Pitt Repertory Theatre Announces 2010-11 Season

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre opens its 2010-11 season Sept. 10, and this year Pitt Rep will offer five main stage productions, including two Shakespeare performances, as well as nine student-directed plays. 

Main stage tickets are $25 general admission; $20 for Pitt faculty, staff, and alumni; and $12 for students. Student-lab-production tickets are $12 general admission and $8 for students. Discounted flex and season passes are available for as little as $14 for all 14 productions. 

To order tickets, call 412-624-PLAY (7529) or visit www.play.pitt.edu. Tickets also are available at the Stephen Foster Memorial Theatre Box Office, adjacent to the Cathedral of Learning, Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. 

Performance dates and information about the plays follow. Updates will be posted on www.play.pitt.edu, Facebook, and Twitter. 

Main Stage Performances

Sept. 10-19

A One-Man Archy & Mehitabel

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

Meet a cynical poet trapped in the body of a cockroach who forms an unlikely bond with Cleopatra, reincarnated as an alley cat. Playwright Gale McNeely returns to the Pitt Rep stage for a showcase of banter, song, and soliloquy inspired by Tom Marquis’ Depression-era comic strips. Archy & Mehitabel’s acerbic wit helps them skirt scandal, but their rhetoric is a reminder of exactly how far we haven’t come.

Oct. 14-24

Shakespeare’s Lovers and Fighters

Shakespeare in the Schools Performance

Henry Heymann Theatre

Adapted by Chip Crane and directed by Sam Turich, this lively 45-minute production includes some of the Bard’s best-known love and fight scenes. Both novice and longtime fans of Shakespeare will witness an energetic mix of his most famous romances and suspenseful spars. Selected performances are from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

Oct. 29-Nov. 7

Slasher

Charity Randall Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Ave., Oakland.

Life is but a scream for aspiring actress Sheena in this designed-to-be-horrifying comedy—a satirical twist on slasher movie clichés. Sheena lands a part in a low-budget flick only to have her debut marred by a smarmy D-list director and her feminist mother, who adds new meaning to the word “cut!” The play is written by Allison Moore and directed by Holly Thuma.

Feb. 18-27, 2011

Churchill in Short(s)?

Henry Heymann Theatre

Though renowned dramatist Caryl Churchill’s plays span decades, the theme of her rarer works often demonstrate that that no good deed goes unpunished, and that politics often play out in the most unlikely of circumstances. Tommy Costello directs three of these lesser-known yet thoroughly contemporary one-act plays. 

April 1-11, 2011

As You Like It

Charity Randall Theatre

“All the world's a stage.” After all, it has to be big enough for Rosalind’s moxie, Celia’s spirit, and Orlando’s unwavering devotion. And since family feuds and love triangles never go out of style, director Sam Turich brings an urban approach and a techno twist to Shakespeare’s classic comedy.

Student-Lab Performances

Sept. 29-Oct. 3

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

Eleemosynary, written by Lee Blessing, directed by William Grant. 

Three generations of women must reconcile a tumultuous past to deal with their delicate future.

All in the Timing: Words, Words, Words, and Variations on the Death of Trotsky,

written by David Ives, directed by David Peterson.

Two comedic acts about monkeys and murder. You decide which is which. 

Nov. 10-14

Studio Theatre

Wanda’s Visit, written by Christopher Durang, directed by Rachel Brookstein. 

A restless couple is rattled by a visit from the man’s eccentric high school girlfriend.

Krapp’s Last Tape, written by Samuel Beckett, directed by Jordan Matthew Walsh.

A failed writer returns to his desk to pick up the pieces of an unfulfilled life. 

Dec. 1-5

Henry Heymann Theatre

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, written by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by

Joanna Getting. 

Catholic tradition and New York justice collide in Purgatory, where the eternal damnation of Judas is appealed. 

Feb. 2-6, 2011

Studio Theatre

The Well of Horniness, written by Holly Hughes, directed by Jeremy Enz-Doerschner. 

A high-camp, lowbrow murder mystery disguised as a 1940s radio show.

Medusa’s Tale, written by Carol S. Lashof, directed by Allison Coldeway. 

Sent to destroy her, Perseus learns the truth about mythology’s snake-haired villain. 

April 13-17

Studio Theatre

Henna Night, written by Amy Rosenthal, directed by Jess Edelstein. 

You don’t fall in love, you jump. It’s suicide, not misadventure.

Sparagmos, based on Ian Johnston’s translation of The Bacchae, directed by David Bisaha, choreographed by Ariel Nereson. 

Wine, ecstasy, and intoxication fill this “rip-roaring” version of the Greek tragedy. 

Pitt Repertory Theatre is under Pitt’s Department of Theatre Arts, part of the School of Arts and Sciences. The department offers BA, MA, MFA, and PhD degrees in theater arts.

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