American Stage Theatre Company, found in downtown St. Petersburg, will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a busy 2008-09 season which will feature a move to its new, state-of-the-art theater in 2009 as well as a regional first.
American Stage will be the first regional theater in the United States to dedicate the next nine years to producing all ten of August Wilson's plays, each of which chronicles characters in each decade of the 20th century. After last season's well-received production of Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean," the organization decided it was important for a theater company to produce all of this modern master's works to give the public an opportunity to experience the full genius of this African-American playwright. According to Todd Olson, American Stage's producing artistic director, the theater is pleased to be able to bring this cycle to Tampa Bay area audiences.
The 2008-09 season at American Stage will include the following:
- By the Waters of Babylon – Sept. 19 through Oct. 12, 2008. By Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Schenkkan, this passionate love story focuses on a recluse with a past, and her gardener poet from Cuba who has come to rescue her neglected garden. As they drink, dance and tell their stories, they try to banish the ghosts that haunt them both.
- A Tuna Christmas – Nov. 14 through Dec. 28, 2008. By Ed Howard, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams, this show features quick-change artistry and quicksilver dialogue as two consummate actors portray over 20 characters, and create an irreverent holiday comedy about the third smallest town in Texas. The production promises a ten-gallon evening of laughs and holiday cheer!
- King Hedley II – Jan. 23 through Feb. 15. By Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson, King Hedley II will be American Stage's next chapter in the Wilson series. The death of Aunt Ester, a gamble to peddle refrigerators, a garden of seeds and a final act of retribution are the threads that make up the tapestry of Wilson's 1980s installment in the author's renowned cycle of plays.
- Lysistrata – March 13 through April 15. A world premiere adaptation of Aristophanes' play, adapted by Todd Olson and T. Scott Wooten, comes with the tagline "No sex please, we're Greek!" The Peloponnesian War has been raging for two decades and the women are tired of it. So one brave lady ñ Lysistrata ñ has a plan. She gathers all of the women of Greece together to agree to a naughty pact to end the war for good. Contains adult themes.
- Altar Boyz – April 17 through May 10. Planned for this season's American Stage in the Park production, this Off-Broadway musical comedy about a Christian boy band features music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker. The book was written by Kevin Del Aguila. Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham (the unsure, Jewish member) hit the road from their home in Ohio to New York (with a stop in St. Petersburg) as part of their climactic concert tour.
- Tuesdays with Morrie – June 5 through 28. By Jeffrey Hatcher after Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie, Hatcher's comic and moving dramatization of the novel that was on The N.Y. Times Bestseller List for more than four years, is one of the top 10 most produced plays in the country this season.
- Doubt – June 24 through Aug. 16. By John Patrick Shanley, this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner will round out American Stage's 2008-09 season. Doubt tells the story of a Bronx Catholic school in turmoil during the fall of 1964. Sister Aloysius is an old-school nun who insists that the young and popular Farther Flynn is having an inappropriate relationship with Donald Muller, the school's first black student. Flynn vehemently denies the allegations, but who is telling the truth? This powerhouse drama will keep audiences guessing until the final curtain.
Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; and Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. Matinees are Saturdays and Sundays, 3 p.m.
Tickets range from $22 to $35. Students Rush tickets are $10 and are available 30 minutes prior to curtain time. Call the box office at 727-823-PLAY (7529).
American Stage Theatre Company is at 211 Third St. S. in downtown St. Petersburg.