ACT -A Contemporary Theatre announces its 2012 Mainstage play season-including three World Premieres and two Northwest Premieres - along with a house filled with new presentations from The Central Heating Lab at ACT, The Young Playwrights Program, and The Hansberry Project at ACT, several of which will take place in the new 49-seat Eulalie Scandiuzzi Space located just a few steps away from the Bullitt Cabaret.
ACT's 2012 Mainstage play season opens with the second production of its partnership with The 5th Avenue Theatre, First Date: A New Musical, an irresistibly witty and tuneful treatment of the vicissitudes of the dating scene, with book by Austin Winsberg and music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (March 10-May 20). Then, from the acclaimed writer of Billy Elliott, ACT will take audiences to a British coal-mining town to experience a charming and moving portrait of the artist as everyman, The Pitmen Painters by Lee Hall, inspired by a book by William Feaver (April 20-May 20). From the sublime to the sublimely ridiculous, ACT is thrilled to bring to the stage Daily Show regular Lewis Black's happy hatchet-job on a suburban family wedding -a seriously funny farce, One Slight Hitch (June 8-July 8). From ACT's Central Heating Lab, the consistently sold-out Pinter Fortnightly heads to the Mainstage as we present The Pinter Festival, offering audiences four gems in the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright's canon in multiple venues at ACT (July 20-August 26). Next up, the World Premiere of Trieu Tran: Uncle Ho To Uncle Sam, a staggeringly beautiful and powerful story of a Vietnamese man's physical and psychological journey from his war-torn land to the United States, written and performed by Trieu Tran (September 7-October 7). Concluding the season is a true theatrical event taking over multiple spaces at ACT: Ramayana, an in-house adaptation by ACT's Affiliate Artist Working Group of the great Indian Epic and one of the most spectacular adventure stories of all time that promises to be an event unlike anything ever experienced in Seattle theatre, (October 12-November 11).
"2012 promises to deliver a veritable cornucopia of dramatic treats, reinforcing our commitment to new work, new ideas and new ways of creating and experiencing live performance," said ACT Artistic Director Kurt Beattie. "We anticipate next year will be a truly remarkable season with outstanding works of drama, more World Premieres than we've ever produced in a single year, and the never-ending conversation about our lives and times that our audiences have grown to expect."
The 2012 Mainstage Play Season:
First Date: A New Musical
Book by Austin Winsberg
Music and Lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner
March 10-May 20 | WORLD PREMIERE!
In the Falls Theatre
One first date. Two people. And every single voice in their heads. A new musical co-produced by The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT
Ever been on a date and wondered what the other person was thinking? This new musical comedy, with its witty book and tuneful score, lets you peer inside the nervous and busy minds of two would-be lovebirds. Soho artist Casey and Wall Street trader Aaron are on that all-important first date. How can they know if they're right for each other when old boyfriends, ex-fiancées, assorted friends and relatives, and even the waiter keep offering unsolicited advice? This relationship may just have a chance - if only they can make their inner voices shut up! Produced in partnership with The 5th Avenue Theatre.
The Pitmen Painters
by Lee Hall
inspired by a book by William Feaver
April 20-May 20 | NORTHWEST PREMIERE!
In the Allen Theatre
A transforming, true story of friendship, aspiration, and the power of art from the acclaimed writer of Billy Elliott.
