PICT’s 2009 season features amazing new plays by Tom Stoppard, John Patrick Shanley, and Alan Bennett, a post-modern comedic classic by Joe Orton, and brilliant new theatrical adaptations of two of the greatest novels ever written: Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. From moral zealotry to utopian idealism, sweeping and passionate romanticism to zany, high flying sexual buffoonery, created idols to crumbling ideals, this season truly has it all. Why not come play with us?
Rock’N’Roll by Tom Stoppard, May 7-30, Henry Heymann Theatre
It’s 1968 and Russian tanks are rolling into Prague; Jan, a Czech student, lives for rock ’n’ roll. Max, his Cambridge professor and mentor, lives for Communism. Syd, the Piper, disappears from public view at the height of his fame while Esme, the flower child, gets high…and a shaggy haired rock band, The Plastic People of the Universe, comes to symbolize resistance to the Communist regime. By1990, the tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in, an absurdist playwright is in Prague Castle, and utopian idealism has hit a wall.
Four-time Tony Award® winner Tom Stoppard’s sweeping and passionate play spans two countries, three generations, 22 turbulent years, and one heck of a lot of great rock ’n’ roll.
Storytellers Returns!! Vaclav Havel: 3 comedies about life under Communism
Largo Desolato April 26, 7:00pm, Henry Heymann Theatre
The Vanek Plays: Audience, Private View, and Protest May 17, 7:00pm, Henry Heymann Theatre
Temptation May 24, 7:00pm, Henry Heymann Theatre.
What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton, June 11-27, The Charity Randall Theatre
“You were born with your legs apart. They’ll send you to the grave in a Y-shaped coffin.” – Act One, What the Butler Saw
What the Butler Saw is Oscar Wilde on acid, combining witty dialogue with blatant sexuality, poking fun at authority, and hanging conventional morality upside down. The play opens with a middle-aged psychiatrist convincing an attractive young woman to undress as part of a job interview. When his wife shows up, a wild, farcical romp ensues. “Nobody,” says John Lahr, “comes closer than Orton to reviving on stage the outrageous and violent prankster’s spirit of comedy and creating the purest and rarest of drama’s by-products: jo
Directed by Simon Bradbury, and featuring Jeffrey Carpenter, Amanda Jane Cooper, Martin Giles, Douglas Rees, Helena Ruoti and Sam Trussell. Scenic Design - Gianni Downs; Costume Design - Erin Collins Rittling; Lighting Design - Andrew David Ostrowski; Sound Design - Elizabeth Atkinson; Dialects - Natalie Baker Shirer.
Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, July 9-August 1, Henry Heymann Theatre
“An inspired study in moral uncertainty with thecompelling structure of an old-fashioned detective novel.” – The New York Times
Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®for Best Play. 1964. A Catholic school in the Bronx. A hard-edged nun grows suspicious when a young priest seems to take a special interest in a new student. Convinced that something improper is occurring and that church hierarchy will blindly protect the man, she sets out to confront him. But are her fears based upon moral certainty or stubborn prejudice? One of the most acclaimed plays of the past decade examines the blurry line between reality and gossip, discipline and compassion, truth and doubt. Starring David Whalen as Father Flynn.
Directed by PICT associate director Jeffrey M. Cordell and featuring Maria Becoates-Bey, Meghan Heimbecker, David Whalen and Kate Young. Scenic Design - Gianni Downs; Costume Design - Jane M. Wilder-O'Connor; Lighting Design - Andrew David Ostrowski; Sound Design - Zachary Brown.
The History Boys by Alan Bennett, August 6-22, The Charity Randall Theatre
History nowadays is not a matter of conviction. It's a performance.
It's entertainment. And if it isn't, make it so." -- Act One, The History Boys
A hugely successful, sold-out hit at the National Theatre of Great Britain and on Broadway, this brilliant comedy follows the senior year of eight history students in the north of England as they try to crack admission to Oxford and Cambridge. Unruly, bright, talented, and amusing, these boys are in natural pursuit of sex, sport, and a place at a good university. They are guided in these pursuits by their overeager Head- master, a maverick, eccentric English teacher, and a new instructor whose mandate is to get the boys to think outside the box and get noticed. Very funny and deeply moving, The History Boys explores the anarchy of adolescence, the nature of history, and the methods and very purpose of education today.
Directed by Andrew S. Paul. Featuring: Eric Berryman, Bernard Cuffling, Dave Droxler, Jarid Faubel, James FitzGerald, Martin Giles, Linda Kimbrough, Andy Lutz, Corey O'Connor, Sam Redford, Ethan Saks, Arya Shahi and John Wascavage. Scenic Design - Gianni Downs; Costume Design - Pei-Chi Su; Lighting Design - Jim French; Sound Design - Elizabeth Atkinson; Dialects - Natalie Baker Shirer
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, adapted by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus, September 10-26, Henry Heymann Theatre
Do you believe the story of Lazarus?
Do you believe he rose from the dead?
Do you believe a man can be resurrected?”
A Pittsburgh Premiere!
A brilliant young student, an unorthodox detective, and a young woman forced into a life of prostitution are hurtled together by a brutal act of murder. Three actors bring one of the world’s greatest psychological novels to life in this thrilling, award-winning 90-minute adaptation.
Directed by Matthew Gray.
Jane Eyre by Alan Stanford from Charlotte Brontë, December 2-20, The Charity Randall Theatre
I rose with the dawn. I wanted to see Mr. Rochester…wanted to hear his voice.”
A landmark in the history of English literature. Jane Eyre, a simple governess, wins the heart of Edward Fairfax Rochester, the brooding and mysterious master of Thornfield Hall. Questioning the boundaries of class and gender, it is one of the most heartrending and powerful tales of romance and suspense ever told.
*Programming, artists, and dates subject to change.
2010 Season
