University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre Announces 2008-09 Season

PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre launches its 2008-09 season, American Revelations, on Oct. 15 and includes three contemporary masterpieces and one classic that will explore America's legacy and national identity. The season kicks off with "The Clean House" by Sarah Ruhl, followed by Aristophanes' immortal comedy "Lysistrata"; it wraps up with both parts of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Angels in America".

American Revelations is Pitt Rep's most technically challenging season in recent memory, according to Bruce McConachie, chair of Pitt's Department of Theatre Arts. He says the effects-heavy "Angels in America," in particular, will give Pitt's designers and theater technicians the chance to enjoy the spotlight.

With the exception of "Lysistrata," tickets for all performances are $22 general admission; $19 for Pitt faculty, staff, and alumni; and $12 for students.

Performance dates and information about the plays are as follows.

The Clean House

Oct. 15-26

Henry Heymann Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Ave., Oakland.

A Pulitzer Prize finalist and Pittsburgh premiere, "The Clean House" takes place in a "metaphysical" Connecticut, where no affluent household is complete without a Latin housekeeper. Matilde, a Brazilian cleaning lady, has no interest in cleaning. She prefers to devote her time to composing the world's funniest-and lethal-joke. Thomas Costello, a Pitt PhD candidate in theater arts, directs.

Lysistrata

Oct. 29-Nov. 9

Studio Theatre, B72 Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

"Make love, not war" is the message of Aristophanes' raunchy political comedy from 411 B.C., in which Athenian women bring about an end to the Peloponnesian War by withholding sex from their husbands. More than two millennia later, the Father of Comedy's classic romp rings true, naughty, and hilarious. Pitt undergraduate student and theater arts major Kaitlyn Wittig directs. Tickets are $10; students pay $7.

Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches

Feb. 19-March 1

Charity Randall Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial

Kushner's epic masterpiece has been hailed as one of the greatest American dramas. Set in the era of AIDS and the Reagan Administration, "Millenium" reveals how the afflicted and their loved ones brace themselves as physical realities unravel to make way for disturbing supernatural forces. The intersecting dramas of humans, angels, and phantoms converge on the arrival of a heavenly messenger. What will the millennium bring-a new age or an apocalypse? Pitt teaching artist Holly Thuma directs.

Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika

April 2-11

Charity Randall Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial

Picking up where "Millennium" leaves off, "Perestroika" plunges the audience into a feverish dream of political unrest, personal revelation, and celestial instability. At turns shocking, heartbreaking, and funny, the conclusion reproaches humanity's hypocrisy and greed and illuminates our capacity for forgiveness, love, and survival-attributes that reveal the true angels among us. Pitt teaching artist Robert C. T. Steele directs.

Pitt's Department of Theatre Arts, founded in 1982, offers BA, MA, MFA, and PhD degrees, and all faculty members are active in both teaching and artistic/research activities. For more information, visit www.play.pitt.edu or call 412-624-PLAY (7529).

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9/2/08/amm