FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Cindy Moran,
Public Relations Director, 414-224-1761
September 29, 2009
Life changes in an instant
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING
By Joan Didion
Directed by John Sipes
| Made possible by the generous
support of: |
 |
Stiemke Theater
Previews: October 14 and 15, 2009 Opens: October
16, 2009 Closes: November 8, 2009
The New York Times and UK best-selling book of 2005, this brilliant
stage adaptation also captured a Tony Award nomination. Critics hailed it as “the
cultural event of the season” (New York Post) and “remarkable” (The
New York Times). Novelist and screenwriter Joan Didion’s memoir
captures the compassion, humor and bewilderment of a fiercely intelligent woman
whose world lurches suddenly from the ordinary to the unimaginable with her
husband’s sudden death. It is an inspirational story that is both
a love letter to a child and a tribute to an extraordinary marriage. Tickets
can be purchased in person at The Rep Ticket Office at 108 East Wells Street
or by telephone at 414-224-9490. Tickets can also be purchased online 24/7
at milwaukeerep.com.
“This happened on December 30, 2003. That may seem a while
ago but it won’t when it happens to you. And it will happen to you. The
details will be different, but it will happen to you. That’s what I am
here to tell you.”
Writer Joan Didion is settling into an evening at home with her husband, John.
Dinner is on the stove. She just lit a fire to ward off the evening chill.
The day is over and home is comfortable. Joan pours a single-malt scotch and
takes it to her husband who is reading. Everything seems to settle calmly into
place as she tosses the salad and reviews the day in her mind. Then her world
completely and unexpectedly changes in the matter of an instant. John is on
the floor as a pool of sticky red blood forms around his head. This is the
beginning of the year of magical thinking.
The mind of a grieving person is a mysterious thing – some may even
call it magical. It believes in the transcendental and that the past
can be changed if only it wishes hard enough. In the process of grieving over
her dead husband, Didion takes the audience on an insightful ride through the
stages of her grief.
Spending most of her time in the first stage, disbelief,
Joan takes pains to ensure that her husband will indeed return. She is certain
that he will reappear if she keeps all of his shoes in order, makes all of
the proper arrangements for his departure and avoids all the places and things
that remind her of him. Joan truly thinks that if she tries a little harder
and believes in the magic untiringly then he will surely come back to her.
We
have all lost elements of our lives that can be found again, but, as Rep Literary
Director Kristin Crouch points out, this play is “about losses
of a different nature, ones more difficult to quantify, articulate or even
imagine. The loss of memory. The loss of a spouse. The – unthinkable – loss
of a child. How can we respond rationally to the unfathomable? Where do we
find strength amidst such grief? Join us for THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING,
a transformative, engaging and deeply human exploration of all those irrational
and unexplainable feelings that come along with the experience of life, love
and loss.”
Playwright Joan Didion was born December 5, 1934, in Sacramento,
California. She is a renowned journalist and author of such novels as Run,
River (1963), Play It As It Lays (1970) and The Last Thing
He Wanted (1996). Didion is also known for her nonfiction work Where
I Was From (2003) and her numerous screenplays. She now lives in
New York and contributes regularly to The New York Review of Books and The
New Yorker.
Didion married John Gregory Dunne in 1964, an aspiring novelist who also
wrote for Time magazine. They co-wrote screenplays for several film
adaptations like The Panic in Needle Park (1971), Play It As It
Lays (1972), True
Confessions (1981) and Up Close and Personal (1996).
In late
2003, Didion's daughter, Quintana, became gravely ill and slipped into a
coma. Shortly after she returned from visiting her daughter, her husband
suffered a fatal heart attack. Joan Didion wrote a searing account of her
journey through grief in The Year of Magical Thinking. At the time
of the book’s completion, her daughter appeared to be recovering, but
before its publication Quintana had died. In November 2005, The Year of Magical
Thinking won the National Book Award for nonfiction. In 2006, Didion
wrote its stage adaptation and in 2007 the play made its first appearance
on Broadway.
At The Rep, Director John Sipes previously directed
THE HOLLOW and is happy to return to direct THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING.
