Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College presents its 53rd Season
“Broadway Firsts”: Stories of “Outsider” Cultural Landmarks in American Theatre
KALAMAZOO, MI – More than any other art, theatre depends on pioneering works, those that “break the norms” of cultural conventions. Very often, what are today’s “hits” in popular theatre were yesterday’s famously groundbreaking productions from outside the “mainstream” (read white male heterosexist cultural standards). The musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show, now considered a “classic,” was the first Broadway musical to feature a “queer” aesthetic that satirized traditional gender roles. Lorraine’ Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, now considered a quintessential American family drama, was the first play on Broadway written by an African American woman. And the breakthrough hit of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of today’s mega Broadway hit, Hamilton, was In the Heights, the first Tony award-winning hip hop and Latino/a musical. Festival Playhouse proudly presents The Rocky Horror Picture Show, A Raisin in the Sun, and In the Heights as three “Broadway Firsts”: Stories of “Outsider” Cultural Landmarks in American Theatre.
THE SEASON
Fall 2016
1. Emergency by Daniel Lee Beaty. Saturday, October 22 @ 7:30pm in the Dalton Theatre located at 139 Thompson Street. Presented by the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership With/Out -¿Borders? II Conference and Festival Playhouse Diversity Guest Artist Series.
In this 80-minute piece, which includes slam poetry, multi-character transformation, and song, Beaty portrays a cast of 40 characters including a homeless man, a scientist, a republican business executive, a street vendor, and an 11-year-old boy from the projects all responding toa slave ship which emerges in front of the Statue of Liberty in NYC. Originally produced at The Public Theatre in NYC, Emergency was a 2006 Obie award-winner and is considered by many critics to be one of the most explosive one-person shows ever performed.The performance will be followed by an audience talkback and book signing.
More info on Daniel Beaty: http://danielbeaty.com/wordpress/
More info on the conference:https://reason.kzoo.edu/csjl/
2. The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien. Directed by guest artist Jon Reeves. Nov. 3-6 in the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse. The story centers on a young engaged couple whose car breaks down in the rain near a castle where they seek a telephone to call for help. The castle is occupied by strangers in elaborate costumes celebrating an annual convention. They discover the head of the house is Frank N. Furter, an apparent mad scientist who actually is an alien transvestite. The production is a satirical tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through early 1970s. Mature subject matter and language.
Winter 2017
3. The 7th Annual Theatre Kalamazoo New Play Festival. Feb. 3-4 at the Epic Center in Downtown Kalamazoo. Among other works, new plays written, performed, and directed by Kalamazoo College students.
4. Senior Performance Series. Feb. 9-12 in the Dungeon Theatre. Student-directed plays from our “best and brightest” who continue the long tradition of students creating their own theatre. Plays include Stuck in Neutral, written and produced by Kyle Lampar ’17; Piss & Vinegar, written by Camille Wood ’17, directed by Clapton Marquis ’17; Gruesome Playground Injuries, written by Rajiv Joseph, directed by Aidan Ives-Johnson ’17; 101 Humiliating Stories, written by Lisa Kron ’83, co-produced by Madison Donoho ’17 and Emma Franzel ’17. All SPS plays contain mature subject matter and language.
5. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Directed by Karen Berthel. Feb. 23-26 in the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse. The story tells a black family's experiences in the Washington Park Subdivision of Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood as they attempt to "better" themselves with an insurance payout from the death of the father. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway, as well as the first with a black director. The New York Drama Critics' Circle named it the best play of 1959.
Spring 2017
6. In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda & Quiara Alegría Hudes. May 11-14 in the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse. Directed by Ed Menta. Winner of the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical In the Heights centers on a variety of characters living in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, on the northern tip of Manhattan. At the center of the show is Usnavi, a bodega owner who looks after the aging Cuban lady next door, pines for the gorgeous girl working in the neighboring beauty salon and dreams of winning the lottery and escaping to the shores of his native Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, Nina, a childhood friend of Usnavi’s, has returned to the neighborhood from her first year at college with surprising news for her parents, who have spent their life savings on building a better life for their daughter. Ultimately, Usnavi and the residents of the close-knit neighborhood get a dose of what it means to be home.
The Nelda K. Balch Playhouse is located at 129 Thompson Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49007. Playhouse ticket prices are $15/Adults, $10 seniors 65+, and $5/students (free with K-ID).
The Dungeon Theatre located at 139 Thompson Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49007. Admission to the Senior Performance Series is $5 (free with K-ID).
For more information, please call 269-337-7333 or visit www.kzoo.edu/festivaltheatre.
Theatre that is always provocative. Theatre that is always thoughtful. Festival Playhouse gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Dorothy U. Dalton Foundation.