[NEohioPAL] "Othello" and "An Ideal Husband" Kick Off Great Lakes Theater Festival's 2010-11 Season

Thu Aug 26 13:43:31 PDT 2010

For Immediate Release
August 26, 2010

Cleveland's Classic Theater Company
Commences 2010-11 Season with 
A Shakespearean Thriller and 
A Wilde-ly Witty Comedy

OTHELLO and AN IDEAL HUSBAND play in rotating repertory to kick off
Great Lakes Theater Festival's 49th year.

NEW NIGHTCAP NIGHTS feature free, live music performed by bands and
musicians in the Hanna's lounge following Saturday evening performances.

CLEVELAND, OH (August 26, 2010) - Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF)
will commence its 2010-11 season in the company's revolutionary home at
the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, with a Fall Repertory that features
William Shakespeare's psychological thriller, Othello and Oscar Wilde's
witty comedy, An Ideal Husband. The productions will be performed in
rotating repertory September 24 - October 31, 2010.  The Fall Repertory
features GLTF's resident artistic company of actors performing two
alternating plays on the same stage over six weeks.  Risa Brainin will
direct Othello and Sari Ketter will direct An Ideal Husband.

Great Lakes Theater Festival is generously funded by the citizens of
Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.  In addition, the
Festival's 2010-11 season is presented with support from The Cleveland
Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.  Media sponsors for the GLTF's
49th season are Cleveland Scene, The Plain Dealer, WCLV 104.9 FM, WCPN
90.3 FM ideastream and WKSU 89.7 FM.

"I am thrilled to kick off Great Lakes Theater Festival's 49th season as
Cleveland's classic theater company with a fall repertory that features
Shakespeare's Othello and Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband," said GLTF
Producing Artistic Director, Charles Fee.  "This year marks our third
season in the beautifully re-imagined Hanna Theatre and speaks to the
breadth of experience we are dedicated to creating in PlayhouseSquare.
For the occasion, I am proud to welcome back to our company two
extraordinary directors, working for the first time in our new home,
Risa Brainin and Sari Ketter.  Both have long been associated with our
companies in Cleveland and Boise and it is a joy to have them working on
the Hanna's Parker Hannifin Stage!  I simply can't wait to share the
outstanding productions that they've created with our audience."

GLTF's 2010 Fall Repertory commences with the Shakespearean thriller,
Othello.    William Shakespeare's supreme villain meets literature's
most tragic hero in one of the greatest dramas of all time.  After being
passed over for a military promotion and suspecting his wife's
infidelity with the man responsible for his slight, vengeance drives the
duplicitous Iago to plant potent seeds of doubt in the mind of the Moor.
Will Othello fall into Iago's evil trap and forsake his wife, the
innocent Desdemona?  Culminating in Shakespeare's most powerful scene,
Othello weaves a tragic tapestry of jealousy, trust and betrayal.  The
production features David Alan Anderson, the newest member of the
Festival's acting company, in the title role.

Oscar Wilde's witty comedy An Ideal Husband completes GLTF's Fall
Repertory pairing.  Romantic, clever and marvelously convoluted, this
comedy of manners insightfully examines the crossroads where money,
power and ethics collide.  Sir Robert Chiltern, a rising political star
and a pillar of virtue, is an ideal husband for the charming Lady
Chiltern.  But when the enchanting and conniving Mrs. Cheveley returns
from abroad threatening to reveal a dark secret from Sir Chiltern's
past, a brewing scandal impends to destroy both his career and marriage.
Wilde's wit takes center stage, rambunctiously holding a mirror up to
nature while wreaking havoc on its occupants, in a deliciously decadent
comedy that disarms and delights.

GLTF's 2010 Fall Repertory reunites acclaimed Festival directors, Risa
Brainin and Sari Ketter, with Northeast Ohio audiences.  Brainin
celebrates her 4th year at Great Lakes Theater Festival this season.
Her work was last seen by Festival audiences in 2007 when she directed
Measure for Measure.  Other GLTF productions include As You Like It
(2005) and Julius Caesar (2004).  Sari Ketter directed Great Lakes
Theater Festival's 2005 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Great Lakes Theater Festival's award-winning home at the Hanna Theatre
features a visionary "Great Room" inspired design concept that
integrates the artist and audience experience into a single unified
environment.  Hanna patrons select from a variety of seating
opportunities including traditional theater seats, club chairs,
lounge/bar seats, banquette couches and private box seating.  Boasting a
fully flexible hydraulic thrust stage, a complete array of
state-of-the-art theatrical systems and an intimate 550-seat house
arranged in a thrust configuration, the Hanna is one of the most
innovative theaters in the country.  

