Alliance Taste of the Season to Whet Your Appetite

An appetizer, according to the dictionary, is “a stimulating sample; a sample of something that is meant to stimulate an interest.” That aptly describes the Alliance Theatre’s Taste of the Season.

Artistic Director, Susan Booth (photo) started to welcome the audience but actors Chris Kayser and Courtney Collins interrupted her to pay tribute to…well, to her! In honor of Booth’s 10^th season at the Alliance they literally (and I do mean literally) sang her praises.  They sang about her vision, her leadership, her ability to listen and her great hair. To commemorate her 10 year anniversary, Booth drew a seat number and a lucky audience member won a chair which will be inscribed with his or her name. (You, too can own a seat at the Alliance through their ‘buy a chair’ fundraising promotion. Check their website for details.) The audience was then treated to snippets of shows in the 2011-2012 season.

Acclaimed Broadway actress, Tovah Feldshuh came from New York to give a bit of Golda’s Balcony, the longest running one-woman show in the history of Broadway. In a wide variety of roles, Feldshuh has earned the BroadwayWorld.com Theatre Fans’ Choice Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play, four Tony nominations for Best Actress, four Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Obie, the Theatre World Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actress, the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance in a Touring Show, the Golden Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actress - Method Fest 2005. Golda’s Balcony, on the Alliance Stage in October, follows the life of Golda Meir – from Russian immigrant to American schoolteacher to the epicenter of international politics as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel.

Stephen King (yes, the scary book author, Stephen King) was here in-person last night and here via video tonight to tell us that the Alliance will host the World Premiere of his play, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. Described as “a chilling new musical with music and lyrics by John Mellencamp and book by Stephen King” will close the season in Spring of 2012.

Hometown playwright, Janece Shaffer was excited to announce that her new comedy Broke about a 52-year old woman facing an economical crisis will kick off the Hertz Series.

The new season also includes:

• Into the Woods, The beloved Tony Award-winning® musical where magic beans create a ladder to the sky, Prince Charming is one golden slipper away, and wishes still come true.
• God of Carnage, One of the most lauded plays of the decade having won the 2009 Tony Awards for Best Play.
• The Wizard of OZ, a 70-minute production featuring iconic songs like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Follow the Yellow Brick Road” from the movie score.
• The Real Tweenagers of Atlanta, an improvisational survival guide for tweenagers. Conceived and directed by Newcott, this new musical created from interviews with 'tweens in our community is part talent show, part pep rally.
• A Christmas Carol, Back for its 22nd smash year, the most heartwarming story of the entire season comes to life with Ebenezer Scrooge’s discovery of the true meaning of Christmas over the course of one fateful evening.
• Sex & The Second City, a play about relationships in the age of social networking, from the legendary comedy theatre, The Second City
• The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, The eighth winner of the Alliance Theatre’s nationally recognized Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition is set amongst the swirling domes of the church in Red Square.

Click here for additional information on the 2011-2012 Alliance Theatre Season.