Plays by David Auburn, Ethan Coen, Lucy Thurber and Harold Pinter to Light Up Atlantic Theater Company's 25th Anniversary Season
New plays from David Auburn, Ethan Coen and Lucy Thurber and a pair of one-acts by Harold Pinter are on tap for the 2010-2011 season at Atlantic Theater Company. The complete 25th anniversary lineup includes performances at satellite theaters (including Classic Stage Company, the Lucille Lortel Theatre and Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse) while Atlantic’s main stage, the Linda Gross Theater, undergoes renovations. Casting, creative teams and additional details for the plays will be announced at a later date.
The season begins at Atlantic Stage 2 with the world premiere of Lucy Thurber’s Bottom of the World, who returns to Atlantic following the production of her drama Scarcity. Directed by Caitriona McLaughlin, the new work begins performances September 3 in anticipation of a September 14 opening. Bottom of the World runs through October 3. The drama chronicles grieving sister Abby as she delves into the world of her sibling Kate’s final novel in an attempt to somehow move on.
The main stage season begins November 3 with The Collection & A Kind of Alaska: Two Plays by Harold Pinter. The double-bill opens November 21 and plays through December 12 at the Classic Stage Company. In The Collection (1962), a 4:00AM phone call and surprise visitor set off a serious of conversations about potential infidelities among two couples. A Kind of Alaska (1982), inspired by the Oliver Sacks novella Awakenings, depicts the life of a middle-age woman who must reorient herself to a greatly changed world after 30 years asleep in a hospital bed.
In January 2011, the season continues with David Auburn’s (Proof) adaptation of Langdon Mitchell’s The New York Idea. The show begins previews at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on January 6, opening on January 26 and running through February 13. The New York Idea introduces freewheeling young divorcee Cynthia Karslake, a member of early 20th century New York society. Cynthia has decided to settle down into a stable relationship with prominent judge Philip Phillimore. Little does she know, however, that neither of their impetuous ex-spouses are down for the count.
Academy Award winner Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men) returns to Atlantic in April 2011 with the world premiere of Four Pickups. A co-production with St. Ann’s Warehouse, the show will be helmed by company artistic director and previous Coen collaborator Neil Pepe. Like Coen’s previous productions, Almost an Evening and Offices, Four Pickups is a collection of short plays with a common theme—in this case, pick-up trucks.
Spring 2011 also welcomes the Atlantic Stage 2 10X25 One-Act Play Festival, which hits the company’s black box theater beginning May 18, 2011, and running through June 26. The lineup will debut world premieres of short plays featuring veteran Atlantic Theater Company playwrights, directors and actors. Playwrights confirmed to participate include Leslie Ayvazian, Annie Baker, Stephen Belber, Bekah Brunstetter, Moira Buffini, Kia Corthron, Tom Donaghy, John Guare, Peter Hedges, Kevin Heelan, Tina Howe, Craig Lucas, David Mamet, Peter Parnell, Keith Reddin, Kate Robin, Kate Moira Ryan, Eddie Sanchez, Thurber and Jeff Whitty.