Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, ON - November 3, 2015: Albert Schultz, Founding Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, today announced 2016 artistic programming from January to August: ten plays from Canada and around the world; a Studio Series with three diverse productions; a continued partnership with Toronto's iconic VideoCabaret; and an expanded Concert Series.
Soulpepper's mainstage lineup includes major works from lauded playwrights both classic and contemporary, including: A Doll's House, the dramatic masterpiece by Henrik Ibsen, directed by László Marton; Arthur Miller's WWII drama Incident at Vichy directed by Soulpepper Resident Artist Alan Dilworth; Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning comedy The Heidi Chronicles directed by Soulpepper Academy Graduate Gregory Prest; and the Canadian premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks' powerful new work Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts I, II, III) directed by Soulpepper Academy Graduate Weyni Mengesha.
The company's 2016 programming also includes two world premiere translations from Canadian playwrights: The Just, by Albert Camus translated by Bobby Theodore and directed by Soulpepper Academy Graduate Frank Cox-O'Connell; and Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca translated by Governor General's Award-winning playwright & Soulpepper Resident Artist Guillermo Verdecchia, reset in rural Ontario with an original score from Andrew Penner. Blood Wedding is directed by Soulpepper Academy Graduate Erin Brandenburg.
Rounding out the new mainstage plays is The 39 Steps, a two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning comedic caper adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan, and the film by Alfred Hitchcock, directed by Soulpepper Resident Artist Ravi Jain.
Three Soulpepper Signature Productions also return as part of mainstage programming: this year's Dora Award-winner for Outstanding Ensemble, Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose; David French's comedy Jitters about life in the theatre; and Neil Simon's The Odd Couple with Albert Schultz and Soulpepper Founding Member Diego Matamoros reprising their acclaimed roles as Oscar and Felix.
In Soulpepper's Studio Series, three diverse and intimate works from three countries will be presented: Cowboy Versus Samurai by Asian-American playwright Michael Golamco with the Soulpepper directing debut of Resident Artist Ins Choi; The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine from Canadian playwrights Leah Cherniak, Robert Morgan and Martha Ross, directed by Soulpepper Resident Artist Leah Cherniak; and The Testament of Mary from Ireland's Colm Tóibín with Soulpepper Founding Member Nancy Palk in the title role, directed by Aaron Willis in his Soulpepper debut.
VideoCabaret also continues their acclaimed multi-year partnership with Soulpepper, presenting The Great War: The History of the Village of the Small Huts, 1914 - 1918 by Michael Hollingsworth, told through the stunning stagecraft of VideoCabaret's award-winning ensemble.
Music programming at Soulpepper in the new year starts off with four original concert experiences: Taking the A Train, volumes 1 and 2, centered around the music of New York City; the Canadian Pacific Railway celebrating Canadian music and stories; and The Voyager Golden Records on the iconic recordings sent into space in 1977. The Soulpepper Cabaret Series will also continue, featuring Toronto's diverse musical artists, led by Slaight Family Director of Music Mike Ross.
Full casting and additional 2016 fall/winter programming will be announced at a later date.
Current Soulpepper subscribers can renew as of November 3, 2015 at 1 p.m. New subscribers can book as of November 17, 2015, and single tickets for 2016 go on sale to the public on November 24, 2015.
Soulpepper's 2015 season continues in November with Spoon River based on Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, and the second annual Soulpepper Family Festival begins in December at the Young Centre with A Christmas Carol, Alligator Pie, and Tricks from David Ben, plus Kim's Convenience and Parfumerie at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. A new concert, A Very Soulpepper Christmas, has also been added to the Festival lineup.
For more details, view the season brochure, visit soulpepper.ca, or call the Young Centre Box Office at 416.866.8666.
SOULPEPPER 2016: January to August
MAINSTAGE
Twelve Angry Men
Reginald Rose
Directed by Alan Dilworth
The fate of a young man accused of murder lies in the hands of 12 strangers crowded into an oppressively hot, claustrophobic deliberation room. A single dissenting voice rings out "not guilty" planting the seed of reasonable doubt and unraveling what was seemingly an open-and-shut case. Tempers flare and human nature is tested in this classic jury-room drama.
A Soulpepper Signature Production
2015 Dora Award-winner for Outstanding Ensemble
Twelve Angry Men runs from January 19 to February 13. Opening night is January 22.
