Center REP's Exciting 2011-12 Season

A West Coast premiere of a Tony Award-winning musical, Neil Simon, George Bernard Shaw, and the holiday favorite A Christmas Carol. These are just some of the eight shows Center Repertory Company, the in-house theater company for the Lesher Center for the Arts, will be producing this coming season, which kicks off in early September. Here is a press release the company sent out: 

Center Repertory Company’s Artistic Director Michael Butler today unveiled the company's 45th subscription season.

Running from September 2, 2011 to June 23, 2012, the season will be continuing Center ReP’s programming to include eight productions to be performed in all three theatres of the Lesher Center.  

The diverse season moves from the inner workings of Pablo Picasso’s mind to the goofy dreams of a Venice Beach sidewalk chalk artist, from the social commentary of Dickens and Shaw to the killer tunes of  Smokey Joe’s Café, from the fast-paced farce of Neil Simon to the provocative Off Centerofferings.  

A variety of subscription packages, ranging from $136 to $493, can be purchased by calling 925-943-SHOW (7469).  The productions at Center Rep re made possible by the generous support of Chevron, Comcast, Contra Costa Times, The Diablo Regional Arts Association and The Lesher Foundation.

“The real excitement for me, and I think for our audiences, is the breadth of themes and ideas, styles and periods,” says Center Rep Artistic Director Michael Butler.“I like to open the season with a real one-two punch and get a little rambunctious right from the get-go.”

Director/Choreographer Robert Barry Fleming (Rep’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ and All Shook Up) returns to kick off the season with Smokey Joe’s Café (September 2 – October 9, 2011). This high-energy revue features 39 rock and roll and rhythm and blues hits penned by legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.  “Stand by Me,” “Fools Fall in Love,” and “Spanish Harlem” lead an unstoppable line up of great tunes. With its rich context of the early days of pop rock and its nod to the great groups of the era, the all-singing, all-dancing Smokey Joe’s Café has become a classic of the genre. 

From music to art, REP’s second show of the season explores the mind of Pablo Picasso, the most astonishingly prolific and influential artist of the 20th Century.  A Bay Area premiere,  (October 21 – November 19, 2011) is written by and stars Herbert Siguenza of the nationally renownedCulture Clash. 

“A genius playing a genius,” says Butler, “Herbert is one of the most awesome, crazy-talented comedy/theater artists in America. He is also a trained painter and not only plays Picasso, he paints Picasso, whipping off a couple of the master’s paintings before our eyes.  It’s a genuine coup de theatre.”

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (December 8 – 18, 2011) heralds the holiday season with colorful costumes and delightful music. Directed by Center Rep Managing Director Scott Denison, the annual feast for the eyes and ears includes stunning special effects as the curmudgeonly Scrooge learns that it is better to give than to receive.

One of George Bernard Shaw’s most romantic comedies, Arms and the Man (January 27 – February 25, 2012) turns the notion of idealism in love and valor on its head when an overly romantic young woman hides an enemy soldier only to find herself inexplicably attracted to this man who carries chocolate rather than cartridges for his gun. “This is a delightful, almost screwball comedy of opposing characters vying for the hand of our heroine set against Shaw’s very keenly observed opinions on war and marriage,” Butler says.  

When a modern master of comedy turns his hand to farce, the result is Rumors (March 30 – April 28, 2012), Neil Simon’s hilarious clockwork comedy set in the excessive late 80s. "Something in us enjoys a thing that is perfectly designed and built, whether it's a sports car, a cathedral, or a comedy.  Comedies are much cheaper and give you a lot more bang for the buck,” says Butler. The host is injured, the wife is missing, and four well-do-do couples are about to experience a severe attack of farce as Simon’s comedic genius turns a posh dinner party to total chaos.

Center Rep closes the mainstage season with the Broadway cult hit musical Xanadu (May 18 – June 23, 2012). Based on the Universal Pictures film starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, with a cheeky, hilarious book by playwright Douglas Carter Beane, this musical adventure features an Olympian Muse who disguises herself with a bad Australian accent to inspire a struggling artist fulfill his roller disco dreams.  Of course, love blossoms despite the intervention of Zeus and others. With back-to-back chart-topping hits (“Magic,” “I’m Alive,” “Have You Never Been Mellow”) this is inspired lunacy at its most buoyant and hilarious.

In addition to its six-show mainstage season, Center Rep’s season also includes its popular Off Center series. Designed to present new, challenging works to its audience, the Off Center series has been a hit with audiences for the past two years.

“We’re very gratified that Off Center has been so successful,” says Butler. “Last season’s Becoming Britney, played to packed houses and brought a lot of new audience into the theater.”

Off Center kicks off its third season with the West Coast premiere of The Storytelling Ability of a Boy (October 27 – November 20, 2011). Written by Carter W. Lewis, it is a turbulent, stingingly funny story of two teenagers – Peck, a gifted writer and bullied geek and his best friend, Goth-girl Dora – and the idealistic teacher who befriends them.

“Our second Off Center show is so hot, we aren’t allowed to announce it yet,” Butler teases. “But it’s a multiple Tony Award-winning musical that explores the journey from adolescence to adulthood.” The surprise show, which will be announced in September, runs April 19 – May 13, 2012.

For more information on the 2011-12 season and to purchase subscriptions, call 925-943-SHOW or go online to www.lesherartscenter.org.