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10th Anniversary Season Delivers Five Strong Dramas and Comedies, and Introduces a New Adaptation of a Beloved Holiday Classic

(Greensboro, NC) — Triad Stage announces the MainStage series plays for its tenth season, which begins September 5, 2010, with a lineup of productions showcasing the powerful acting and breathtaking design that have become the signatures of the Triad’s award-winning professional, regional theater. Artistic Director and Co-founder Preston Lane talks about the new season and the plays he has selected. “The tenth anniversary season is very special for us. I wanted this to be a real celebration of who we are, what we love – great stories, bold acting. Every season starts out as a dream, of stories we are yearning to tell. I am so excited about the line up we’ve put together to celebrate this significant milestone.” The 2010-2011 Season features: an American masterpiece by Tennessee Williams, an English comedy by Willy Russell, a modern drama by Cormac McCarthy, a Southern treasure by Robert Harling and a world premiere adaptation of a classic dress up farce by Ludvig Holberg.

“Thinking back over the first nine seasons, it is amazing how far we have come,” says Lane. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to create work for such a daring, enthusiastic audience. Our journey from the first season to today has been an incredible adventure. I am proud of how Triad Stage has revitalized downtown and how our work has strengthened community, built bridges and garnered state and national attention.”

The 2010-2011 – “The 10th Season” – Line Up

The Glass Menagerie

An American Masterpiece

By Tennessee Williams

Memories as fragile as glass are tossed into the air in Tennessee Williams’ first great masterpiece. Dreams meet reality and love becomes desperate in a shimmering drama of a family on the edge. Tom struggles in a modern day world while his mother holds tight to a fantasy of Southern gentility and his sister hides amongst the glistening crystalline creatures she collects. With an edge as sharp as broken glass, the play cuts deep into the longing of human hearts. The Glass Menagerie runs September 5 – 26, 2010. Opening night is Friday, September 10, 2010.

“In addition to being one of my personal favorites,” says Lane, “Tennessee Williams is the greatest of all American playwrights. That is why we chose his Suddenly Last Summer as our inaugural production nine seasons ago and that’s why we are returning to Williams to celebrate the opening of our tenth season.”

Educating Rita

An English Comedy

By Willy Russell

Rita is street smart, a twenty-something hairdresser with a passion for more. Frank is disillusioned, a down-on-his-luck professor driven to drink. Rita is brash. Frank is burnt out. But as Frank tutors Rita for her exams, their lessons teach them things they never expected about their own lives. Thirty years after it took the world by storm, Triad Stage celebrates Russell’s delightful comedy of ideas. Part Pygmalion, part Working Girl, this is the story of two unforgettable characters with the courage to learn. Educating Rita runs October 17 – November 7, 2010. Opening night is Friday, October 22, 2010.

Preston Lane’s fondness for the play is long-standing. “I have treasured Willy Russell’s comedy since I first saw it almost two decades ago. Rita and Frank are two of the best characters in contemporary theater. As the play celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, I’m delighted to include it in our tenth. Its comedy is deliciously British, very sophisticated and warmly heartfelt.”

The Sunset Limited

A Modern Drama

By Cormac McCarthy

An African-American ex-con saves the life of a white professor on a subway platform in New York City, even though the professor didn’t wish for such deliverance. The incident leads the two men back to a Harlem apartment where hope and despair clash in a battle that shakes both men to the core of their existence. Is one an angel? Is the other completely lost? Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist McCarthy’s fierce and passionate writing explodes in this drama of two lives changed forever by an act of grace. The Sunset Limited runs February 13 – March 6, 2011. Opening night is Friday, February 18, 2011.

“We love great writers at Triad Stage,” states Lane. “I am especially pleased to be presenting a remarkable contemporary play by one of America’s greatest novelists. Cormac McCarthy has written a fascinating play about faith and the reasons for living, one that will really give our audiences something to explore.”

Steel Magnolias

A Southern Treasure

By Robert Harling

April 10 – May 1, 2011

Many things beside hair get done at Truvy’s hair salon, and that’s why it is the place to go in Chinquapin Parish, Louisiana. Gossip, revelations and witty Southern banter flow like refreshing sweet tea on a hot summer day. The opinionated Truvy and her new assistant Annelle play host to Ouiser, the lovable curmudgeon, the respectable and sociable M’Lynn and her beautiful daughter, Shelby. As the women come face to face with difficult times, they are brought together through strength and love. Steel Magnolias runs April 10 – May 1, 2011. Opening night is Friday, April 15, 2011.

