|
3/31/10 Travel
to New Orleans 1928 for a triumphant story of love
conquering adversity and of finding family in the most
unexpected places. The Alliance Theatre is proud to bring
Twist to the stage for its Atlanta debut.
Inspired by Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, and in the rich
musical tradition of Jelly's Last Jam, this heart-warming
musical brings award-winning director/choreographer Debbie Allen
(Fame) back to the Alliance, following her hugely successful Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof (winner of the 2010 Olivier Award for Best
Revival).
Set in “the
Paris of the South,” when the Roaring 20s
were at their peak, Twist takes us on an orphan’s journey to
find a place to belong and a family to love. Tony
Award-nominee William F. Brown (writer of The Wiz) wrote the
book for this new spin on the Charles Dickens’ tale, with music
by Tena Clark (Grammy Award-winning songwriter) and Gary Prim;
lyrics by Tena Clark. Twist will open the Alliance’s 2010-11 Season
with its first performance Sept. 1, 2010 on the Alliance Stage.
“Having already
assembled a season of high drama, Tony-winning artists and world
premieres of all scales and styles, Twist really is the cherry
on top,” said Susan V. Booth, Alliance Theatre Artistic
Director. “We're so grateful to Atlanta for its support of
our work and for joining us on this season’s national journey of
American stories.”
Twist examines the deep emotions and human struggles of a young
boy whose father was a black song-and-dance man and whose mother
was a white woman of prominence. Guided by a fierce
yearning for home, he travels through larger-than-life
New Orleans, from the orphanage to a new
life behind the red velvet curtain of The Jewel Box speakeasy.
There he discovers the home he never had and the parents he
never knew among a group of children surviving on the street.
“A very present
character in Twist is the City of
New Orleans—one of our country's greatest
phoenix stories. Jazz Age New Orleans is about as juicy an
American icon as you can imagine,” notes Booth, referring to
next season’s celebration of American icons and American ideas.
So, why
introduce Atlanta to Twist now? “Atlanta has proven time and again its appetite
for new musical work—diving into big ideas with real delight,”
explains Booth. “Twist's capacity to take the warm
familiarity of Dickens' beloved tale of a child's search for
home and make it bracingly fresh, contemporary and American was
irresistible. And that it affords us an opportunity to welcome
the dynamic force of nature that is Debbie Allen back to the Alliance just sweetened the
deal.”
The following list provides run dates for each of the
productions announced as part of the Alliance Theatre’s 2010-11
Season (in chronological order):
Twist
Sept. 1 – Oct. 3 (opening night is Sept. 15)
Sammy & Me
Oct. 1 – 24 (opening night is Oct. 6)
The Nacirema Society Requests . . .
Oct. 20 – Nov. 14 (opening night is Oct. 27)
Middle School the Musical
Oct. 23 – 30 (opening night is Oct. 25)
The Second City: Miracle on 1280 Peachtree Street
Nov. 5 – Dec. 12 (opening night is Nov. 10)
A Christmas Carol
Nov. 26 – Dec. 24 (opening night is Dec. 2)
Bring it on: the Musical
Jan. 12 – Feb. 20 (opening night is Jan. 26)
Carapace
Feb. 11 – Mar. 6 (opening night is Feb. 16)
Honk!
Mar. 5 – 20 (opening night is Mar. 5)
Spoon Lake Blues
Apr. 1 – 24 (opening night is Apr. 6)
August Osage
County
Apr. 13 – May 8 (opening night is Apr. 20)
Now in its 41st season, Atlanta’s nationally acclaimed
Alliance Theatre, recipient of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony
Award®, is the leading professional resident theatre of the
Southeast, creating the powerful experience of shared theatre
for diverse people on two stages for youth and adult audiences.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, the
Alliance Theatre is a national theatre with a local address,
reaching out annually to almost 200,000 patrons and members of
the community. Known for its high artistic standards and
national role in creating significant theatrical works, the
Alliance launched three Tony
Award-winning hits to Broadway: Alice Walker’s The Color
Purple, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida and Alfred Uhry’s The
Last Night of Ballyhoo. And, in a rare event for a regional
theatre, it originated the national tour of the Tony
Award-winning Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The
theatre has premiered 60 works including adaptations of Carson
McCullers’ The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and Pearl Cleage’s Blues
for an Alabama Sky. Further evidence of the Alliance’s
commitment to new work is found in its nationally recognized
Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, a cutting-edge program
introducing student playwrights to professional networks while
producing the world premiere of the winning student’s work.
The Alliance Theatre also offers extensive education and
outreach programs such as the Institute for Educators and the
Collision Project for high school students. The
Alliance continuously brings
Atlanta the finest talent and finest
art—proving once again that the Alliance is where great theatre
lives. 404.733.4650 or www.alliancetheatre.org
The Alliance Theatre is a division of the Woodruff Arts
Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which also
includes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art and
Young Audiences.
|
Seed Newsvine