In 2010-11, GLTF will expand its popular Experience Enhancement Series
at the Hanna by programming free, live music performed by the region's
finest local bands and musicians in the Hanna's bar and lounge following
Saturday evening performances (non-opening night).  Nightcap Night
Saturdays - an eight-date music series coordinated by Jim Wadsworth, the
director of programming for Cleveland's landmark music venue Nighttown -
is designed to encourage patrons to extend their stay at the Hanna and
to highlight the GLTF/Hanna experience as one of the most unique
entertainment options in the region.  A complete calendar of concerts
and artists will be announced at a later date.

Great Lakes Theater Festival's Experience Enhancement Series is
organized by day of week.  The series is designed to augment a patron's
theater experience by highlighting the Hanna's unique amenities and by
affording extraordinary access to Festival artists. 

--"Salon Thursdays" feature an engaging pre-show discussion/presentation
beginning one hour before curtain with a Festival artist.  (Offered:
Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28) 

--"Happy Hour Fridays" afford audience members the opportunity to gather
and socialize at the Hanna's bar and lounge immediately after work.  A
fine assortment of savory hors d' oeuvres and a complete range of
beverages are available for purchase beginning ninety minutes before the
performance.  (Offered:  Sept. 24 & Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29) 

--"Nightcap Night Saturdays" are designed to encourage audience members
to stay after the evening performance and enjoy entertainment performed
by the region's finest musicians and bands while mingling with the GLTF
artistic company in the Hanna's lounge.  The Hanna's bar is open until
ninety minutes after the performance on "Nightcap Night Saturdays."
(Offered:  Oct. 9, 16, 23, 30)

--"Ice Cream Social Sundays" offer patrons the opportunity to enjoy a
London theatre tradition brought state-side.  Audience members are
invited to purchase a cool, personal ice cream treat before the show or
at intermission.  Ice cream will be offered at every performance in
GLTF's Fall Repertory, but on "Ice Cream Social Sundays," the treat is
half price.  (Offered: Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24)

--"Director's Nights" offer audiences the opportunity to take part in a
lively pre-show discussion with GLTF's Producing Artistic Director,
Charles Fee, and the director of each production before preview
performances.  (Offered: Sept. 24 & Oct. 1)

--"Playnotes Pre-Show Discussions" inform patrons with illuminating
introductions to the content and history of each play in GLTF's season
presented by a guest scholar before Saturday matinee performances.
(Offered:  Oct. 9, 16, 23, 30)

Great Lakes Theater Festival will continue to afford patrons
extraordinary access to its artists and production process at every
Hanna Theatre performance this fall.  The Hanna always opens its doors
ninety minutes before each performance allowing patrons to observe the
complete pre-show preparation process of GLTF's actors and technical
staff.  Elements traditionally hidden from audiences 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 GLTF audiences an unprecedented glimpse into the theatrical
process.

The Festival will continue its New Deal pricing initiative this fall -
designed to increase accessibility for audiences.  As part of the
program, adult tickets for every performance always begin at $15 and
student tickets for any seat at any show are $13 - making the Great
Lakes Theater Festival experience one of the most affordable
entertainment options in the region.  "It is absolutely vital to the
mission and long-term health of our organization that we create
affordable opportunities for every person in our region to experience
live theater," said GLTF Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee of the
program.

Opening Night performances of Othello (September 25th) and An Ideal
Husband (October 2nd) have been scheduled for Saturday evenings with
preview performances of both productions scheduled for the preceding
Friday nights.  Curtain times for all evening performances will remain
at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time for Saturday matinees and a
3:00 p.m. curtain time for Sunday matinees. Both productions in GLTF's
Fall Repertory will continue to offer sign-interpreted and
audio-described performances.

Single performance tickets for Great Lakes Theater Festival productions
range in price from $15-$70 (Student tickets are $13 - any performance /
any seat) and are available by calling (216) 241-6000, by ordering
online at www.greatlakestheater.org or by visiting the PlayhouseSquare
Ticket Office.  Groups of ten or more receive discounts of up to 40% by
calling the Great Lakes Theater Festival Group Sales Department at (216)
241-5490 x302.  (Additional handling fees may apply and may vary
depending on point of purchase.)

Great Lakes Theater Festival, the first resident company of
PlayhouseSquare, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of
classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962.  Festival
programming reaches 85,000 adults and students annually.

#          #          #

Media Contact:
Todd Krispinsky
Marketing and Public Relations Director
Great Lakes Theater Festival
1501 Euclid Avenue, Suite 300
Cleveland, Ohio  44115
(216) 241-5490 x317 / (216) 241-6315 Fax
www.greatlakestheater.org <http://www.greatlakestheater.org/> 

Stay connected to Great Lakes Theater Festival...
   Become a fan of the Festival on Facebook.  Click here.
<http://www.facebook.com/gltfcleveland> 
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