The Just
Albert Camus. Translated and Adapted by Bobby Theodore
Directed by Frank Cox-O'Connell
Terror stalks the Russian elite, while revolutionaries craft their bombs and plan for revolution. The Just, based on the true story of the assassination of the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in 1905, explores the moral intersect of religion, socialism, and terrorism in a gripping new translation by Bobby Theodore.
The Just runs from March 5 to March 26. Opening night is March 10.
Blood Wedding
Federico García Lorca. Translated by Guillermo Verdecchia
Directed by Erin Brandenburg
Original Score by Andrew Penner
In Lorca's 20th-century classic drama, a young couple's engagement rekindles buried passions and threatens a deep-seeded blood feud in a small rural town. Newly translated by Governor-General's Award-winning playwright Guillermo Verdecchia, and reset with the rhythms of rural Ontario, this story of primal and prophetic violence between families retains its dramatic urgency.
Blood Wedding runs from March 2 to April 9. Opening night is March 15.
Jitters
David French
Directed by Ted Dykstra
Ted Dykstra's celebrated production of David French's hilarious comedy about life in the theatre returns to Soulpepper. Inspired by the nerves and mishaps of the playwright's own opening night experiences, Jitters has been hailed as one of theatre's funniest backstage comedies.
★★★★ "A comedic masterpiece" - Toronto Star
A Soulpepper Signature Production
Jitters runs from March 3 to April 6. Opening night is March 16.
The Odd Couple
Neil Simon
Directed by Stuart Hughes
Neil Simon's legendary exploration of the relationship between fastidious Felix and his sloppy roommate Oscar is one of the most iconic and enduring pieces of 20th-century American comedy; it's also a Soulpepper audience favourite. Founding Member Diego Matamoros and Artistic Director Albert Schultz reprise the title roles as the suddenly single pals who strain their friendship by turning roommates with hilariously disastrous results.
★★★★ "Magic! A bases-loaded homer of a hit!" - Toronto Star
A Soulpepper Signature Production
The Odd Couple runs from May 5 to June 11. Opening night is May 18.
The Heidi Chronicles
Wendy Wasserstein
Directed by Gregory Prest
Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning comedy follows one woman from a 1960's teen to 1980's career woman, with all of the touching and heartbreaking moments in between. A sharp-eyed and personal look at feminism, friendship, and social change, The Heidi Chronicles explores the notion of "having it all."
The Heidi Chronicles runs from May 16 to June 18. Opening night is May 24.
Incident at Vichy
Arthur Miller
Directed by Alan Dilworth
In this taut historical drama by American master Arthur Miller, eight men are sequestered in a room in Vichy France, 1940, by local authorities in aid of the Nazis. None are told why they are held, or when they can leave. As each man is removed for interrogation, some are set free, some are never heard from again, and the stakes rise for those who remain.
Incident at Vichy runs from May 19 to June 18. Opening night is May 26.
A Doll's House
Henrik Ibsen. Translated by Frank McGuinness
Directed by László Marton
Secrets and lies haunt Nora on the eve of her husband's big promotion in Ibsen's prescient drama about family, friendship, and the secret lives of women. Widely considered one of Western drama's masterpieces, Ibsen's A Doll's House powerfully captures one woman's journey in the face of an oppressive society.
A Doll's House runs from July 18 to August 27. Opening night is July 27.
Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts I, II, III)
Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Weyni Mengesha
With her astounding Father Comes Home From the Wars Suzan-Lori Parks has created a new American Odyssey that examines America's ongoing and turbulent relationship with race. Performed together as one evening, these three parts tell a poignant tale of homecoming, family and heroism set against the US Civil War.
Canadian Premiere
Winner of the 2015 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama & the 2015 Obie Award for Playwriting
Father Comes Home From the Wars runs from July 25 to August 27. Opening night is August 4.
The 39 Steps
Adapted by Patrick Barlow
From the novel by John Buchan
From the movie by Alfred Hitchcock
Directed by Ravi Jain
The 39 Steps is a two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning comedic caper with over 150 characters played by a virtuosic cast of four. Inspired by the dramatic work of Alfred Hitchcock, a regular man is thrust into a mysterious romance, a nationwide manhunt, and a death-defying finale.
The 39 Steps runs from July 21 to August 27. Opening night is August 3.
SOULPEPPER STUDIO SERIES
Cowboy Versus Samurai
Michael Golamco
Directed by Ins Choi
Inspired by Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Cowboy Versus Samurai is a romantic comedy about love, race, and sexual dynamics set in the American mid-west. When Travis Park, a high school teacher and the only Korean American man in town, falls for his new colleague, it triggers a hilarious love triangle of letters, confessions, and soul-searching moments.
