Houston Family Arts Center Announces 2010-2011 Season
Date 2010/6/28 4:46:57 | Topic: Local News
| Houston Family Arts Center (HFAC) Executive Director Bob Clark announced today the organization’s 2010-2011 season, which runs from July 30, 2010 to August 6, 2011.
“This year we have chosen a selection of shows that will stimulate, entertain, and inspire,†said Clark. “From one of the most celebrated Broadway musicals to less known dramatic gems, our season features dramas, comedies, and musicals that will appeal to audiences of all ages.â€Â
The new season marks HFAC’s first full year in its new home, the Garza Mainstage, at 10760 Grant Road – and its 6th year as Houston’s Family Theatre.
“The 2010-2011 season showcases the artistic breadth and variety for which HFAC is noted, and the quality and diversity that our new state-of-the-art facility will help us achieve.†said Clark. “We’re particularly pleased to welcome back directors Elaine Edstrom, Lisa Garza, Ilich Guardiola and Cary Thornton – and excited to welcome directors Joshua Clark, Sedric Willis and Tracy Clayton to HFAC.â€Â
The season opens with West Moon Street, based on Oscar Wilde’s short story “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime.†Writer Rob Urbinati has used the story, with its dramatic twists and turns, as a blueprint for this briskly paced comedy. A palmist predicts that the deliriously happy and affianced Lord Arthur will commit a murder. As a proper English gentleman, he reluctantly feels it is his duty to carry out the “killing business†before his nuptials with hilarious results. Lisa Garza directs.
The season continues with the off-Broadway hit musical Dames at Sea, a parody of the large, flashy movie musicals of the 1930’s. A young girl arrives in New York with nothing but her tap shoes in her suitcase. By the end of the day, she has not only snagged the leading role in a new Broadway show, but the leading man as well! Elaine Edstrom directs.
HFAC’s Christmas production is The Quiltmaker’s Gift, based on the book by Jeff Brumbeau and adapted for the stage by playwright Alan J. Prewitt. A mysterious old quiltmaker sends a greedy king on a journey of self-discovery in which he learns that happiness doesn’t come from acquiring things but from giving freely to others. This play celebrates the spirit of community, generosity and is the perfect message for the Christmas season. Lisa Garza directs.
The season continues with what the Chicago Sun-Times called "A refreshingly intimate combination of theatre and storytelling. Gentle…funny…joyous." All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is based on stories from Robert Fulghum’s best-selling books. This comical and delightful production celebrates life's simpler moments and captures the hopes and fears, and joys and sorrows, of everyday living. Cary Thornton directs.
Willy Wonka, is the stage adaptation of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl’s timeless story of the world-famous candy man and his quest to find an heir. The musical features songs from the classic family film Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. An impoverished yet honest boy, Charlie Bucket, discovers the pitfalls of odious behavior in children and the sweet rewards of honesty. Willy Wonka is a rollicking, lighthearted fantasy, full of humor and imagination. Joshua Clark directs.
Variety.com exclaims “There are few lovelier or more lyrical plays about aging in America than The Trip to Bountiful, Horton Foote's 1953 jewel about a feisty widow hell-bent on a final visit to her Texas hometown.†Pulitzer Prize-winning author Horton Foote’s tender, heartfelt drama focuses on Carrie Watts, who dreams of returning to her childhood home in the small town of Bountiful, Texas, which she left three decades ago. She sets out to fulfill her dream, with results that are both heartbreaking and brilliantly life-affirming. Sedric Willis directs.
“Each year we try to perform a show written by a local playwright,†Clark said. “This season we selected The Money in Uncle George’s Suitcase, written by Houston playwright Pat Cook.†When Uncle George invites his whole family up for a weekend of fun at his rustic cabin, he actually wants them together so he can read his will. But between the bequeathing and his rambling stories, George drops the bomb that somewhere on the property is a suitcase holding four hundred and eighty thousand dollars! What follows is a hilarious farce of pettiness, slander, and greed. Tracy Clayton directs.
HFAC closes the season with Roger & Hammerstein’s smash hit musical Oklahoma! This classic musical is the story of Laurey and the two rivals for her affections: Curly, a cowboy, and Jud, the hired farmhand. The play takes place in 1906 in an Indian territory of the American West during the time when Oklahoma was established as a state. It tackles class issues between the farmers and the cowmen in the still-developing, rugged landscape of a state in its infancy as characters struggle to find hope, love and the fulfillment of "the American Dream." Ilich Guardiola directs.
Mainstage Season:
West Moon Street (7/30–8/15/10 Garza Mainstage)
Dames at Sea (9/24–10/16/10 Garza Mainstage)
The Quiltmakers Gift (12/3-12/19/10 Garza Mainstage)
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (1/14-1/30/11 Garza Mainstage)
Willy Wonka (3/4-3/19/11 The Berry Center)
The Trip to Bountiful (4/15–5/7/11 Garza Mainstage)
The Money in Uncle George’s Suitcase (5/27–6/19/10 Garza Mainstage)
Oklahoma! (7/27–8/6/11 The Berry Center)
Season tickets are now on sale. For the best seating and lowest prices become a season ticket holder. The price of the season ticket to see all eight of these great shows is only $104 for adults, $94 for seniors, and $84 for students/children. Patrons can select their seats online at www.houstonfac.com or call the HFAC box office at 281-685-6374.
Still playing this 2010 Summer Season June 25-July 11:
West Side Story is the iconic masterpiece created by perhaps the greatest collaborative team in musical theatre history. Jerome Robbins’ landmark adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet features a sweeping and intensely romantic score by Leonard Bernstein; witty and moving lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; and a powerful book by Arthur Laurents. This moving and powerful musical has touched countless audiences for over fifty years. Ilich Guardiola directs.
Visit www.houstonfac.com for tickets and more information.
About Houston Family Arts Center
Houston Family Arts Center (HFAC), Houston’s Family Theatre, is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, founded in November 2005 to provide a fun outlet for creative community involvement through the production of high-quality, family-friendly, affordable entertainment. Each year, HFAC produces musicals, comedies, and dramas. The HFAC Actors’ Academy provides numerous acting, singing and dancing classes and workshops for children, teens, and adults. For more information please visit www.houstonfac.com or call 281-685-6374.
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