Boston’s Speakeasy Theatre Company is no stranger to the hottest and most provocative plays, giving the works finely honed and polished performances almost (it seems) just weeks after they close in New York City. It is located in the Calderwood Pavilion of the Boston Center for the Arts where all their 2012-13 shows will be performed.
The Motherf**ker With the Hat
Kicking off the 2012-13 season is The Motherf**cker With the Hat, which has opened and runs until October 13. Described as a high-octane verbal cage match about love, fidelity and misplaced haberdashery, The Motherf**ker With the Hat is a Tony-nominated dark comedy that pulls no punches in telling its gritty story. Ex-con Jackie thinks he’s got his life back on track now that he’s sober and employed. But when he finds a mysterious hat in the apartment he shares with his girlfriend, it sends him back down the path of destruction. Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis, The Motherf**ker With the Hat is a ferociously funny play filled with memorable characters and acid-tongued dialogue that you should not miss.
P.S. Right now you can use this link (Click me!) to save up to 50% on tickets on selected dates of this show. Or for the full selection of regular tickets at full price go to www.bcaonline.org.
Gus Curry plays the title role of Andrew Jackson at SpeakEasy Stage. Photo by Saglio Photography Inc.
Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson
Next up from October 19 to November 17 is Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, an audacious mix of historical fact and fiction, redefines America’s controversial seventh president — the man who invented the Democratic Party, drove the Indians west, and ultimately doubled the size of our nation — with a raucous blend of outrageous comedy, anarchic theatricality and an infectious emo rock score. In the title role, according to sources, is Gus Curry (who played Paul in Gloucester Stage Company’s recent production of “Carnival”) as Old Hickory.
Written by Alex Timbers, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson won critical plaudits but struggled at the box office during a Broadway run in 2010-11. The SpeakEasy production, is to be directed by Paul Melone.
Other Desert Cities
After a holiday break the company continues with Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz and directed by Scott Edmiston. In the January 11 to February 9, 2013 slot, it is a funny, yet fierce story of a family where secrets are currency and everyone is rich. Brooke Wyeth, a once-promising young novelist, returns home after a six-year absence to celebrate Christmas in Palm Springs with her parents, who are former members of Reagan’s inner circle, her brother and aunt. The festivities are short-lived, however, when Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family’s history – a wound that her parents would prefer not be reopened.
Clybourne Park
Beginning on March 1, 2013, is the Bruce Norris play Clybourne Park, directed by M. Bevin O’Gara with an open-ended run. Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and London’s Olivier Award for Best Play, Clybourne Park is a bold new play about race, real estate and the volatile values of each. Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s classic play A Raisin in the Sun, this acclaimed work explodes in two outrageous acts set 50 years apart. Act One takes place in 1959, as nervous community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home in a white community to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in 2009, as the now predominantly African American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.
In the Heights
Starting May 10 and continuing into June is the winner of four 2008 Tony Awards including Best Musical, In the Heights. With Music & Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Directed by Paul Daigneault, In the Heights is a potent reminder of the importance of chasing one’s dreams and finding where you belong. Set in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood, this exuberant show spices up traditional Broadway rhythms with hip hop, salsa, and rap to tell the stories of the passionate residents of this close-knit Latin community.
Information on all of SpeakEasy’s 2012-13 shows and subscription options can be found at www.SpeakEasyStage.com
SpeakEasy Stage Company is proud to be the Calderwood Pavilion Resident Theatre Company at the Boston Center for the Arts, (BCA), a nonprofit performing and visual arts center whose mission is to support working artists to create, perform, and exhibit new work; to develop new audiences; and to connect the arts to a broad public. For more information, visit www.bcaonline.org.
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