Cowboy Versus Samurai runs from January 26 to February 20. Opening night is February 5.
The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine
Leah Cherniak, Robert Morgan, Martha Ross
Directed by Leah Cherniak
People fall in love all the time; what could go wrong? When Ernest and Ernestine move in together, their wildly different approaches to life in a small apartment make for hilariously ugly confrontations in this classic Canadian comedy.
Dora Award-winner for Best Production
The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine runs from January 25 to February 20. Opening night is February 2.
The Testament of Mary
Colm Tóibín
Directed by Aaron Willis
In this challenging and imaginative solo play acclaimed author Colm Tóibín paints a breathtakingly intimate, raw and humanizing depiction of one of the most beloved figures in history. Riveting and lyrical, The Testament of Mary reimagines the last days of Jesus as only a mother can. Featuring: Soulpepper Founding Member Nancy Palk.
The Testament of Mary runs from May 6 to June 18. Opening night is May 17.
PARTNER PRESENTATION
The Great War The History of the Village of the Small Huts, 1914 - 1918
VideoCabaret
Written and Directed by Michael Hollingsworth
In 1914 many cultures struggle to be heard in the national dialogue, but British Canada is still a well-fed bulldog with a loud bark. When war looms in Europe, the loyal colony musters a tenth of its people to defend the Empire. VideoCabaret's award- winning ensemble conjures the battlefront and the home front with the trench-humour of soldiers, the follies of leaders, and the tragic farce of warfare.
Dora Award-winner for Outstanding New Play.
The Great War runs from April 1 to May 14. Opening night is April 7.
MUSIC AT SOULPEPPER
Soulpepper's music programming is enriched with story, dance, design and inter-disciplinary combustion. From concerts to cabarets to original musicals, Soulpepper is the place to be for one-of-a-kind musical experiences.
SOULPEPPER CONCERTS
Each original Soulpepper Concert revolves around a time, place, or artist crafted by a team of incomparable performers. The Concert Series is led by Slaight Family Director of Music Mike Ross.
Taking the A Train Downtown Manhattan - The Melting Pot
Writer and Host Albert Schultz, Music Director Mike Ross, and Soulpepper company members create an original concert that explores the history and culture of the original neighbourhoods of New York. Immigration, innovation, vaudeville, organized crime and the birth of American song. April 2, 8, and 9.
The Voyager Golden Records
In 1977, NASA sent the Voyager spacecraft deep into space in the hopes of connecting with other beings. On board were recordings that attempted to explain the story of humans on Earth through music, sound and speech. Music Director Mike Ross takes us on an extra-terrestrial journey inspired by the original Voyager Golden Records. June 9, 10, and 15.
The Canadian Pacific Railway
Host and Narrator Tom Allen and Music Director Mike Ross lead the Soulpepper Company and special guests through an historical and musical ride along the ribbon of steel that tied our country together. A rich Canadian journey with a whole nation of musical stops along the way. June 16, 23, and 25.
Taking the A Train Uptown Manhattan - Harlem Beginning in 1905 with the Great Migration, into the Harlem Renaissance, and right up to the present day, Harlem has been one of America’s most vibrant and culturally rich neighbourhoods. This concert takes you on a tour of the music, words and ideas that have made Harlem remarkable. Written and hosted by Albert Schultz, with Music Direction by Mike Ross. August 26, and September 2 and 3.
SOULPEPPER CABARET SERIES
These intimate musical showcases feature fresh and exciting talent, as well as intimate groupings of artists from Toronto's diverse musical community. Tickets are only $25 ($20 for students). Visit soulpepper.ca for programming updates throughout the year and check out Soulpepper’s Cabaret Podcast, available on iTunes and SoundCloud.
_________________________________________________________
Tickets to all Soulpepper productions are available by calling the Young Centre Box Office at 416.866.8666 or by visiting soulpepper.ca. Tickets for Soulpepper 2016 productions range from $32 to $89. Tickets for the Soulpepper Concert Series and Studio Series start at $25. Tickets for the Partner Presentations range from $36 to $56. $25 tickets are available for Arts Workers. $25 tickets for Soulpepper productions are also available for 21-30 year-olds at stageplay.ca. StagePlay is sponsored by TD Bank Group. The $25 Rush Ticket / $5 Youth Rush program is sponsored by Sun Life Financial. Ticket prices include a Young Centre facility fee, service charge and HST. Pricing is subject to change.
2015-11-03
Toronto: Soulpepper announces its 2016 season