Culture Fiend

Rothko Play Red Coming to Seattle Rep

Theater’s 2011–12 season also includes a new Bill Cain play and Glass Menagerie.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Apr 11, 2011 at 01:30PM1 Comments

Lorenzo Pisoni spent part of his childhood inside a trunk. Seriously.

Last year’s big draw on Broadway (that didn’t involve Jerry Lee Lewis or Scarlett Johansson) was Tony-winning bio-drama Red, about abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko (Alfred Molina) and his protege, Ken (Eddie Redmayne). You’ll never call Rothko’s paintings “blocks of red” again after you hear Molina scream: "You mean scarlet? You mean crimson? You mean plum-mulberry-magenta-burgundy-salmon-carmine-carnelian-coral? Anything but ‘red’! What is ‘red’?!”

Seattle Repertory Theatre takes a stab at defining Red in its 2011–2012 season, with a local production of the Broadway hit. Here’s the full lineup for the upcoming season, which starts in September with…

Humor Abuse
Sept 30–Oct 23
By Lorenzo Pisoni and Erica Schmidt
A warmhearted solo show about the less-than-average childhood of Lorenzo Pisoni: son of a professional clown who went on to join Cirque du Soleil and play the horse in Broadway’s Equus.

The Glass Menagerie
Oct 21–Nov 20
By Tennessee Williams
A “daring and innovative take” on the classic American drama. No word yet on what that means, but I’m hoping it’s along the lines of Chris Durang’s parody For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, with a young Lawrence fawning over his collection of glass cocktail stirrers.

Sylvia
Nov 11–Dec 11
By A.R. Gurney
A Seattle Rep subscriber favorite about empty nesters Greg and Kate and a “street-smart” labradoodle who noses his way into their life. The play’s been called critic-proof since it’s so excruciatingly lovable.

How to Write a New Book for the Bible
Jan 13–Feb 5, 2012
By Bill Cain
Bill Cain, the man behind last year’s Shakespeare hit Equivocation, crafts a new play about coming home to care for his dying mother.

Circle Mirror Transformation
Feb 3–Mar 4, 2012
By Annie Baker
In this comedy by rising playwright Annie Baker, a motley crew—a divorced carpenter, a former actress, a hippie husband and a high school junior—joins a small-town “Adult Creative Drama” class, and learns plenty about life and being a tree.

Red
Feb 24–Mar 18, 2012
By John Logan
A local production of the 2010 Tony winner for best play (see above).

Or
Mar 23–Apr 22, 2012
By Liz Duffy Adams
Jerry Manning directs this Restoration-era farce about England’s first female professional playwright…who’s also a spy. Expect plenty of cross-dressing.

Clybourne Park
Apr 20–May 13, 2011
By Bruce Norris
Norris borrows from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun for this un-p.c. satire on the gentrification of a Chicago neighborhood. It’s this season’s buzz-worthy comedy.

Seattle Rep season tickets ($78–$437) are now on sale at seattlerep.org.

Tags: Seattle Repertory Theatre, Theater, Season Announcement