Season 45 (2016–2017)
October 6–22, 2016
The Night Alive
by Conor McPherson
directed by Kay Bohannon Holley
Featuring Gary Ambler, Lindsey Gates-Markel, Jim Kotowski, David Butler, and Mathew Green
Tommy's not a bad man; he's getting by. Renting a run-down room in his Uncle Maurice's house, just about keeping his ex-wife and kids at arm's length, and rolling from one get-rich-quick scheme to the other with his pal Doc. Then one day he comes to the aid of Aimee, who's not had it easy herself, struggling through life the only way she knows how. Their past won't let go easily, but together there's a glimmer of hope that they could make something more of their lives. Something extraordinary. Perhaps.
With inimitable warmth, style and craft, Conor McPherson's The Night Alive deftly mines the humanity to be found in the most unlikely of situations.
Winner of the 2013–2014 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play.
November 3–19, 2016
The Birds
by Conor McPherson
directed by Thom Schnarre
Diane: Carolyn Kodes
Nat: Jeremiah J. Lowry
Julia: Krystal Moya
Tierney: Lincoln Machula
Conor McPherson boldly adapts for the stage the Daphne du Maurier short story that inspired Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror film—a gripping, unsettling, and moving look at human relationships in the face of societal collapse.
The play takes us to an isolated house, where strangers Nat and Diane take shelter from the relentless masses of attacking birds which are hitting the eastern seacoast in the not-too-distant future. There they find relative sanctuary, but not comfort or peace; there’s no electricity, little food, and a constant sense that someone lurks in the shadows to take what little comforts the couple shares. When the young and alluring Julia seeks refuge with the couple, her presence brings both unsettling news of the outside world and a growing discord in their claustrophobic existence. Survival becomes even more elusive as paranoia takes hold of their makeshift fortress.
December 1–17, 2016
Every Brilliant Thing
by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe
directed by Katie Baldwin Prosise
feat. Jason Dockins and William Anthony Sebastian Rose II
You’re six years old. Mum’s in hospital. Dad says she’s “done something stupid.” She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Everything that’s worth living for. 1. Ice cream. 2. Kung Fu movies. 3. Burning things. 4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose. 5. Construction cranes. 6. Me.
You leave it on her pillow. You know she’s read it because she’s corrected your spelling.
Soon, the list will take on a life of its own.
A one-person interactive play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love.
January 19–February 4, 2017
Hand to God
by Robert Askins
directed by Mikel Matthews, Jr.
After the death of his father, meek Jason finds an outlet for his anxiety at the Christian Puppet Ministry, in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason’s complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door, and—most especially—his mother are thrown into upheaval when Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. Hand to God explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us.
Nominated for 5 Tony Awards, including Best Play.
February 16–25, 2017
Bear
written by Deke Weaver
codirected by Jennifer Allen and Deke Weaver
costume design Susan Becker
puppet design Chris Green
composer Chris Peck
musical director Tony Reimer
environmental design Andy Warfel
Performed by Jennifer Allen, Laura Chiaramonte, Cynthia Degnan, Charlie Harris, Cody Jensen, Cynthia Oliver, Elizabeth Simpson, Deke Weaver, Nicki Werner
Transformation is usually at the center of the stories, myths, and rituals we human beings have dreamed up around bears. BEAR's six month meditation on time and hibernation culminates in the Station Theatre. After BEAR's fall chapter in Meadowbrook Park and BEAR's winter chapter videos, BEAR's final spring chapter will tell two intertwining tales with live music and shadow play - a bear becoming a human, a human becoming a bear. BEAR is the fourth installment in the lifelong project The Unreliable Bestiary—a performance for every letter of the alphabet, each letter representing an endangered animal or habitat. unreliablebestiary.org.
March 2–4, 2017
St. Louis Stories
A compilation of unpublished works by Tennessee Williams from materials in the Tennessee Williams Collection of the Ransom Research Center, University of Texas-Austin
directed by Tom Mitchell
Performed by Sara Freedland, Joi Hoffsommer, Ann Marie Morrissette, J.W. Morrissette, Yvon Streaker, and Kyle A. Thomas
March 23–April 8, 2017
Sleep Deprivation Chamber
by Adam Kennedy and Adrienne Kennedy
directed by Latrelle Bright
In this autobiographical drama, a broken taillight leads to the brutal beating of a highly educated, middle-class black man by a policeman in suburban Virginia. The Kennedys interweave the trial of the victimized son (accused of assaulting the offending officer) with the mother's poignant letters in his defense and her remembrances of growing up in the 1940s, when her parents were striving "to make Cleveland a better place for Negroes." They have created a gripping examination of the conflicting realities of the black experience in twentieth-century America.
