Great Lakes Theater

Two Shakespeares, Hippy Moliere
Highlight 2012–13 Season

Two Shakespeare plays join a lineup that includes a Moliere, a Coward, and a Broadway musical in the Great Lakes Theater's just-announced 2012–1213 season. The Great Lakes Theater's 51st year will kick off in September and run through May 1213 with performances at PlayhouseSquare's Hanna Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.

Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale will open the season and play in repertory with a 60s-infused, mod-makeover of Moliere's masterpiece, The Imaginary Invalid (September 28–November 4). The company's annual production of Dickens' holiday classic, A Christmas Carol (November 30–December 23, playing at its traditional home, the Ohio Theatre), will bisect the season. In the spring, GLT will present Noel Coward's spook-tacular comedy, Blithe Spirit (February 22–March 10) followed by Shakespeare's sublime battle of wits and wills, Much Ado About Nothing (March 29–April 14). Cleveland's classic company will crown its season with Broadway's Tony Award–winning musical comedy, Guys and Dolls (May 1–19).

Great Lakes Theater's 2012–2113 season is funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. GLT receives additional season support from the Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.

Tracy Young, director of Great Lakes Theater's 2011 production of The Taming of the Shrew, will return to helm the music-infused, 1960s-themed staging of The Imaginary Invalid. The production, which debuted at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last season, was also adapted by Young and collaborator Oded Gross. Jesse Berger will make his Great Lakes Theater debut when he directs The Winter's Tale. During the holiday season, longtime artistic company member Sara Bruner will return to stage GLT's annual production of A Christmas Carol. The directors of Blithe Spirit, Much Ado About Nothing, and Guys and Dolls will be named at a later date.

Great Lakes Theater's award-winning home at the Hanna Theatre features a unique thrust-stage configuration where the audience surrounds the performance, affording attendees a uniquely intimate theater experience in which no seat is farther than 12 rows from the stage. At the Hanna, patrons select from a variety of seating opportunities that include traditional seats, club chairs, lounge/bar seats, banquette couches and private boxes.

Great Lakes Theater will continue to afford patrons extraordinary access to its production process at every Hanna Theatre performance this season. The Hanna's doors always open ninety minutes before each show, allowing patrons to observe the complete pre-show preparation process of GLT's actors and technical staff. Elements such as stage combat rehearsals, dance calls, prop/scenic pre-sets, technical cue rehearsals, and actor warm-ups will be conducted in full view of patrons, offering GLT audiences an unprecedented glimpse into the theatrical process.

Subscriptions to Great Lakes Theater's 2012–2013 season are on sale now. An adult subscription to Great Lakes Theater starts as low as $132. Student subscriptions begin at $39. For complete information, patrons should call (216) 664-6064 or visit www.greatlakestheater.org. Single tickets will go on sale in August. Regular-priced adult single tickets will range from $15 to $70. Regular-priced student/youth tickets for the Hanna Theatre are $13 ($26 for A Christmas Carol in the Ohio Theatre) and will be available for all performances. Further details and pricing specifics for single performance tickets will be announced in August.

February 15, 2012

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