WALNUT CREEK, CALIF.: Center REPertory Company has announced its 2017-18 season, which will mark the theatre’s 50th anniversary and will feature six productions.
“For 50 years, Center REP has been a part of this community, enhancing lives with entertainment and insight, from the very first production of Season 1, The Skin of Our Teeth, to our current production of Philip Kan Gotanda’s Sisters Matsumoto,” said artistic director Michael Butler in a statement. “The goal has never changed: to produce a vibrant, enlightening, and entertaining theatre experience for our audience. Center REP’s mission is to celebrate the power of the human imagination. We bring people—artists and audience alike—together in this celebration. We are a place where people gather for the shared stories of human experience. I can’t wait to see what the REP looks like in another 50 years!”
The season will open with Million Dollar Quartet (Sept. 1-Oct. 6), with book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, about a jam session between Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins featuring the musicians’ hit songs. Hunter Foster will direct.
Next up will be David Ives’s The Liar (Oct. 20-Nov. 18), an adaptation of the 17th-century French comedy about a man looking for love in Paris. Michael Butler will direct.
For the holidays, Center REP will bring back A Christmas Carol (Dec. 7-17), adapted by Cynthia Caywood and Richard L. James from the book by Charles Dickens. Jennifer Perry will choreograph, and Scott Denison will direct.
Lucas Hnath’s Red Speedo (Jan. 28-Feb. 24, 2018) will open the new year. The play follows a swimmer preparing for the Olympic trials. Markus Potter will direct.
The following show will be Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine (March 30-April 29, 2018), a comedy about a housewife who desperately needs to change her life. Kerri Shawn will star, and George Maguire will direct.
The final show of the season will be a musical yet to be announced (May 25-June 30, 2018). Jennifer Perry will choreograph, Daniel Feyer will music direct, and Jeff Collister will direct.
Founded in 1968, Center REPertory Company is the resident professional theatre company of the Lesher Center for the Arts.
