*PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* *Monday June 1, 2015.* Ensemble Theatre 2015-16 Season - A REBIRTH OF WONDER *(From the Poem "I am Waiting" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti) * *Farragut North* by *Beau Willimon* ** (House of Cards) * 8/27 to 9/6* Directed by Kyle Huff in the *Playground Theater (TheatreCLE)* Stephen Bellamy is a wunderkind press secretary who has built a career that men twice his age would envy. During a tight presidential primary race, Stephen's meteoric rise falls prey to the backroom politics of more seasoned operatives. FARRAGUT NORTH is a timely story about the lust for power and the costs one will endure to achieve it. *"FARRAGUT NORTH is juicy entertainment. A whip-smart insider look at the soul-sucking world of political campaigns…the play's taut scenes crackle with pithy talk, gripping plot turns and intriguing revelations." -Variety.* *Death of a Salesman* by *Arthur Miller* *9/18 to 10/11* Directed by Celeste Cosentino on the *Main Stage Theatre (MainStage Season)* The story revolves around the last days of Willy Loman, a failing salesman, who cannot understand how he failed to win success and happiness. Through a series of tragic soul-searching revelations about the life he has lived with his wife, his sons, and his business associates, we discover how his quest for the "American Dream" kept him blind to the people who truly loved him. A thrilling work of deep and revealing beauty that remains *one of the most profound classic dramas of the American theatre*. **Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. * *Ages of the Moon* by *Sam Shepard * *11/13 to 12/6* Directed by Stephen Vasse-Hansell on the * Main Stage Theatre (MainStage Season)* A gruff, affecting and funny play by Sam Shepard. Byron and Ames are old friends, reunited by mutual desperation. Over bourbon on ice, they sit, reflect and bicker until fifty years of love, friendship and rivalry are put to the test at the barrel of a gun. *"A poignant and honest continuation of themes that have always been present in the work of one of this country's most important dramatists, here reconsidered in the light and shadow of time passed." —NY Times.* *The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe* *12/4 to 12/13* Dramatized by *Joseph Robinette* from the story by *C.S. Lewis* Directed by Celeste Cosentino in the *Playground Theater (TheatreCLE)* This new dramatization of C.S. Lewis' classic, set in the land of Narnia, faithfully recreates the magic and mystery of Aslan, the great lion, his struggle with the White Witch, and the adventures of four children who inadvertently wander from an old wardrobe into the exciting, never-to-be-forgotten Narnia. The intense action features chases, duels and escapes as the witch is determined to keep Narnia in her possession and to end the reign of Aslan. This story of love, faith, courage and giving, with its triumph of good over evil, is a true celebration of life. *Golden Leaf Rag Time Blues* by *Charles Smith. * (W*ill run concurrently with Slow Dance on the Killing Ground*) *2/5 to 2/28* D irected by Ian Wolfgang Hinz in the *Playground Theater (MainStage Season)* Developed by American Blues Theatre Company in Chicago in 1987, Golden Leaf Rag Time Blues is a story of a young African American boy and an old Jewish man who are thrown together because of circumstances beyond their control. The two form an unusual friendship when they discover through stories and music that they have more in common than anyone would ever believe. Golden Leaf Rag Time Blues illustrates how our basic needs and human emotions transcend the barriers of race, religion, and age. *Slow Dance on the Killing Ground *by *William Hanley.* (Will run concurrently with Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues) *2/5 to 2/28* D irected by Greg White on the *MainStage Theatre (MainStage Season)* As the curtain rises on a poor dusty shop with its dirty window obscuring the dark hostile night, the storekeeper is taking inventory. The door is flung open, letting in a lithe young black man . In this dance for two, the characters make hesitant approaches, circle, feint, threaten each other with gun and ice pick but scarcely make contact. The young man is obviously a hunted man. The storekeeper is a non-Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, is close-mouthed, suspicious, anxious to avoid self-involvement. The third dancer is Rosie, an eigh-teen-year old from Riverdale, who has wandered into the shop after losing her way. Rosie has no illusions about her homeliness or about the encounter that has led to her troubles. The laconic German and the flowery young man react to her with a sensitivity and concern that seem to diminish the furies within them. But not for long. Finally the German is driven to revealing the truth about himself as the young man, at last, faces his inexorable fate out there on the killing ground. *CNPF 2016 : (MainStage Season)* * Choices or When to Hold ‘em* by *Cynthia Dettlebach * * * *3/17- 3/25.* Director by TBA on the * Main Stage Theatre* and Livestream ed . Their firstborn son brings home a Muslim girlfriend; the family’s finances are in free-fall, and those are not the biggest bombshells to rock the foundations of this upper middle class Jewish family. * A Kind of Courage *by* Rannigan Walsh * 3/31- 4/10. Directed by Celeste Cosentino in the *Playground Theater *and Livestream ed. A thirty-year old woman, Jennifer, is in a serious relationship with Ben, a thirty-seven year old male college professor. Jennifer has a dark secret about her past which could destroy their future together. *JERUSALEM* by Jez Butterworth *4/29 - 5/22* D irected by Ian Wolfgang Hinz on the *MainStage Theatre (MainStage Season)* On St. George's Day, the morning of the local county fair (deriving its sense of place and community from the annual carnival week at Pewsey, Wiltshire) Johnny "Rooster" Byron, local waster and modern day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, while his son, Marky, wants his dad to take him to the fair, Troy Whitworth wants to give him a serious kicking and a motley crew of mates want his ample supply of drugs and alcohol. The play makes frequent allusions to Blake's eponymous poemfrom which its title is derived. *Fantastic, Shocking & Fresh! -Daily Mail. Bold & Hilarious. -The Times. * ** *All Performances are Fridays & Saturdays @8pm. Sundays @2pm.* *Please Note: * **Farragut* * North *will open* Thursday August 27th *and have an *Industry Monday Night Performance on August 31. Curtain @8pm.* **The Lion, The With & The Wardrobe will have a 7pm curtain for all perfomance as well as a 3pm Matinee on the two Saturdays.* **Ensemble has switched to a NEW ticketing system! Tixato! Please call or email us with any questions regarding purchase. * *Single Tickets range from $24-$12* *Subscriptions range from $175-$50.* *Subscribe today! * *216.321.2930 <216.321.2930> (Box Office MainStage) 216.202.0938 <216.202.0938> (Box Office TheatreCLE)* *tickets@ensemble-theatre.org <tickets@ensemble-theatre.org>* *www.ensembletheatrecle.org <http://www.ensembletheatrecle.org/> to purchase tickets online. * -- *Information* info@ensemble-theatre.org 2843 Washington Blvd. Cleveland Hts., OH 441118 216-321-2930/216-202-0938 *www.ensembletheatrecle.org <http://www.ensembletheatrecle.org>*