Round House Theatre’s schedule for 2015-2016 includes plays about a down-and-out Irish man who rescues a woman from a violent attack, the story of a slave who fights in the Civil War and the classic “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
The theatre will host the world premiere of “Ironbound” a story about a Polish immigrant who pursues either love or security in her relationships with men as well as the regional premieres of “Stage Kiss”, “Father Comes Home from the Wars”, “The Who & The What” and “The Night Alive.”
“This new season is one of the most exciting and ambitious in our history,” said Ryan Rilette, Round House Theatre’s producing artistic director. “Our goal was to find six plays that highlight what Round House does best: Outstanding ensemble acting. These are big, juicy stories that demand our actors to honesty and ferociously attack them.”
The 2015-2016 season officially beings with the premiere of Martyna Majok’s “Ironbound” on Sept. 9.
In addition to the six plays, Round House will also host a four-day stage combat workshop called Belle of the Brawl from Oct. 22 to 26. Season subscriptions start at $99.
The following is Round House Theatre’s description of the plays for the 2015-2016 season:
2015-2016 CALENDAR INFORMATION
Ironbound
WORLD PREMIERE
By Martyna Majok
Directed by Daniella Topol
September 9 – October 4, 2015
Presented as part of the Women’s Voices Theater FestivalWinner, National New Play Network Smith Prize
Winner, David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright PrizePolish immigrant Darja gives her cheating boyfriend a long-deserved tongue-lashing. She’s done talking about feelings; it’s time to talk money. Over the course of three relationships spanning 22 years, Darja negotiates for her future with men who can offer her love or security, but never both. From rising star Martyna Majok comes a new tale of strength and discovery.
The Night Alive
REGIONAL PREMIERE
By Conor McPherson
Directed by Ryan Rilette
Featuring Ed Gero & Katie deBuys
October 21 – November 15, 2015***** Time Out NY, The Independent, Whatsonstage
**** Time Out London, Financial Times, Sunday ExpressTommy is getting by. He is crashing in his uncle’s ramshackle house in Dublin, dodging his estranged family, and plotting a parade of get-rich-quick schemes with his buddy Doc. Then one day he defends a destitute woman against a violent attack, and a fragile glimmer of hope appears as Tommy tends to her in his run-down room. From the author of The Weir, Shining City and The Seafarer comes this compelling new play—by turns funny and frightening, but always deeply human.
Stage Kiss
REGIONAL PREMIERE
By Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Aaron Posner
December 2 – December 27, 2015“Suffused with warmth and humor. Sarah Ruhl frothily whips together romantic comedy and backstage farce in this lively comedy” — The New York Times
Art imitates Life. Life imitates Art. When two actors with a history are thrown together as romantic leads in a forgotten 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with reality as the story onstage follows them offstage. Sarah Ruhl’s singular voice returns to Round House with Stage Kiss, a charming tale about what happens when lovers share a stage kiss—or when actors share a real one.
Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)
REGIONAL PREMIERE
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Timothy Douglas
January 27 – February 21, 2016“The best new play I’ve seen all year… the finest work yet from this gifted writer!” — The New York Times
“Thrilling! A masterpiece.” — New York MagazineSet during the Civil War, this explosively powerful new drama by Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog) follows a slave, Hero, from West Texas to the Confederate battlefield. Inspired in part by the stories and scope of Greek tragedy, this trilogy examines the mess of war and the true cost of freedom. Voted Top Theatre Pick of 2014 by numerous publications including The New York Times, TimeOut New York, TIME, The Huffington Post, and Vulture.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AMERICAN CLASSIC
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Mitchell Hébert
Featuring Rick Foucheaux, Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan, Nancy Robinette & Gregory Wooddell
March 30 – April 24, 2016"…a play of tremendous dramatic impact…enormous theatrical power." — NY Post
An American treasure brimming with intensity and wit, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof follows the powerful Southern family of the aging Big Daddy and his wife, Big Mama. As their son Brick and his beautiful but sexually frustrated wife Maggie “the Cat” scramble to secure their part of Big Daddy’s estate, troubled relationships come to a stormy climax and a shockwave of secrets are revealed.
The Who & The What
REGIONAL PREMIERE
By Ayad Akhtar
Director TBA
May 25 – June 19, 2016“Disarmingly funny. A fiery…probing new play, crackling with ideas.”— The New York Times
“Vibrant. Strong and colorful. A culture-clash drama simmering with humor” — Associated PressBrilliant Pakistani-American writer Zarina is focused on finishing her novel about women and Islam when she meets Eli, a young convert who bridges the gulf between her modern life and her traditional heritage. But when her conservative father and sister discover her controversial manuscript, they are all forced to confront the beliefs that define them. From Ayad Akhtar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Disgraced, comes a thrillingly fierce and funny new play about identity, religion and the contradictions that make us who we are.
2015-2016 SPECIAL EVENTS
Belle of the Brawl
In partnership with Tooth & Claw Arts
Part of the Women’s Voices Theatre Festival
October 22 – 26, 2015Round House Theatre welcomes master teachers from the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Scandinavia, and the United States for the first international stage combat workshop with an all-female faculty. Belle of the Brawl is a unique opportunity for theatre artists and enthusiasts of all kinds to study the art and craft of stage combat from a truly global perspective.
The Round House Teen Performance Company Presents
The 14th Annual Sarah Metzger Memorial Play
Good Kids
By Naomi Iizuka
March 11 – 13, 2016Something happened to Chloe after that party last Saturday night. The problem is,
she can’t remember anything. And everybody is talking about it. Was she raped? Did she ask for it? Set in a high school in the American mid-west, in a world of Facebook, Twitter, smart phones and YouTube, Good Kids explores the very public aftermath of a sex crime and its cover-up. Loosely based on the Steubenville High School rape case, Good Kids is provocative, haunting and stunningly current.
