Festival Events
The world premiere of Tinyard Hill launches TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival on July 15 at the Lucie Stern Theatre. A nationally-acclaimed incubator for new works, the Festival then expands in August to include major concerts, playwright showcases, and “script-in-hand” debuts of six new musicals and plays. When you subscribe to Tinyard Hill, you will automatically receive a free bonus ticket to any one of the six readings, and preferential status when you purchase a Deluxe Festival Package for admission to additional events. Festival Packages and individual tickets are now on sale.
Please join us for all these events!
The New Works Festival is sponsored by
WORLD PREMIERE MAINSTAGE MUSICAL
A New Country Musical
By Tommy Newman and Mark Allen
Directed by Robert Kelley
July 15–August 16, 2009
Tickets: $29 (student) – $67
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
Tinyard Hill, Georgia is a small town partial to old-time music and new-forged dreams, especially for a handsome young blacksmith hammering out a living at the historic smithy his family has owned for generations. When an out-of-this-world beauty and an out-of-the-blue draft notice arrive within days, his life is turned upside down. Set in the ’60s to a foot-stompin’ country-pop score, this feisty new musical tells of romance, rebellion, and patriotism in an era of irresistible change.
STAGED READINGS OF THREE NEW PLAYS
A Play that Sings
By Raquel Bitton and Chris Smith
Directed by Chris Smith
August 3, 7:30pm
Tickets: $15
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
In a song-filled drama, sensuous chanteuse Edith Piaf encounters quirky genius Jean Cocteau in 1930s Paris. The mysterious star’s unforgettable voice, recreated by recording artist Bitton, proves irresistible to the eccentric writer and filmmaker, played by acclaimed Bay Area actor James Carpenter.
Read more about Bitton on her website.
A Play for People and the Objects that Own Them
By Laura Schellhardt
Directed by Meredith McDonough
August 18, 7:30pm / August 21, 8:00pm
Tickets: $15
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
I’m hearing a bid of five dollars—would you give me ten? Do I hear twenty? For the last remnants of my father? Piece by piece, a family of auctioneers is selling off their heritage, their Victorian, and their secrets along with it. With a brilliant flair for language, this humorous, mysterious drama explores what happens if what we own becomes more important than who we are. Contains mature language.
A Psychological Thriller
By Rajiv Joseph
August 15, 2:00pm / August 17, 7:30pm
Tickets: $15
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
Khadim enrolled from Saudi Arabia. Vice Principal Danielson grew up here in town. But secrets haunt them both at suburban Sheffield High, tucked in hidden lockers, concealed on high-tech phones, awaiting revelation on this semester’s last day. As the sands of truth shift ominously beneath them, this cat-and-mouse thriller traverses the minefields of ethnic and sexual profiling in a community strung-out on political correctness. Contains mature language.
STAGED READINGS OF THREE NEW MUSICALS
An Alluring Musical Comedy
Book and Lyrics by Darrah Cloud / Music by Kim D. Sherman
Directed by Tom Lindblade
August 5, 7:30pm / August 9, 7:00pm
Tickets: $15
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
Abandoned after World War II, a feisty mom parleys her gift for glamour and gab into an empire catering to the dreams of women across the country. Told with insight and humor, her journey to the heights reflects a changing vision of women in our times, proving that beauty, love, and life are inevitably more than skin deep. Authors Cloud and Sherman created TW musical hits O Pioneers! and Heartland.
A Fever Dream Musical
Book by Joe DiPietro
Music by Brendan Milburn
Lyric by Valerie Vigoda
Directed by Kent Nicholson
August 8, 2:00pm / August 11, 7:30pm / August 15, 8:00pm
Tickets: $15
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
Sleep-deprived Kat writes great music. Okay, it’s for video games—but great. And so is her baby, even if her boyfriend split and an explorer named Shackleton keeps phoning from beyond time. Inspired by Kat’s music, he shares his Antarctic journeys with her as both struggle toward new horizons. Broadway’s Joe DiPietro (Memphis) wrote the funny script, and GrooveLily violinist Valerie Vigoda stars in this solo of a lifetime, co-written with Striking 12’s Brendan Milburn. Contains mature language.
Learn more about ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME on GrooveLily's website.
A Song Cycle for a New Generation
By Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk
August 19, 7:30pm / August 22, 8:00pm / August 23, 7:00pm
Tickets: $15
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
Remember the roller coaster called your 20s? This funny, fascinating musical focuses on the lives and loves of five twenty-somethings adrift in a world of insecurity, insincerity, and downright insanity! Charting the passage years from college to adulthood with insightful satire, hot tunes, and brilliant harmonies, it reveals the challenges of finding your place, losing your edge, partying down, and finally stepping up to embrace the rest of your life. Contains mature language.
CONCERTS—MUSIC AS THEATRE
A Long and Winding Road: The Concert
August 6, 8:00pm
Tickets: $75
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
The Grammy-winning, Broadway and pop star in a thrilling, introspective concert with songs by James Taylor, Carole King, Bob Dylan, and more!
In Concert
August 14, 8:00pm
Tickets: $35
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
The nationally-acclaimed singer/composer returns to her local roots for a concert of greatest hits and brand new songs from her new musical!
EXTRAS—AN INSIDER'S LOOK
July 27, 7:30pm
Tickets: $10
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
A special 40th Anniversary “Coffee Talk with Kelley”—San Francisco Chronicle Critic Robert Hurwitt explores 40 years of growth and change with TheatreWorks’ Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley.
August 9, 2:00pm
Tickets: $10
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
Fresh voices from local teens test the limits and seek the heights in an evening of new play readings of the best from our Young Playwrights Initiative.
August 10, 7:30pm
Tickets: $10
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
August 20, 8:00pm
Tickets: $10
Does not include $2 convenience fee for online or phone orders.
Theatre Bay Area hosts an intriguing, innovative evening of mini-readings of new work by the best of the Bay Area¹s outstanding playwrights.
