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News Release
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The Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre
Announces 2005-2006 Season
April 2005
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CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SEASON BROCHURE
Montreal, April 2005 – Artistic Director Bryna
Wasserman, proudly announces the 2005-06 season. From Berlin to London,
Copenhagen to Los Angeles and from Paris to New York, The Leanor and Alvin Segal
Theatre will present a season permeated with the flavour of these cultural meccas.
The season commences with Steven Schipper, Artistic
Director of the Manitoba Theatre Centre, at the helm of Cabaret,
the legendary, multiple Tony Award-winning, Kander and Ebb musical featuring
such notable songs as “Wilkommen,” “Cabaret,” and “Money.”
“We are delighted to continue what began with Man of La Mancha,
(specifically) providing Montreal audiences with the unique experience of full
scale productions of classic musical theatre in an intimate setting,”
Wasserman said.
Internationally acclaimed director, Ben Barnes, considers
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
as the greatest comedy of the 19th century, comparing it to As You Like
It, The Way of The World and She Stoops to Conquer. Wasserman
looks forward to Barnes marshalling his experience, expertise, creativity and
fine honed sense of timing to bring new life to this classic comedy.
In 2006, as part of a worldwide commemoration of the one hundredth
anniversary of Henrik Ibsen’s death, The Leanor and Alvin Segal
Theatre will present A Doll House, adaptated and directed by
Peter Hinton. One of English Canada’s most respected directors,
dramaturges and playwrights, Hinton currently serves as Artistic Associate
of The Stratford Festival. “A Doll House is
remarkably fresh, dangerous and immediate, sexual, vibrant and alive,”
he says. “It is completely my kind of play - subtle, dangerous and resiliently
committed to forging a new life. It is a play that for me is about rebirth:
a spiritual 'awakening' within the modern world; its possibility, difficulty
and danger.” The Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre is delighted to once again
be partnering with Equipe Spectra in presenting A Doll
House as part of the forthcoming edition of The Montreal Highlites
Festival.
In the spirit of fostering intercultural relations through the arts, The Leanor
and Alvin Segal Theatre will, together with THÉÂTRE PàP,
present the English Premiere of the 2004 Masque Award Winner for Best
Production in Montreal, Everybody’s Welles, a multimedia,
solo performance about the groundbreaking theatre, radio and film artist, Orson
Welles. The play, conceived by Patrice Dubois and Martin Labrecque,
suggests that Welles, like the title character of his most famous work, Citzen
Kane, ultimately becomes the tragic figure in the drama of his life.
The English language theatre season concludes with Israel Horovitz’s
valentine to Paris, My Old Lady, a play where the themes of
compassion, forgiveness and loss are expertly woven into a funny, poignant and
moving drama. Horovitz enjoys the honour of being the most produced living American
playwright in French theatre history. He is credited with helping to establish
off-Broadway in the late 1960’s, through such plays as The Indian
Wants The Bronx, which introduced a young Al Pacino despite producers finding
him too short and not handsome!
In June 2006, The Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre presents Sholem Asch’s
chef d’oeuvre, God of Vengeance. A classic of the Yiddish
stage, Asch’s play tells the tale of a bordello where a family attempts
to attain society’s respectability despite the morally questionable foundation
of their lives. Wasserman is excited to be returning to the dramas of the Yiddish
theatre canon, after a recent string of highly successful musicals, and hopes
that God of Vengeance will enter the company’s dramatic repertoire
alongside such unforgettable works as Sheindele, Mirele Efros
and the unforgettable masterpiece, The Dybbuk.
“One of the priorities of our theatre is to support the development of
the theatre community in Montreal,” Wasserman said. Specifically, The
Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre will be supporting Gravy Bath’s
New Classical Theatre Festival in August and, in December, will also be presenting
a new Gravy Bath production in the theatre’s newly dubbed second space,
the “Beegal”.
Bryna Wasserman also noted that she is particularly proud of the role
the Segal Theatre has played in bringing the public towards a greater appreciation
of theatre as a meaningful cultural experience. Thus, continuing the
tradition of providing audiences with a “behind the curtain” look
at its productions, The Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre is proud to partner once
again with both CBC Radio and Pratt and Whitney Canada in presenting
Sunday-@-the Saidye and Monday Night Talkbacks, respectively.
Beginning just a few short years ago, Sunday-@-the Saidye has today
evolved into a must experience event thanks in large part to the partnership
established this season with CBC Radio. Together, The Leanor and Alvin Segal
Theatre and CBC Radio have united to take Sunday-@-the Saidye to a whole new
level. And for the 2005-06 both parties are working to once again prepare an
unforgettable series of lectures to make Sundays a special day of the week.
The Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre is delighted to continue its longstanding
relationship with Pratt and Whitney Canada by providing Monday Night Talkbacks
Says Annick Laberge of Pratt and Whitney Canada: “Wherever the company
is located, Pratt & Whitney Canada plays an active role in the community
by providing support for the arts, health, the environment, education and social
events.” In this regard, Monday Night Talkbacks provides an intimate opportunity
for audiences to engage up close and personal with the personalities bringing
first class professional English language theatre to Montreal.
“In the final analysis,” Wasserman concluded, “we have a
vision to produce for each person on both sides of the stage such moments and
memories as those that sparked and sustain our passion for theatre….We
hope that our forthcoming season brings us a step closer to achieving this goal.”
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