The pair of shows kicking off Great Lakes Theater Festival's 2010-2011 season offers a mix of light and dark in a coupling that's a bit of a wink to, well, coupling: Shakespeare's Othello and Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband. The productions will be performed in rotating repertory September 24 through October 31.
"I am thrilled to kick off Great Lakes Theater Festival’s 49th season as Cleveland’s classic theater company with a fall repertory that features Shakespeare’s Othello and Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband,” says Charles Fee, GLTF producing artistic director. "For the occasion, I am proud to welcome back to our company two extraordinary directors, working for the first time in our new home, Risa Brainin [Othello] and Sari Ketter [An Ideal Husband]." Both directors have long associations with the company. Audiences may remember Brainin's work in 2007's Measure for Measure, As You Like It in 2005 and Julius Caesar in 2004. Ketter directed the 2005 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. "I simply can’t wait to share the outstanding productions that they’ve created with our audience,” says Fee.
New for the 2010-2011 season are Nightcap Nights, featuring free live music in the Hanna Theatre lounge following Saturday evening performances. The concept is part of the Experience Enhancement Series and will be coordinated by Jim Wadsworth, director of programming for Nighttown. Other Experience Enhancement nights include Salon Thursdays (pre-show discussions one hour before curtain), Happy Hour Fridays (opportunities to socialize 90 minutes prior to curtain), Ice Cream Social Sundays (a London tradition brought stateside, in which ice cream treats are available at half-price before the show and at intermission), Director's Nights (pre-show discussion with Fee) and Playnotes Pre-Show Discussions (introduction to the content and history of each play, presented by a guest scholar).
In the interest of extending accessibility to all audiences, GLTF will again offer its New Deal pricing, with adult tickets for each performance starting at $15 and student admission for all seats set at $13. “It is absolutely vital to the mission and long-term health of our organization that we create affordable opportunities for every person in our region to experience live theater,” says Fee.
Opening night performances of Othello (September 25th) and An Ideal Husband (October 2nd) have been scheduled for Saturday evenings, with preview performances of both productions scheduled for the preceding Friday nights. Curtain times for all evening performances are at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time for Saturday matinees and a 3 p.mm curtain time for Sunday matinees. Both productions in GLTF’s fall repertory will continue to offer sign-interpreted and audio-described performances.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.greatlakestheater.org, call 216-241-6000 or stop by the PlayhouseSquare ticket office.
