(Vocus) September 23, 2010

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON The Shaw Festival is pleased to announce its 50th Seasons playbill, one which celebrates the past, while enthusiastically looking forward. The 2011 Season will feature eleven diverse productions that include: Shaw re-envisioned by both directors and writers, newly commissioned works, plays by a new generation of provocative playwrights, re-explored classics and returning Festival favourites appearing on the Festival’s four Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario stages: the Festival Theatre, the Court House Theatre, the Royal George Theatre and the new Studio Theatre. As explained by Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell, “This milestone season gives us an opportunity to honour the extraordinary achievements of our past, while creating vivid new signposts for our future, showing how the Shaw Festival will play a leading role in the theatrical conversation of the next 50 years or more.

The 50th Season Playbill includes:

Three plays by Shaw on three Festival stages

Heartbreak House

by Bernard Shaw

Directed by Christopher Newton

Previews – May 10 Opens – May 25 Closes – October 7

Festival Theatre

Bernard Shaw’s epic masterpiece returns for our 50th season. An unexpected family reunion leads to fireworks both indoors and out.

On the Rocks

by Bernard Shaw

Directed by Joseph Zeigler

Previews – June 14 Opens – July 8 Closes – October 8

Court House Theatre

Bernard Shaw’s political comedy gets a “contemporary remix” by Dora-award winning playwright Michael Healey. This re-envisioned version of Shaw’s play asks the question: when the citizens are about to revolt, what’s better — a Prime Minister with too many ideas or not enough of them?

Candida

by Bernard Shaw

Directed by Gina Wilkinson

Previews – April 7 Opens – May 28 Closes – October 30

Royal George Theatre

The delightful comedy that opened the Shaw’s first season returns for the Festival’s 50th — the classic story of a love triangle about a dutiful wife torn between her pastor husband and the ardent love of a young poet.

Two musicals: a timeless classic re-envisioned; the other a world premiere

My Fair Lady

By Frederick Loewe (music) & Alan Jay Lerner (adaptation & lyrics).

Based on Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw

Directed by Molly Smith

Previews – April 13 Opens – May 28 Closes – October 30

Festival Theatre

Making its much anticipated first appearance at the Shaw Festival, the glorious music, book and lyrics of the Lerner and Loewe musical, based on Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, is celebrated in a fresh new vigorous production of this beloved story.

Maria Severa

Book, music & lyrics by Jay Turvey & Paul Sportelli

Directed by Jackie Maxwell

Previews – July 19 Opens – August 5 Closes – September 23

Court House Theatre

World Premiere

A romantic new musical about the legendary Maria Severa and the birth of Fado, the Portuguese music of the street that touched the heart of a people, makes its world premiere at The Shaw.

50th Season also features comedies, drama and a remount of the 2008 hit The President

The Admirable Crichton

by J.M. Barrie

Directed by Morris Panych

Previews – June 22 Opens – July 9 Closes – October 29

Festival Theatre

An aristocratic lord’s theories of class equality are put to the test when they are cast out of civilization and left shipwrecked on a desert island. Only their butler, the admirable Crichton knows what to do; but when they return home will this new island hierarchy survive amongst Victorian society? A hilarious social satire.

Drama at Inish – A Comedy

by Lennox Robinson

Directed by Jackie Maxwell

Previews – May 6 Opens – May 27 Closes – October 1

Court House Theatre

Canadian Premiere

Introducing a delightful Irish ensemble gem, Drama at Inish – A Comedy. When the usual visiting comedy troupe is replaced by the De La Mare Repertory Company and their serious dramatic fare, the citizens of Inish are mesmerized and transformed, with hilarious results. A play that speaks to the power of theatre.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

by Tennessee Williams

Directed by Eda Holmes

Previews – May 3 Opens – May 26 Closes – October 23

Royal George Theatre

Mendacity and money pit Brick against Maggie the Cat and Big Daddy. The tension-laden Pulitzer Prize winning family drama brings the sultry heat of Mississippi Delta and Tennessee Williams’ rich language back to the Shaw. The last Tennessee Williams work presented at the Shaw Festival was 2007’s Summer and Smoke.

Lunchtime:

The President

by Ferenc Moln�r

Adapted by Morwyn Brebner

Directed by Blair Williams

Previews – June 3 Opens – July 9 Closes – October 9

Royal George Theatre

Following audience and critical acclaim, the inspired one-act whirlwind about a bank CEO who transforms a lowly cabdriver into a suitable suitor for the girl in his charge returns to the Shaw. This hilarious, must-see production was a smash hit of the 2008 season.

The exploration of provocative, subversive contemporary playwriting continues

Topdog/Underdog

by Suzan-Lori Parks

Directed by Philip Akin

Previews – July 19 Opens – August 6 Closes – August 27

Studio Theatre

Canadian premiere

Presented in association with Obsidian Theatre

This award-winning play by one of North America’s most thought-provoking playwrights features a dark comic portrait of two brothers, sardonically named Lincoln and Booth, their struggle to survive and their confrontation of history, family and the future. A Canadian premiere this season at the Shaw Festival.

When the Rain Stops Falling

by Andrew Bovell

Directed by Peter Hinton

Previews – August 11 Opens – August 26 Closes – September 17

Studio Theatre

Canadian premiere

Celebrated Australian playwright Andrew Bovell’s compelling generational epic When the Rain Stops Falling will make its Canadian premiere at the Shaw Festival. An epic and intimate journey that crosses two continents, spans four generations and weaves an intricate story of connections, loss and mystery begins with a son trying to reconnect with his father and a fish that falls from the sky.

Tickets for the 50th Season go on sale to Shaw Festival Theatre Membership beginning November 6. Tickets to the general public go on sale in January. Ticket prices remain the same as 2010 and range from $ 23 to $ 30 for youth, $ 40 for seniors and $ 35 – $ 105 for regular tickets. Be the first in line to order tickets to The Shaw’s landmark 50th season. Call 1-800-511-7429 to become a Member. To learn more about the Shaw Festival, visit http://www.shawfest.com.

*Please note: dates are subject to change.

About The Shaw Festival

In the spirit of Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival provokes the mind and stirs the soul through a theatre experience so compelling that, year after year, ever-broadening groups of artists, audiences and supporters are drawn to the work of our Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario theatre.

Odette Yazbeck����

Public Relations Director����

905-468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2222

odette(at)shawfest(dot)com

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