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Written by Michael Muckian, Contributing writer
Jun 2, 2011
American Players Theatre’s season runs from June 11 to Oct. 16. For more information, visit americanplayers.org. – Photo: Courtesy
The Bard of Avon descends once again on Spring Green this summer, but William Shakespeare’s works no longer dominate the schedule for American Players Theatre.
This year Shakespeare, on whose works APT built its considerable and well-deserved reputation, will share the stage with six other authors representing some of the greatest literature in the English language.
The trend toward diversification, with which APT began flirting five years after its founding in 1980, gained considerable steam in 2009, when the 1,100-seat outdoor amphitheater, now known as “Up the Hill,” was joined by Touchstone, a modified indoor black box theater that enabled the company to perform more personal works in a more intimate 201-seat setting.
The addition of Touchstone also allowed APT to expand its summer schedule from five to eight productions. In addition, the company last year mounted a holiday production of O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” in late November and early December. The broadened schedule has opened more theatergoers to more dramatic and comedic experiences both under the moonlight and beneath the houselights.
But it’s still Shakespeare who will start the 2011 season Up the Hill. “The Taming of the Shrew,” last performed by APT in 2002, pits the willful Kate against the wily Petruchio, who seeks to woo as well as tame her. But actor Tracey Michelle Arnold will paint one of Shakespeare’s best-known characters not as a hellcat, but as a woman with both mind and heart, each tempered by honesty. Tim Ocel directs. “Shrew” runs through Oct. 2.
Gay playwright Noel Coward, a frequent visitor at Alfred Lunt’s and Lynn Fontanne’s Ten Chimneys in Genessee Depot during his lifetime, returns with the delightful “Blithe Spirit,” the tale of a dead ex-wife’s ghostly return during a cocktail party séance gone awry. The fur flies with sophisticated humor in a production directed by APT artistic director David Frank. “Spirit” opens June 18, with its final performance Sept. 4.
Touchstone opens its 2011 season with the work of another gay playwright. Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” will utilize the theater’s intimate setting to effectively
explore Williams’ 1944 four-character memory play. The inimitable Sarah Day plays Amanda Wingfield, a former Southern belle abandoned by her husband and stuck with a shy daughter who relies on her collection of glass animals for company. The play, directed by Aaron Posner, is said to be Williams’ most autobiographical work. “Menagerie” opens June 23, with its final performance Oct. 15.
Following closely on Williams’ heels in Touchstone will be an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment,” which examines the concept of who has the power over life and death. Actor Kenneth Albers directs the show, which opens June 26, with its final performance Oct. 16.
Early season openings end Up the Hill with Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s “The Critic,” a comedy about the hangers-on of an 18th century theatrical show that’s rife with bon mots and punch lines. If everyone’s a critic, then all should enjoy this rollicking behind-the-scenes look at theater. William Brown directs the production opening June 25 and ending Sept. 10.
Late summer takes a more serious turn Up the Hill with a theatrical adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.” The now familiar tale of survival during the Great Depression pits faithful George and the slow-witted Lennie against increasingly more difficult odds in this tale of friendship and futility. Kate Buckley directs APT favorites Jim DeVita and Brian Mani in the title roles. “Mice” opens Aug. 6 with its final performance Oct. 1.
Shakespeare also anchors the August round of plays with “The Tempest,” equal parts of laughter, revenge and romance that roils like a stormy summer sky. Actor/director Kenneth Albers plays Prospero, the magician who anchors the comic tragedy, under James Bohnen’s direction. “Tempest” opens Aug. 13, with its final performance Sept. 30.
Touchstone’s final offering is poet Seamus Haney’s “The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes.” David Franks directs this beautifully adapted version of Sophocles’ fifth-century B.C. drama that blends universal themes with the lyricism of Haney’s verse. “Troy” opens Aug. 14, with its final performance Sept. 25.
