WORLD PREMIERE!
YEAST NATION (the triumph of life)
Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollmann
Book and Lyrics by Greg Kotis
Directed by PJ Paparelli
October 5th – November 4th, 2007
The end of their society is the beginning of ours.
The Tony Award winning creators of the Broadway mega hit Urinetown land in Juneau to premiere the strangest story ever to be musicalized. The year is 3,000,458,000 B.C., and the Earth’s first life forms, salt-eating yeasts (yes, yeasts), float in the brine of the primordial soup, under the rule of a tyrant. But the faith of one single-celled dreamer changes their society forever, and out of chaos and destruction a new world emerges. Artistic Director PJ Paparelli directs one of the most hysterical evenings of musical theatre in America. Here come the Yeasts!
BLACK COMEDY
Written by Peter Shaffer
Directed by Keith Baxter
December 12th, 2007 – January 13th, 2008
The beginning of their engagement is in the middle of the dark.
A young starving artist, Brindsley Miller, anxiously readies himself to meet his girlfriend, Carol’s, conservative father. The dinner’s prepped, the furniture’s borrowed, and the nerves’ calmed for the perfect evening of meet-the-Colonel. What could possibly go wrong? British theatre legend Keith Baxter returns to Juneau after directing last season’s smash hit Noises Off to direct this farce beyond farces. The Perseverance Acting Company literally falls head over heels in this comedy set in the dark.
LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL
Featuring the music of Billie Holiday
Written by Laine Robertson
Directed by Sue Wilder
January 9th – February 10th
The end of her career is the beginning of her peace.
Billie Holiday defined the voice of jazz and her bluesy vocals echoed in the ears of a generation until her untimely death in 1959. Bringing together her greatest hits like “God Bless the Child,” “Strange Fruit,” and ‘What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” this one woman tour-de-force, performed by Ericka Lee (Tommy, Hair) and directed by Company Member Sue Wilder, brings to life the explosive final performance of one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Lady Day also features Rory Merritt Stitt on piano.
Parental Guidance suggested due to strong language and implied drug use.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Eleanor Holdridge
February 20th – March 16th, 2008
The end of the battle is the beginning of their romance.
Benedick and Beatrice don’t get along. He swears he will die a bachelor. She swears she will never trust a man. These opposites simply do not attract, but their friends and family have other plans in mind. Love reveals itself in mysterious ways in Shakespeare’s witty and moving comedy, directed by Eleanor Holdridge (Season 27’s The Crucible). The ultimate battle of the sexes, Shakespeare-style.
Much Ado About Nothing is sponsored in part by:
THE FAMILY PLAYS:
EXPLORING THREE AMERICAN FAMILIES THROUGH AN ALASKAN LENS
Join Perseverance Theatre this spring as we put family under the microscope with the production of three powerful plays from contemporary American theatre.
BROTHER
by Ishmael Hope
directed by Flordelino Lagundino
March 21 – April 5, 2008
Two brothers fight over a girl. A war vet father alternately scolds and enables his sons. A young woman yearns for a better life in a world surrounded by limited opportunities and immature men. Playwright Ishmael Hope (co-adapter of last season’s Raven Odyssey, tour of Gunakadeit: The Sea Monster at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.) tells a modern Tlingit tale about family on the brink of redemption or desolation and two brothers burdened and uplifted by an ancient heritage of warriors and clan leaders. The cast of Brother includes Company members Jerry Demmert and Lily Hudson, and introduces to Perseverance stages Andrew White and Angelo Katasse.
Performed in the Phoenix Theatre. All Tickets are pay-as-you-can at the door. For more information call 463-TIXS.
FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE
THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE HOME
By Paula Vogel
Directed by David Charles Goyette
April 23rd – May 18th, 2008
The end of the road is the beginning of a family.
Rebecca, Stephen, and Claire sit in the back seat of their parents Rambler on Christmas day. On a long ride home these three siblings witness an event that will change their family forever. Pulitzer prize winning playwright and longtime Perseverance collaborator Paula Vogel creates a story about love, loss, and the ties that bind. Puppets, music, and a striking sense of storytelling create an evening of theatre you won’t soon forget.
Recommended for mature audiences.
The Long Christmas Ride Home is sponsored in part by:
Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST!
YELLOWMAN
Written by Dael Orlandersmith
Directed by Flordelino Lagundino
May 21 – June 8, 2008
The beginning of acceptance is in the middle of prejudice.
Alma and Eugene have known each other since they were children. As their friendship blossoms into love, Alma struggles to free herself from her mother's poverty and alcoholism, while Eugene must contend with the legacy of being "yellow": lighter-skinned than his brutal and unforgiving father. A finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Yellowman is a riveting examination of the racial tensions that fracture communities and individual lives. Yellowman features Ericka Lee (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Yeast Nation, Noises Off, Hair) and Jordan Barbour (Yeast Nation, Hair, Hamlet, Topdog/Underdog).
Recommended for mature audiences.
Yellowman is sponsored in part by:
Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
