English Department Calendar

KENTUCKY STAGE(S)

2013-2014 SKyPAC SEASON

 

 

WORKING: A MUSICAL

based on the book by Studs Terkel

    February 13-23

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

by Oscar Wilde

March 27-April 6

   

LA BETE

by David Hirson

May 1-11

 

 

WORKING: A MUSICAL

 

Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso 

with additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg 

Songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz and James Taylor 

From the book by Studs Terkel

 

Based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book of interviews with American Workers, WORKING paints a vivid portrait of the men and women the world so often takes for granted: the schoolteacher, the phone operator, the waitress, the millworker, the mason, and the housewife, just to name a few.

 

This new version of WORKING is a musical exploration of 26 people from all walks of life, played by six multi-talented actors. While most of the professions have been updated from its original 1976 version, the strength of the show is in the core truths that transcend specific professions; the key is how people’s relationships to their work ultimately reveal key aspects of their humanity, regardless of the trappings of the job itself. The show, still set in contemporary America, contains timeless truths. This new version of WORKING allows the audience to get a rare glimpse of the actors and technicians working to put on a show. This raw adaptation only enhances the realistic and relatable nature of the subject matter. WORKING is one of the most accessible, relevant and substantive musicals ever created. This newly, revised version includes updated lyrics, a streamlined book and two new songs by In the Heights’ Tony Award-winning creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as favorites by Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, and James Taylor.

 

February 13-23, 2014

 

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

by Oscar Wilde

 

Here is Oscar Wilde’s most brilliant tour de force, a witty and buoyant comedy of manners that has delighted millions of countless productions since its first performance on London’s St James’ Theatre in 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest is celebrated not only for the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot, but for its inspired dialogue, rich with scintillation epigrams still savored by all who enjoy artful conversation.

 

Considered one of the funniest plays in the English Language, Oscar Wilde’s “Trivial Comedy for Serious People” skewers social customs and our obsession with keeping up appearances and social status making it no less relevant today than it was in Victorian times. From the play’s effervescent beginnings in Algernon Moncrieff’s London Flat to its hilarious denouement in the drawing room of Jack Worthing’s country manor in Hertfordshire, this comic masterpiece keeps audiences breathlessly anticipating a fresh twist of plot moment to moment.

 

Two young men looking for escape from social obligations, Jack and Algernon pretend to be something that they are not. Things start to go awry when they both practice their deceptions at Cecily’s country house at the same time and the two young ladies fear themselves rivals for the hand of one man. And then there is the formidable and unforgettable Lady Bracknell… played here by regional favorite Craig Taylor in an eye-popping pop-art inspired (although still very much Victorian) production designed and directed by Artistic Director Ken Neil Hailey

 

What could possibly go wrong?

 

March 27-April 6, 2014

 

Directed and Designed by Ken Neil Hailey

 

 

LA BÊTE

by David Hirson

 

Elomire, high-minded head of the Royal theatre troupe, is incensed. His patron, the Princess, has decreed that the Court ensemble admit a new actor – the scandalously boorish street entertainer, Valare. With Elomire’s pride and the troupe’s livelihood on the line, the company is duty-bound not only to accept the outrageous troubadour, but to perform one of his ludicrous plays, an event that has dramatic consequences for them all.

 

The play is set in France in 1654, and revolves around an upheaval in a famous acting troupe. Elomire, high-minded head of the Royal theatre troupe, is incensed because the Princess Conti, the troupe's patron, is forcing a street performer, he scandalously boorish street entertainer, Valare, upon them. Elomire finds Valere and his work to be revolting and base, while Bejart, the troupe's second in command, is worried about offending the Prince, and, thereby, losing their patron. Valere is a terrible boor, who loves nothing more than the sound of his own voice, which he amply demonstrates at his first entrance. Elomire can barely withhold his contempt, but Valere is completely unaware of the barbs tossed his way. The Prince arrives, anxious to see how Elomire and Valere are getting along, having high hopes for their union. The Prince feels Elomire's work has grown stagnant and that the troupe needs new blood. With Elomire’s pride and the troupe’s livelihood on the line, the company is duty-bound not only to accept the outrageous troubadour, but to perform one of his ludicrous plays, an event that has dramatic consequences for them all.

 

Written in a blaze of rhyming couplets, La Bête is an exuberant, wildly distinctive comedy that encompasses timeless concerns about life and art. It received numerous honors for two Broadway productions and an Olivier-winning turn in London.

 

“A gutsy, genuinely original writer who revels in extremes of intellectual virtuosity and pop culture savvy.”    -Newsday

 

May 1-11, 2014

 

See you at the theatre!