Suzanne Alexander: Rhonda Henderson
Teddy Alexander: Preston Roseborough
David Alexander Sr., Singing Trio: Prince Robertson
Uncle March, Singing Trio: Cedric Jones
Mr. Edelstein: Thom Schnarre
Ms. Wagner: Kimmy Schofield
Officer Holzer: Dave Krostal
Ensemble: Chris Senopole, Meaguell Gaines, Jace Jamison, Estella Samii, Jess Schlipf
April 27–May 13, 2017
The Christians
by Lucas Hnath
directed by Jaclyn Loewenstein
choir direction by Deborah Banks
Pastor Paul: Mathew Green
Elizabeth, his wife: Tania Arazi Coambs
Associate Pastor Joshua: Kvn Tajzea
Elder Jay: Lincoln Machula
Jenny, a Congregant: Monica Samii
Choir: Latrelle Bright, Dave Butler, Cara L. Day, Tafadzwa Diener*, Jeanette Donaldson, Crystal Hogue, Kay Bohannon Holley, Allen James, Debrae Lomax, Prince Robertson, Ethan Smith, Julia Megan Sullivan*, Nathan Turner, Mary Walter, Shalunda Weatherall*, Crystal Wyser
*soloist
Twenty years ago, Pastor Paul’s church was a modest storefront. Now it houses thousands, with a coffee shop in the lobby and a baptismal font as big as a swimming pool. Today should be a day for celebration. But Paul is about to preach a sermon that will shake the foundation of his congregation’s beliefs. Exploring the challenges of faith, love and leadership, The Christians is a "rare play about religion that both believers and nonbelievers can embrace." --L.A. Times
June 1–17, 2017
Party
by Tom Basden
directed by Tom Mitchell
Jared: Coy Benning
Jones: Nic Morse
Mel: Tafadzwa Diener
Duncan: Janjay Knowlden
Phoebe: Lily Sethi-Newton
Short Coat: Sullivan Peterson-Quinn
In a humble garden shed in deepest suburbia, four young idealists have decided to form a new political party to save the world from itself.
Tom Basden's hilarious, critically-acclaimed comedy was seen at the Edinburgh Festival in 2009 and the Arts Theatre, London, in 2010.
June 29–July 15, 2017
The Foreigner
by Larry Shue
directed by Thom Schnarre
Froggy LeSuer: Jace Jamison
Charlie Baker: William Anthony-Sebastian Rose II
Betty Meeks: Chris Taber
Reverend David Marshall Lee: Jon Faw
Catherine Simms: Shawna Smith
Owen Musser: Matt Hester
Ellard Simms: Evan Seggebruch
In a hunting lodge in rural Georgia, "Froggy" has brought along a friend, a pathologically shy young man named Charlie who is overcome with fear at the thought of making conversation with strangers. So "Froggy," before departing, tells all assembled that Charlie is from an exotic foreign country and speaks no English. Then the fun really begins.
Winner of two Obie Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards as Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production.
July 27–August 12, 2017
Marjorie Prime
by Jordan Harrison
directed by Mathew Green
Marjorie: Barbara Evans
Walter: Eric Beckley
Tess: Joi Hoffsommer
Jon: Gary Ambler
In a future not far from our own present, Marjorie looks back at her long life with the help of an artificial intelligence companion known as a "Prime." Some memories she keeps. Some she edits. Some she deletes. Marjorie lives with her daughter, Tess, and son-in-law, Jon. The couple does their best to care for Marjorie, despite Tess's unease with the Prime and her troubled relationship with her mother. This is a play about family, and about memory, and about what those words mean in an increasingly digital age.
"Jordan Harrison's play has all the hallmarks of the best science fiction: it's clever in conceit, alive with humor, surprising at turns, and terribly haunting by the time the lights go out." --Rollo Romig, New Yorker