the heart of small town American like you’ve never seen it. “The Music Man” will run on the Sharon Playhouse Mainstage from Aug. 4-20.
Sharon Playhouse will also present a Youth Theater production of “Footloose,” a musical adaptation of the hit film featuring students ages 13 – 19 from the Sharon Playhouse Youth Theater. Directed by Sarah Combs, “Footloose” will run on the Youth Theater Mainstage from July 14-16.
Performance for the season will be Thursdays at 7pm, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm, and Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets, priced at $20-47, are available by calling the Sharon Playhouse box office at (860)-364-7469 or by visiting www.sharonplayhouse.org.
The Sharon Playhouse will for the first time be offering a complimentary shuttle from the Wassaic MetroNorth Train station to the Playhouse. Reservations required at time of ticket purchase.
With new management this season in Artistic Director Johnson Henshaw and Managing Director, George Quick the Sharon Playhouse is focused on emerging directors, bringing the best and brightest new talent from the New York to Sharon, CT to create innovative and exciting theatre on their intimate stages.
Learn more at www.sharonplayhouse.org.