"I’ve never been onstage here," said Live Arts board chairman John Conover, moments before he introduced departing artistic director John Gibson to announce the upcoming Live Arts season "in his usual manner." Ah, new blood onstage and a seasoned veteran steering our local theater—what more could we ask for?
How about a Live Arts season that capitalizes on both? Details on last night’s 2009-2010 season announcement after the photo of our charming City Center for Contemporary Arts. (Yes, that tasty cube of arts organizations has a name.)
What wonders await us in the next year of Live Arts programming?
A sentence on each show:
- Glengarry Glen Ross (opens September 18): David Mamet’s masterpiece of male surliness will be directed by Boomie Pedersen, who could bring even Alec Baldwin to his knees.
- Gypsy (opens October 2): Will John Gibson’s directorial farewell (for now) and second consecutive Sondheim piece be sharper than his Sweeney Todd?
- Our American Ann Sisters (opens December 4): I’ll let the Performers Exchange Project handle this one.
- Intimate Apparel (opens January 15): New work set in old New York, and old vulnerabilities set in new lingerie.
- Mother Hicks (opens February 19): What can the Live Arts youngsters make of the strangest bunch of narrators since The Sound and the Fury?
- Hank Williams: Lost Highway (opens March 19): A musical bio with a live, yet-to-be-announced band…though, you know, Jim Waive knows about half these tunes…just conspiracy theorizin’…
- Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 (opens April 23): We dug director Sara Holdren in Twelfth Night, and she digs Shakespeare—a lot. (Too much?)
- Dangerous Liaisons (opens May 28): Director Chris Baumer flips the gruff exterior/warm interior dynamic he showcased in The Matchmaker.
Exciting, no? You tell me. Leave your thoughts below.