Recent credits include KING JOHN, HENERY VIII (Oregon Shakespeare Festival);
JULIUS CAESAR (Shakespeare Santa Cruz); LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST,
All MY SONS (Clarence Brown Theatre); THE ROMEO AND JULIET PROJECT, TWELFTH
NIGHT, HOMEBODY/KABUL, THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA (Ace Morgan Theatre); RICHARD
II, HENRY IV PARTS I AND II, HENRY V, CORIOLANUS (Illinois Shakespeare Festival).
John served as the Artistic Director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival
and as Movement and Fight Director for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the
Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Guthrie Theater
and The Acting Company. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University
of Tennessee and a Company Member of the Clarence Brown Theatre.
The cast
of THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING is guest
actress Elizabeth Norment. At The Rep, Elizabeth
has been seen in THE NIGHT IS A CHILD, WIT, THE MAI, AN IDEAL HUSBAND, A
DELICATE BALANCE and THE HOLLOW. In New York she recently appeared on Broadway
in BLITHE SPIRIT and in the world premiere of DEAD CITY, as well as in A
PICASSO (Manhattan Theatre Club), A TOUCH OF THE POET (Roundabout Theatre
Company), SGANARELLE (Public Theatre) and CLOUD 9 (Lucille Lortel). National
credits include Yale Repertory Theatre (world premiere, THE CLEAN HOUSE),
Guthrie Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, South Coast Repertory (world
premiere, SIGHT UNSEEN), Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Philadelphia
Theatre Company and Ace Morgan (HOMEBODY/KABUL). She spent three seasons
with the American Repertory Theatre and four with the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival. She has recurred on Law & Order, E.R. and
numerous primetime series. She is a proud survivor of the Yale School of
Drama.
(To learn more about our Resident Acting Company, Guest Actors or our
Intern Company, please visit www.milwaukeerep.com.)
(To read more about THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, please see
The Rep's online publication Prologue go to www.milwaukeerep.com/pdfs/prologueFall2009.pdf.)
(THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING production photos will be posted
at milwaukeerep.com/about/photos.htm.)
The Production/Design Team for THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING includes: Susannah
M. Barnes (Scenic Designer); Aimee Hanyzewski (Lighting
Designer); Rachel Laritz (Costume Designer); John Tanner (Sound
Designer) Kathi Karol Koenig (Stage Manager); Hannah
Binish and Kate Roberts (Stage Management Interns)
and Dylan K. Sladky (Assistant Director).
Tickets to THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING are $25.00. For more
information or to charge tickets, call 414-224-9490. Tickets
can be purchased online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com. For group
sales of 10 or more, call The Rep Ticket Office at 414-224-9490.
For Milwaukee book readers, The Rep has two special opportunities where you
can gather to learn more about THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING and
discuss it. Join us for The Rep In Depth, a free pre-show
talk that will give insights into the production. The Rep In Depth starts
45 minutes before show time. The other opportunity is to stay for the post-show
discussion called The Rep Talkback (see schedule listed below). Talkbacks give
audience members the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the play with
the cast.
Special Events for THE
YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING:
• Join us for The Rep In Depth, our lively informative
half-hour talk which starts 45 minutes before every performance in the
Stiemke Theater. Assistant Director Dylan K. Sladky will lead this Rep
In Depth.
• On Thursday, October 29 at 7:30 pm there
will be an Audio-Described Performance for patrons who are blind or have low
vision.
• The Rep Talkbacks will be held after the Wednesday
evening performances on October 28 and November
4. The Rep Talkbacks are offered immediately after select performances
and offer an opportunity for audience members to ask questions about the play
to Rep company members and actors in the production. For more information on
The Rep Talkbacks, please contact the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490.
• On Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 pm there
will be an American Sign Language Interpreted Performance for patrons who are
deaf or have low hearing.
• Pay-What-You-Can dates for this production are Wednesday, October
14 and Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. This is your chance to
experience some of Milwaukee’s best live theater at a price you can
afford. A $5.00 minimum donation is suggested. Stiemke performances start
at 7:30 pm; Tickets go on sale at 5:30 pm on the day of the performance.
All performances are held in the Stiemke Theater located in the Milwaukee
Center at 108 E. Wells Street. For more information call The Rep’s
Ticket Office at 414-224-9490.
