Local News: Classical Theatre Company Announces 2016-2017 Mainstage Season

Posted by: Staffon 2016/7/7 10:40:00 5007 reads FINDING SOME HIDDEN GEMS OF CLASSICAL DRAMA

The Classical Theatre Company (CTC) is proud to announce the lineup for its 2016-2017 Mainstage Season. As the only professional theatre company in the State of Texas that solely produces classical drama on a year-round basis, CTC only produces plays that are 100 or more years old.

This next seasons line up includes:


The Bear & The Proposal
By Anton Chekhov
Directed by John Johnston

October 5 – October 23, 2016

Classical Theatre Company returns to the Russian Master Anton Chekhov with two of his one-act plays: The Bear and The Proposal. These two pieces are representative of Chekhov’s vaudevillian comedies, short and packed with comic bits. While the humor in The Bear and The Proposal is broader and more farcical than in his better known works, his commentary on the Russian social structures of the time are no less satirical and biting. “Chekhov is the king of the awkward comedy. You can think of him as the Ricky Gervais of his time,” says CTC Executive Artistic Director John Johnston. “He boldly lampooned those around him with his plays during a tumultuous time in Russia, letting the consequences fall where they may.” Both plays examine love among the landed aristocracy of Czarist Russia and will leave the audiences in stitches.


The Ghost Sonata
By August Strindberg
Directed by Jon Harvey

February 8 – February 26, 2017

Following 2012’s production of Miss Julie, Classical Theatre Company will produce its second play by the Swedish great August Strindberg in The Ghost Sonata. This dark examination of family was originally produced in 1908 and has disturbed audiences ever since. “Strindberg had a very unhappy family life – particularly his childhood. This play was his attempt to exorcise those ghosts through this supernatural drama,” says CTC chief John Johnston. “We’re excited to bring this rarely produced play to our Houston audiences. We’ve done a good job over the years in exposing our audiences to age-old plays that they’ve never seen on stage before. Most theatergoers are familiar with his other plays like Miss Julie, The Father, or A Dream Play, but The Ghost Sonata was his last great play, and perhaps his most overlooked.” Helmed by award-nominated director and CTC Company Artist Jon Harvey, this story of a young man’s exposure to the inner workings of an upper class household takes him on a trip through a literal hell filled with the undead.


The Barber of Seville
By Pierre Beaumarchais
Directed by John Johnston

April 5 – April 23, 2016

Most everyone is familiar with the opera The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini, but few know that the opera is based on the 1775 play by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. Beaumarchais’ play is the origin for such iconic characters as Count Almaviva, Bartholo, Rosine, and of course, Figaro. “This piece of theatre is so ripe with comedy that it directly spawned two operas, three plays, and a comic strip,” says director John Johnston. “I’m thrilled to be able to produce Barber. It’s one of those forgotten scripts that I’ve been champing at the bit to direct.” The hilarious love story of the dashing Count Almaviva as he woos the sweet and beautiful Rosine is sure to have audiences rolling in the aisles. Award-winning CTC Company Artist Philip Hays will portray Almaviva.


About Classical Theatre

The Classical Theatre Company is dedicated to boldly re-envisioning classical drama on the stage, in the community, and in the classroom through engaging and enlightening plays - bringing them new life and relevance while maintaining the integrity that the works deserve.

VISIT ONLINE AT http://classicaltheatre.org/