Atlanta’s nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre and Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth are pleased to announce the 2015/16 Season for the Alliance Stage, Hertz Stage, Theatre for Youth and Families, and Theatre for the Very Young series. The 47th season includes five world premieres, a musical by BeBe Winans and Charles Randolph-Wright, a Pulitzer Prize winning drama, a literary classic featuring an all-Atlanta cast, and exceptional productions for youth and families.
The 2015/16 Alliance Stage season will begin on September 2, 2015, with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the powerful American drama exploring the beauty and danger of being a free spirit in a closed system. This production will be directed by Susan V. Booth and brought to life by an all-Atlanta based cast.
Also on the Alliance Stage this fall is the world premiere of Tiger Style!, by 2013 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winner Mike Lew. Tiger Style! takes and funny and sarcastic look at the slacker child and tiger parent in all of us. This production marks the first time that an Alliance/Kendeda Competition winner has had a subsequent play produced on the Alliance Stage.
In January 2016, the Alliance will produce the world premiere musical Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story, the heart-warming true story of gospel music icon BeBe Winans’s journey to success and true faith. Born for This is written and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright (Motown The Musical) with music by BeBe Winans. BeBe and CeCe Winans will be portrayed on stage by a new generation of Winans – niece and nephew Deborah Joy and Juan Winans.
The Alliance Stage season will close with the regional premiere of Disgraced, the provocative 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama on religion and cultural identity in America by Ayad Ahktar. The Alliance will present the Broadway production directed by Kimberly Senior as part of a regional theatre tour. Disgraced was included in The New York Times Best of 2014 list for theatre and was described as “potent…terrific, turbulent, with fresh currents of dramatic electricity… superb.”
The 2015/16 Hertz Stage season will include two world premieres including another partnership production with Atlanta’s favorite improv company, Dad’s Garage and the 2016 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winner.
The Hertz season will open on September 18, 2015, with the A Steady Rain, an edge-of-your-seat thriller about two Chicago cops who push their moral boundaries to the breaking point. A Steady Rain received its world premiere in Chicago where it was awarded the Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best New Work and Best Production in 2008. It made its Broadway debut in 2009 with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig in the leading roles. The Alliance production will be directed by Scandal star Jeff Perry.
Also on the Hertz Stage will be Merry %#!*ing Christmas, a new holiday production by Atlanta’s favorite improve group Dad’s Garage, where a cast of characters including Scrooge and Frosty the Snowman must save the world from Santa Clause and global warming. Closing the Hertz season is Ethel, a musical look at the life of legendary stage and film star Ethel Waters. Ethel is written by and stars Atlanta’s Terry Burrell.
This year’s Arts Season in Atlanta has been a hit! We’re happy to see that the momentum has rolled over into next season as well! A BeBe Winans Musical? Next season is going to be amazing!