For Immediate Release
ApRil 13, 2015
IRT ANNOUNCES ITS 44th SEASON LINEUP
Indianapolis— The Indiana Repertory Theatre’s (IRT) Executive Artistic Director, Janet Allen and Managing Director and COO, Suzanne Sweeney have announced the company’s upcoming and powerful nine-play season.
Productions will include F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ever-popular novel The Great Gatsby, IRT’s playwright-in-residence James Still’s world premiere of April 4, 1968, Indy’s beloved holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Tony Award winning play Fences, a hilarious mash-up comedy The Mystery of Irma Vep, a celebration of America diversity in Bridge and Tunnel and the world’s longest running murder mystery, The Mousetrap.
Additionally, the IRT will bring Exploring Stages back for another year with a new production— supported by the Margot L. and Robert. S. Eccles Fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation. Exploring Stages will allow young children to experience the delightfully joyous Peter Rabbit and Me in an age-appropriate environment.
“We are delighted to announce a lineup of productions that will entertain, challenge, and delight,” said Executive Artistic Director, Janet Allen. “With the help of extraordinary artists from across the country, we bring style, history, culture, emotion and intellect front and center, for all of our Indiana audiences to enjoy. Every year we commit ourselves to being more than just an arts organization, but a place that stimulates discussion and understanding, and this year is no exception.”
ABOUT THE PRODUCTIONS
September 30 – October 25
The Great Gatsby
Adapted by: Simon Levy
OneAmerica
Mainstage The IRT will open its 44th season with a theatrical adaptation of what some consider the Greatest American Novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Opulent parties, romantic affairs, jealousy and murder come to life in this powerful and vivid tale of American bravado, lost love and war recovery in the Roaring Twenties. The Great Gatsby is an eloquent evocation of a bygone era that deeply resonates with our world today.
October 20 – November 15
April 4, 1968
By James Still
IRT Upperstage
IRT’s playwright-in-residence shares an intimate look at one Indianapolis family and their personal experience surrounding the events of April 4, 1968, which include Bobby Kennedy’s history-making speech on the night of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. This play is inspired by true stories gathered during four years of community conversations.
November 14 – December 26
A Christmas Carol
Adapted by Tom Haas
OneAmerica Mainstage
Indy’s favorite holiday tradition comes to life again for its 25 th year on the OneAmerica Mainstage. A Christmas Carol celebrates the universal story of redemption as literature’s most infamous “Scrooge” learns to love after a walk through Christmas past, present and future.
November 21 – December 20
Peter Rabbit and Me
Adapted by Aurand Harris from the tales of Beatrix Potter
The Cabaret
In the delightfully joyous Peter Rabbit and Me, 13-year-old Beatrix Potter creates her own exciting world as she invents such beloved characters as Peter Rabbit, Flopsy, Mopsy & Cottontail and their playful adventures in Mr. McGregor’s garden. This children’s classic is filled with humor, surprise, colorful characters and the magic of children’s theatre.
January 12-February 14
The Mystery of Irma Vep
By Charles Ludlam IRT Upperstage The Mystery of Irma Vep is a hilarious mash-up of chilling Gothic horror story and passionate Victorian bodice-ripper. Two actors play a mysterious archeologist, a flighty new bride, a saucy housekeeper, a loveable werewolf and an Egyptian mummy, in a dizzying quick-change marathon. You’ll be howling at the moon—with laughter.
January 29 – February 28
To Kill a Mockingbird
Adapted by Christopher Sergel
OneAmerica Mainstage
Adapted from Harper Lee’s groundbreaking novel, To Kill a Mockingbird shares the story of how two siblings, Scout and Jem Finch, and their father, Atticus, changed the way many American’s perceived race and prejudice in the country. Coming of age in a small Depressionera community in the mid-30’s, the Finch siblings learn about social injustice as their lawyer father defends a man wrongly accused of a heinous crime. Emotions run high, relationships are strained and heartache spreads as innocents are sacrificed and children learn about the realities of a racially divided world.
March 9 – April 3
Fences
By August Wilson
One America Mainstage
Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, Fences is the most widely acclaimed play from August Wilson’s towering 20th Century Cycle. A former Negro League baseball player, thwarted in his dreams of a Major League career, struggles to provide for his family and break free from the boundaries imposed upon him. Set in 1957, at the intersection of old prejudices and changing opportunities, Fences is a powerful drama filled with passionate love and thundering rage, generous laughter and searing pain.
March 29—May 1
Bridge and Tunnel
By Sarah Jones
IRT Upperstage
An open-mic poetry night becomes a celebration of American diversity in the Tony Award– winning Bridge and Tunnel. One woman plays more than a dozen characters of both sexes, many races, and all ages, as life stories are shared and dreams are dared. Funny, poignant, and full of hope, this loving look at the differences that bring us together will expand horizons, touch hearts and lift spirits.
April 26 – May 22
The Mousetrap
By Agatha Christie
OneAmerica Mainstage
The IRT closes its 2015-2016 season with the thriller of all thrillers! The Mousetrap is the world’s longest running stage play, celebrating its 64th birthday in 2016. It is the classic Agatha Christie mystery thriller, with a houseful of strangers trapped by a blizzard and stalked by an unknown murderer. Part drawing room comedy and part murder mystery, this timeless chiller is a double-barreled whodunit full of twists and surprises.
Seated subscriptions are now on sale. Subscriptions range from $136-$349 and include: same preferred seats for every show, unlimited performance rescheduling, discounted subscriber rate when purchasing additional single tickets (including A Christmas Carol & To Kill A Mockingbird), valet pre-pay and parking discounts, as well as benefits at the IRT Gift Shop and Stage Door Pass restaurant partners. To purchase your subscriptions, contact the ticket office at 317-635- 5252. Questions regarding packages and subscriptions can be directed to Cat Cardwell, Subscription & Group Sales Manager at 317-916-4836.
Single tickets go on sale in August.
All performances are at the Indiana Repertory Theatre building located at 140 W. Washington Street in Downtown Indianapolis. All performances and schedules are subject to change.
Founded in 1972, the IRT is the largest and fully professional not-for-profit theatre in the state and has grown into one of the leading regional theatres in the country. The mission of IRT is to produce top-quality, professional theatre and related activities, providing experiences that will engage, surprise, challenge and entertain people throughout their lifetimes, helping us build a vital and vibrant community.
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