Lane explains his selection of this theatrical gem. “One of our central core values is our belief in a Southern voice. Few Southern plays have had the same impact on our popular culture as Steel Magnolias. It is a part of the genetic make up. We’re eager to honor the play with a bold new production that goes to the heart of the story.”

Masquerade

A World Premiere Adaptation of a Dress Up Farce

By Ludvig Holberg

Adapted by Preston Lane

June 5 – 26, 2011

The hot new place to party is a masquerade where the young and hip go wild. Two fathers arrange the marriage of their children, but when the kids fall in love behind masks with someone they think they’ve never met, everything that can go wrong will almost certainly get even worse. Add in a mother who just wants to dance, faithful servants determined to protect young love and enough disguises to make your head spin. You’ll laugh your mask off! Masquerade runs June 5 – 26, 2011. Opening night is Friday, June 10, 2011.

Preston Lane describes how he found Masquerade. “When I travel, I’m always looking for new plays to bring back and share with our audience. But sometimes the best new thing can be quite old. 300 hundred years old as a matter of fact! Holberg is a writer who is well loved in Europe, and for good reason. On a recent trip to Norway, I discovered this comedy in one of the funniest productions I have ever seen. I can’t wait to introduce him to our audience in a new adaptation.”

Current 2009-2010 Season Passholders may renew their subscriptions now through Friday, March 12. New 2010-2011 Season Passes go on sale Monday, March 29. Passes range in price from $60 to $180. Tickets to individual shows will not be available until August 2, 2010. Prices vary depending on the day of the week and seat location desired. Triad Stage performs every night of the week except Mondays, with matinees on Sundays.

Introducing the newest Triad Stage holiday tradition…

A Christmas Carol

A Holiday Tale

By Charles Dickens

Adapted by Preston Lane

November 26 – December 24, 2010

Ebenezer Scrooge’s last chance is one night and three spirits. It’s a life-changing ride through past, present and future as he learns what it means to be human. Fifteen actors bring Dickens’ classic Holiday tale to life in a dazzling new production brimming with bold acting, daring design and spine tingling special effects. Our new Holiday tradition for the Triad is a ghostly tale of Yule-tide cheer, gracious redemption and heart-warming hope for the whole family. A Christmas Carol runs November 26 – December 24, 2010. Opening night is Friday, December 3, 2010.

“I think A Christmas Carol is my favorite story ever written,” Lane reflects on his life-long love for the Dickens’ tale. “It is a central myth of the western experience, reminding us of what it means to be fully human. Ever since we opened, I’ve wanted to do a full scale production of A Christmas Carol at Triad Stage. In this season of celebration, it’s a gift designed for our community, an opportunity to share in the story of a glorious chance to live our lives again, to change, and to be better.”

A Christmas Carol is presented as a special event and is not included in Season Pass packages. However, 2010-2011 Season Passholders have the exclusive opportunity to order advance Holiday Flex Tickets to A Christmas Carol at a special reduced rate of $25 each with their Pass purchase or renewal. Otherwise, individual tickets to this show will go on sale August 2, 2010, along with individual tickets to the other 2010-2011 productions.

About Triad Stage

Triad Stage is a professional not-for-profit regional theater company based in Greensboro’s downtown historic district. All Triad Stage productions are created in Greensboro using the best of local and national talent. Triad Stage productions feature the bold acting and breathtaking design that have been nationally recognized by The Wall Street Journal and have earned the theater accolades including “One of the Best Regional Theatres in America”, New York’s Drama League; “Best Live Theater”, Go Triad/News & Record and The Rhinoceros Times; and “Professional Theater of the Year”, North Carolina Theatre Conference. Triad Stage gratefully acknowledges the support of its 2009-2010 Season Sponsors: Mitre Agency, the North Carolina Arts Council and the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro.

Triad Stage’s 2009-2010 Season – “A Season Together” – continues with Around the World in 80 Days, a comic adventure by Mark Brown, based on the novel by Jules Verne (February 7 – March 7, 2010), Ethel Waters: His Eye Is on the Sparrow, a life in music by Larry Parr (April 11 – May 2, 2010) and the world premiere of Providence Gap, an Appalachian saga by Preston Lane, with original music by Laurelyn Dossett (June 6 – July 4, 2010). 2009-2010 3-Play Season Passes and single tickets for all productions are on sale now.

To purchase tickets or for more information on productions, call the Triad Stage Box Office at 336.272.0160 or toll-free at 866.579.TIXX (8499), or visit www.triadstage.org.