LOUISVILLE, KY.: Actors Theatre of Louisville has announced its 2015–16 season, which will include August Wilson’s Seven Guitars, the return of the Hypocrites and the 40th anniversary of the Humana Festival of New American Plays.
Said artistic director Les Waters in a statement, “The stories we share are enormously important in helping us explore and define the world we live in now. We live in complicated times, and I think these plays offer a diverse audience of theatregoers opportunities for empathy and discovery, and for exercising their imaginations.”
The season will kick off with Seven Guitars (Sept. 1–20, 2015). Set in Pittsburgh in 1948, the play follows the events leading up to the death of blue guitarist Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton. Seven Guitars is the sixth play from Wilson’s Century Cycle to be produced at ATL.
Halloween brings with it what by now is an annual tradition: the Fifth Third Bank-sponsored production of Dracula (Sept. 9–Nov. 1), adapted by William McNulty.
Next will be Rebecca Gilman’s Luna Gale (Oct. 6–25, 2015), about a social worker trying to protect the children under her charge. Waters will direct the play.
The holidays will include the theatre’s annual production of A Christmas Carol (Nov. 24–Dec. 23, 2015), adapted by Barbara Field and sponsored by Fifth Third Bank. A mainstay at ATL since 1976, the production underwent a complete design overhaul in 2014.
In the new year, Chicago-based ensemble the Hypocrites, under the direction of Sean Graney, will return to ATL with their take on H.M.S. Pinafore (Nov. 17–Dec. 13, 2015), a reimagining of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera set at a nautical-themed pajama party.
The new year will begin with Amy Herzog’s 4000 Miles (Jan. 5–31, 2016), which studies the relationship between a traumatized 21-year-old and his 91-year-old grandmother. Mike Donahue will direct the production; Donahue is currently directing The Roommate as part of ATL’s 39th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays).
Closing out the production season will be Rick Elice’s Peter Pan prequel Peter and the Starcatcher (Jan. 26–Feb. 17, 2016), under the direction of associate artistic director Meredith McDonough.
In addition, in spring 2016 (March 2–April 10, 2016), ATL will host the 40th anniversary Humana Festival of New American Plays, featuring a slate of fully produced world-premiere productions. The lineup will be announced later this year. The 39th annual iteration of the festival is currently underway, from March 4 to April 12.
The 2015–16 ATL season will be sponsored by Brown-Forman, with additional support from Fund for the Arts, Kentucky Arts Council and YUM! Brands.
