WORLD PREMIERE
February 18–March 14, 2010

by Bertolt Brecht
Translated by Domenique Lozano
Directed and designed by John Doyle
Original music by Nathaniel Stookey

Visionary director John Doyle (Sweeney Todd, Company on Broadway) returns to A.C.T. to stage a spectacular new interpretation of Brecht's masterpiece of hope, humanity, and justice. Featuring Doyle's signature theatricality and original music from acclaimed avant-garde composer Nathaniel Stookey (The Composer Is Dead, Junkestra), this must-see production finds an intrepid company of actors creating the play from the rubble of a war-torn society. Objects turn into set pieces, discarded articles of clothing become costumes, and shrapnel is transformed into musical instruments. In this brand-new translation, The Caucasian Chalk Circle soars with humor, romance, unexpected plot twists, and high-stakes intensity.

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March 25–April 18, 2010

Written and directed by Morris Panych
Cast: Marco Barricelli and Olympia Dukakis

Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis (Steel Magnolias, A.C.T.'s Hecuba) and beloved Bay Area veteran actor Marco Barricelli return to A.C.T. in this deliciously dark comedy. When an embittered, self-involved bachelor arrives to care for the dying aunt he hasn't seen since childhood, his brief visit stretches to interminable lengths. As her health improves against all odds—and against his hopes—their relationship evolves in unexpected ways. A tour de force from the creator of the runaway hit The Overcoat, Vigil offers an uncanny balance of gallows humor and grave ruminations on family, identity, and the human condition.

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April 29–May 23, 2010

by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by John Rando

Librarian Norman channels Casanova in his fervent attempts to seduce his two sisters-in-law as well as his estranged wife during a weekend family gathering. In this brilliantly calibrated comedy, famed British playwright Alan Ayckbourn applies his rollicking wit and charmed affection to a cast of disastrously imperfect characters who expose the tensions and desires that simmer beneath the surface. Alongside a transformative ensemble of A.C.T.'s finest actors, Rock 'n' Roll's Manoel Felciano (Broadway's Sweeney Todd) plays misguided lothario Norman in this "explosively hilarious" (London's Guardian) third installment of Ayckbourn's acclaimed trilogy The Norman Conquests.

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June 3–27, 2010

Created and staged by Carey Perloff and Val Caniparoli

Conjuring a world in which love, betrayal, and hope emerge from the shadows and disappear with the clink of a glass, The Tosca Project is a world premiere dance-theater work that brings internationally acclaimed artists from San Francisco Ballet together with a cast of renowned actors. Drawing inspiration from the infamous North Beach watering hole that bears its name, and set to an exciting score of music from Hendrix to Stravinsky, this gorgeously choreographed and achingly moving event continues A.C.T.'s exploration of multidisciplinary storytelling through original large-scale works.

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