The Kat House

One of my biggest loves in life is theatre.  I just renewed my season subscription to The Clarence Brown Theatre, and I am anxiously awaiting the first play.  Here’s the lineup for the 2007-2008 season.

Honky Tonk Angels (Ted Swindley) - Three women following their dreams board a Greyhound bus bound for Nashville, trading in their disappointments for country music at the Hillbilly Haven.  There they belt out tunes by Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Pam Tillis, and Dolly Parton.

Major Barbara (George Bernard Shaw) - Salvation Army Major Barbara thinks her millionaire munitions-dealing dad is evil.  Her father thinks povery is evil.  Idealism and cynicism, business and religion, wealth and poverty are the the subjects of Shaw’s thought-provoking satire about values.

Antigone (Sophocles; adapted by Jean Anouilh) - King Creon decrees Antigone’s brother is not to be buried.  Determined he will have a proper burial, Antigone defies his orders.  Anouilh’s WWII update of Sophocles’  tragedy deals with the conflict between loyalty to a higher power and loyalty to the state.

A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) - Dickens’ tale about the redemption that can come to those whose hearts are hard is back in a new adaptation.

The Life of Galileo (Bertolt Brecht; adapted by David Edgar) - Galileo’s proof that the earth moves around the sun shatters the belief held sacred for two thousand years.  Brecht offers a masterpiece about social responsibility and the clash between science and faith.

Intimate Apparel (Lynn Nottage) - Esther, a lonely African American seamstress in 1905 Manhattan, chances romance with a stranger known only through his letters.  This award-winning drama tells the story of a woman’s struggle to break free in an era when gender, race, class, and religious norms were as binding as a corset.

Stop Kiss (Diana Son) - Set in present day New York City, Callie and Sara meet, become friends, and develop - much to their surprise - an unspoken attraction.  But when their first kiss provokes a terrible hate crim, their lives are changed forever.

Guys and Dolls (Damon Runyon; music/lyrics by Frank Loesser) - With one of the greatest musical scores in the history of American theatre, Guys and Dolls is a New York fable about gambling men and the women who tame them.

In addition to the season lineup, Clarence Brown also puts on a Reading Series which will feature four additional productions this season.  The Reading Series is free of charge and open to the public.  This year’s Reading Series includes:

Parade (Alfred Uhry) - The true story of the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-born Jewish factory manager who was accused of raping and murdering a 13-year-old employee, comes to life in this Tony Aware winning musical.  The trial, sensationalized by the media, aroused anti-Semitic tensions in Atlanta and the state of Georgia.

I Just Stopped By to See the Man (Stephen Jeffreys) - Jesse Davidson, the last of the Delta blues singers, died 14 years ago.  But the story is…he isn’t dead at all.  When an English rock band comes to town, the leader, Karl, comes looking for the truth about his legendary hero and triggers a confrontation of mythic proportions.

The Prince of Homburg (Heinrich Von Kleist; translated by Bernard Sahlins) - The classic tale of the unfortunate demise of a young and reckless prince, a leader in the Prussian army, who disobeys an order in the heat of battle and has to live with the devastating consequences that arise from this impetuous act.

Crocodiles (Joshua Sobol) - What do you think will happen when an Israeli, two Palestinians, a soldier, a fashion model, a battle shocked war veteran, and an American Reality TV director meet on a beach in the Middle East?  Crocodiles explores the surprising answer to that question.

The Clarence Brown Theatre also hosts Theatre Talk on the Sundays following the Fridays openings of their mainstage productions.  Theatre Talk is held at 2 PM at Borders on Morrell Road.  It is free and open to the public.  Expert guests, cast members, directors, and designers make presentations that spark lively discussions about the plays.

As if that isn’t enough theatre for me, Barry has finally convinced me to purchase a season subscription to Oak Ridge Playhouse this year as well.  Their mainstage productions will include The Pajama Game, A Few Good Men, Rodgers and Hamerstein’s Cinderella, Moonlight and Magnolias, and Grease. 

I purchased First Saturday tickets to Clarence Brown and will be purchasing First Friday tickets to Oak Ridge Playhouse.  Oddly enough, the very first play is on my birthday later this month!  Yippee!