June 29 , 2010

MORRISSON THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2011 SEASON

Noel Coward, Rogers and Hammerstein classics will mark theatre's 32nd year of continuous operation in Hayward.

The challenges of selecting a theatre season are no mystery to Nancy Engle, the Douglas Morrisson Theatre's Managing and Artistic Director since it was founded in 1979. "Even after all this time, selecting a season is tricky," says Engle. "You need to pick a combination of shows that present a good range of entertaining subject matter for the audiences, while also providing good opportunities for local actors, directors, designers, and other talent. And they need to be shows that can be mounted successfully on our stage with our limited resources." On top of which, said Engle, the company had to make a difficult choice this coming year: "With the economy being what it is, we decided to keep our prices the same as last year to keep live theatre affordable in our community."

The four shows selected by Engle will live up to those challenges. The season will start off with Noel Coward's classic comedy of marital mayhem, "Private Lives." The play, which premiered at King's Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1930, and then opened on Broadway in 1931, has had six revivals in New York over the past seventy years and has received numerous Tony and Drama Desk awards. "We like to open each season with a comedy," Engle observed; "It's a nice way to welcome our patrons back." The show will run from February 25 through March 20.

Next on the lineup will be "Rodgers and Hart: A Celebration," which
highlights the work of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart from 1925 through their last hit together in 1943. "A lot of their songs have become part of our culture," said Engle. "We recognize them immediately." This musical revue will open on May 20 and run through June 12.

The third show, Peter Morgan's "Frost/Nixon," will go in a different
direction. It will revisit a series of televised interviews between
journalist David Frost and Richard Nixon, focusing on the latter's
resignation over the Watergate scandal in 1974. This play, which the New York Times called "... a prize fight between two starkly ambitious men in professional crisis," will run September 2 thru 25.

Finally, to round out the season, Engle selected the musical that opened the Morrisson Theatre (then known as the Little Theatre) in 1979: the classic "The King & I." This 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein hit, which followed in the footsteps of their Oklahoma," "Carousel," and "South Pacific," and became Yul Brynner's signature piece, has become "one of the most requested musicals by our audiences," according to Engle. This timeless story of Anna and the King of Siam will run November 11 through December 4.

The Douglas Morrisson Theatre Chorus, of course, will again have its own season under the direction of Musical Director Cesar Cancino. The season will kick off with "Broadway to Hollywood," a concert of music from stage and screen, which opens on April 1. The summer concert, "Bach to Bebop," which will present four centuries of vocal favorites, will open on July 22, and the final concert of the year, "In the Holiday Spirit," will open on December 16. Each of these concerts will run for just one weekend.

Season tickets are available now and can be purchased by calling the Box Office, Tuesday thru Friday, 12:30 to 5:30, at (510) 881-6777.
Additional information on the shows, as well as a downloadable season brochure, can be found on the theatre's Web site at www.dmtonline.org. The theatre also offers attractive discounts for groups of ten or more; these too are available by calling the Box Office.

The Douglas Morrisson Theatre is located at 22311 North Third Street, in Hayward.