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DEEP DISH THEATER COMPANY’S ANNOUNCES
The season will open with the North Carolina premiere of Orson’s Shadow, Austin Pendleton’s off-Broadway hit about a clash of two theatrical titans, which will run from August 24 through September 16. The Exonerated, the acclaimed docu-drama about people wrongly sentenced to death, will play October 26-November 18, followed by Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s legendary comedy The Rivals, playing February 15-March 10. The season will conclude with the world premiere of The Gratitude of Wasps, a new play about the consequences of marriage and divorce, playing April 26-May 19. The new season will also inaugurate the theater’s refurbished auditorium, which has recently been outfitted with padded seats to replace the folding metal chairs of the past five years. Performances are Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Each production will also feature two Sunday post-show conversations, a book discussion group, and a special 7:30 performance on the final Wednesday of the run. Tickets for all performances are $16, $14 for seniors and $12 for students, except for the second Thursday of each run, the theater’s traditional “Cheap Dish Night” when all tickets are $6. For information and reservations, call the Deep Dish Theater box office at 968-1515. Orson’s Shadow, the toast of off-Broadway last year, is a wise and witty look at two larger-than-life personalities, Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier, as they struggle to rehearse the English language premiere of Ionesco’s Absurdist drama, Rhinoceros. Playwright Pendleton, who is also an acclaimed actor and director as well as a charter member of Deep Dish’s Advisory Board, has created an insightful examination of life, art, and celebrity as unforgettable as the stars themselves. The Exonerated is based on true stories of individuals who were sentenced to death but were subsequently found innocent. Written by first-time playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, who drew from transcripts and their own interviews with the people involved, the play is a powerful and provocative look at our system of justice. Anthony Lea, who has staged a number of memorable Deep Dish productions including last season’s Marvin’s Room, will direct the production. The Rivals is one of the undisputed comic classics of Western drama, a farce every bit as funny as when it was first produced in 1775. Sheridan’s immortal creation Mrs. Malaprop, whose habit of using the wrong word made her a household name, is but one of a host of vivid and hilarious characters who come together in Bath, each of them foolishly determined to manipulate other’s feelings to suit their own interests. The Gratitude of Wasps will mark Deep Dish’s first World Premiere production. Triangle playwright Adam Sobsey’s comic drama looks at three couples on their annual summer vacation together, the second since one of the couples split up. This is the second pairing of Sobsey and Artistic Director Paul Frellick, who worked together on Sobsey’s play Hang Town Fry, which Deep Dish co-produced with A Southern Season in 2004. "While we're very proud of all we’ve accomplished in the five years we’ve been in existence, this season will be all about looking forward and building on what’s gone before,” says Frellick. “It’s going to be an exciting year of adventure and discovery for us and for our audience. If you’ve never been to Deep Dish, or if you haven’t been recently, this will be the year to come and check us out.” For more information, call 968-1515 or visit the Deep Dish website at www.deepdishtheater.org.
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