Life changes in an instant
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING
By Joan Didion
Directed by John Sipes
| Made possible by the generous support
of: |
|
FACT SHEET
THEATER:Stiemke Theater
DATES: October 14, 2009 - November 8, 2009
DESCRIPTION: The New York Times and UK
best-selling book of 2005, this brilliant stage adaptation also captured a
Tony Award nomination. Critics hailed it as “the cultural event of the
season” (New York Post) and “remarkable” (The
New York Times). Novelist and screenwriter Joan Didion’s memoir
captures the compassion, humor and bewilderment of a fiercely intelligent woman
whose world lurches suddenly from the ordinary to the unimaginable with her
husband’s sudden death. It is an inspirational story that is both
a love letter to a child and a tribute to an extraordinary marriage.
PERFORMANCES:
Wednesday, 10/14/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Preview/Pay-What-You-Can
Thursday, 10/15/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Preview/Pay-What-You-Can
Friday, 10/16/09 - 8:00 p.m. - Opening Night
Saturday, 10/17/09 - 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 10/18/09
- 2:00/7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, 10/21/09 - 1:30/7:30 p.m.
Thursday, 10/22/09 - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, 10/23/09 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 10/24/09 - 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 10/25/09 - 2:00/7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, 10/27/09 - 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, 10/28/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Talkback
Thursday, 10/29/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Audio Description
Friday, 10/30/09 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 10/31/09 - 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 11/1/09 - 2:00/7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, 11/3/09 - 6:30 p.m. - Early Bird
Wednesday, 11/4/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Talkback
Thursday, 11/5/09 - 7:30 p.m. - American Sign Language
Friday, 11/6/09 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 11/7/09 - 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 11/8/09 - 2:00/7:00 p.m. - 2:00/Smoke-Free,
7:00/Close
TICKET
PRICES: All seats are $25.00.*
(*Note: Due to new lower pricing in The Stiemke Theater, no other
additional discounts apply.)
TICKETS/INFORMATION: 414-224-9490 or buy tickets online
at milwaukeerep.com
TICKET OFFICE LOCATION: 108
East Wells Street in Milwaukee’s Downtown Theater District
TICKET OFFICE HOURS: Mon
- Fri, 12 pm - 6 pm on phones, 12 pm - curtain for window
Sat/Sun 12 pm - 6
pm on phones, 12 pm - curtain for window
###
Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally recognized
theater company that presents a critically-acclaimed selection
of compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary
works and lively Cabaret shows on three stages from September through
May. The Rep also produces an annual production of A CHRISTMAS
CAROL. The Rep's home, the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex,
accommodates the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, the Stiemke Theater
and the Stackner Cabaret. The Rep is also home to a Resident Acting
Company of 10 actors who perform with The Rep throughout the season.
The
Rep is proud to be a member of the United
Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which provides major annual
financial support. Through
community support of the United Performing Arts Fund, UPAF
Member and Affiliate Groups are able to provide education
and outreach to over 400,000 children, provide over 2,000
live performances and reach over 1,000,000 people every year.
When everyone supports the arts through UPAF, they help our
local economy, improving education and strengthening outreach
programs to the disabled and elderly – all while adding
culture to their own life. Support of UPAF is critical to
UPAF Member Groups’ ability
to continue to offer exceptional live performances, award-winning
education and outreach programming and substantial economic
impact to our region. To learn more about UPAF or to donate,
go to www.upaf.org.
The Rep is supported in part by a grant
from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of
Wisconsin. The Rep is a member of the League
of Resident Theatres (LORT), a management association
of some of the nation's largest non-profit professional
theaters that collectively bargains with the unions that
represent the actors, directors and designers that work
at The Rep; a constituent of Theatre
Communications Group (TCG), the national organization
for the nonprofit professional theater; and a member of Theatre
Wisconsin, the statewide association of non-profit
professional theaters. This theater operates under an
agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors'
Equity Association, the union of professional actors
and stage managers in the United States. The set, costume
and lighting designers are members of United
Scenic Artists,
a national labor union. This theater is an equal opportunity employer.
Except in plays where race itself is an issue, casting
is decided based on ability, not race.
Milwaukee
Repertory Theater
Patty & Jay Baker Theatre Complex
108 E Wells St Milwaukee, WI 53202
Ticket Office: 414-224-9490 Ticket Office Fax: 225-5490
Administrative: 414-224-1761 Fax: 414-224-9097
milwaukeerep.com |
