ALLEY THEATRE 2008-2009 SEASON

The ultimate adventure is the ultimate romance
Cyrano de Bergerac, An Heroic Comedy
By Edmond Rostand
Adaptation by Brian Hooker
Directed by Gregory Boyd
Hubbard Stage
Previews start October 3, 2008
Opens October 8, 2008
Ends November 2, 2008
The soulful poet/philosopher and dazzling swordsman Cyrano, falls for the lovely Roxane, but ashamed of his large nose, Cyrano is unable to woo her. Instead, when he learns that Roxane loves the handsome but inarticulate Christian, Cyrano writes love letters to Roxane on Christian's behalf. She falls deeply in love with the author of the letters, unaware that Cyrano penned them. The swashbuckling adventure/romance is one of the greatest plays of world theatre. Recommended for general audiences.

Biomedical thriller
Secret Order
By Bob Clyman
Directed by Charles Towers
Neuhaus Stage
Previews start October 24, 2008
Opens October 29, 2008
Ends November 23, 2008
Fueled by pharmaceutical money, personal ambition and media frenzy, Bob Clyman’s provocative Secret Order will have special appeal for anyone with a secret love of science. A brilliant young research biologist working in an obscure university lab discovers a possible cure for cancer. When the dynamic director of New York's leading cancer institute becomes his mentor and champion, he is set on a path of acclaim and prestige that could lead directly to the Nobel Prize. But the halls of science twist and turn in surprising ways, and the young Doctor is suddenly thrust into the high-stakes world of medicine, money and power. Recommended for mature audiences.

Houston’s family favorite
A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas
By Charles Dickens
Adapted and Originally Directed by Michael Wilson
Directed by James Black
Hubbard Stage
Previews start November 21, 2008
Opens November 22, 2008
Ends December 28, 2008
This play is a subscription add-on.
Houston’s seasonal favorite that the Houston Press said, “…..has spectacular London sets … the inimitable Dickens tale -- spiced with the usual fog and an unusual twist on the ghosts past present and future.” A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas returns this year with a re-telling of Charles Dickens' classic story that follows Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey with the three ghosts that visit him on Christmas Eve. A Christmas Carol instills a powerful message about redemption and the spirit of the holiday season. The dazzling production is created by Tony Award winning scenic designer Tony Straiges (Alley's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), costumes by Alejo Vietti (Alley's The Scene,Tryst, Orson’s Shadow), lighting by Rui Rita (Alley's To Kill a Mockingbird, Bad Dates), and original music by John Gromada (Alley's Subject to Fits, The Pillowman). Recommended for general audiences.

David Sedaris’ irreverent, wry holiday comedy
The Santaland Diaries
By David Sedaris
Adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Neuhaus Stage
Previews start December 2, 2008 
Opens December 5, 2008
Ends December 28, 2008
This play is a subscription add-on.
Based on the outlandish, and true, chronicles of David Sedaris’ experience as Crumpet the Elf in Macy’s Santaland display, this hilarious cult classic features comic encounters during the height of the holiday crunch. NPR humorist and best-selling author of When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. Recommended for mature audiences.

Shaw’s classic battle between mother and daughter over sex, love, money and morality
Mrs. Warren’s Profession
By George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Anders Cato
Hubbard Stage
Previews start January 9, 2009
Opens January 14, 2009
Ends February 1, 2009
Shaw’s ultimate test of a mother-daughter relationship is one of his most enduring and best-loved plays. Kitty Warren has worked hard to provide the comfortable upbringing she never had for her daughter Vivie. Now that Vivie is about to embark on her own career, her mother decides that it is time for the feminist daughter to finally learn the truth about her mother’s profession. Recommended for general audiences.

Contemporary re-telling of a classic myth
Eurydice
By Sarah Ruhl
Neuhaus Stage
Previews start January 30, 2009
Opens February 4, 2009
Ends March 1, 2009
Author of the Alley’s outstanding success The Clean House, Sarah Ruhl creates a tale based on the Greek myth of Orpheus that is “exhilarating” as “we enter a surreal world, as lush and limpid as a dream” (The New Yorker). On the day Eurydice is to marry her true love Orpheus, a misstep sends her to the surreal depths of the Underworld, where she has a surprising reunion and ultimately must decide whether to follow Orpheus back to the land of the living. The New York Times described Eurydice as “a magical play with gripping emotional potency…a love letter to the world…” Recommended for mature audiences.

A hilarious comedy romp
The Man Who Came to Dinner
By Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman
Directed by John Rando
Hubbard Stage
Previews start February 20, 2009
Opens February 25, 2009
Ends March 22, 2009
In this hilarious romp, Sheridan Whiteside, theatre critic, lecturer, and radio personality, who, arriving to dine at the home of the prominent Stanley family in a small Midwestern town, slips on their doorstep and injures his hip. A tumultuous six weeks of confinement follow, during which Whiteside monopolizes the living room and takes over the Stanley household. Before it's over, the outrageous has become commonplace. This large cast comedy will feature Alley Company members playing a most extravagant array of eccentric characters. Recommended for general audiences.

A surprising, sinister comedy
Mauritius
By Theresa Rebeck
Hubbard Stage
Previews start April 10, 2009
Opens April 15, 2009
Ends May 3, 2009
Theresa Rebeck (author of The Scene and Bad Dates) returns with Mauritius, a “tightly woven and ever-surprising sinister comedy” (Playbill.com) “filled with stunning scenes of high humor and drama” (Variety). The title, Mauritius, refers to an island off the coast of Africa from which a now highly collectible stamp, described as "the crown jewel of philately," was issued in the age of Victoria. Like the Maltese Falcon, the Mauritius stamp is the fraught object of desire for an assortment of shady characters with different and mysterious backgrounds and motives, who move through the twists of the plot's crosses and double-crosses. Recommended for mature audiences.

Love, Revolution, Music
Rock ‛n’ Roll
By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Gregory Boyd
Neuhaus Stage
Previews start April 24, 2009
Opens April 29, 2009
Ends May 24, 2009
Four-time Tony Award winner Tom Stoppard (Hapgood, Invention of Love) returns to the Alley with Rock ‛n’ Roll, winner of London Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play. It’s August 1968, and Russian tanks are rolling into Prague... Jan, the Czech student, lives for rock music, Max, the English professor, lives for Communism, and Esme, the flower child, is high. By 1990, the tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in and idealism has hit the wall. Stoppard's sweeping and passionate play spans two countries, three generations and 22 turbulent years, at the end of which, love remains — and so does rock 'n' roll. “Tom Stoppard’s astounding new work is funny, wise and triumphant,” says New York Magazine. Recommended for mature audiences.

Aaron Sorkin’s extraordinary, ambitious new play about the creation of television
The Farnsworth Invention
By Aaron Sorkin
Directed by David Cromer
Hubbard Stage
Previews start June 5, 2009
Opens June 10, 2009
Ends June 28, 2009
In 1929, two ambitious visionaries race against each other to invent a device called “television.” Separated by two thousand miles, each knows that if he stops working, even for a moment, the other will gain the edge. Who will unlock the key to the greatest innovation of the 20th century: the ruthless media mogul, or the self-taught Idaho farm boy? The answer comes to compelling life in The Farnsworth Invention, the new play from Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing. Recommended for mature audiences.

Please note: Play titles and dates are subject to change.

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