ROMEO & JULIET, TRUE WEST & More Set for The Actor's Theatre in 2012-2013

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein have announced The Actors Theatre's 49th season lineup. The 2012-2013 Brown-Forman Series, Waters' inaugural season at the helm, runs the gamut thematically from forbidden love and sibling rivalry to familial dysfunction and adolescent innocence in an exhilarating program sure to entertain, engage and delight audiences.

"At the heart of this season's programming is great, passionate and intelligent storytelling that will ask us all to take a closer look at the human experience and help us to make sense of this mysterious thing that we call life," said Les Waters, Artistic Director. "I hope the breadth of writers and aesthetics will excite audiences and give this community a flavor of what they can expect to look forward to in the years to come. From Shakespeare's popular tragedy and one of the most famous love stories of all time, Romeo and Juliet, to a modern-day rock musical, Girlfriend that will feature an all-girl band, plus plays by Sam Shepard and Eugene O'Neill – widely regarded as some of the most influential voices in contemporary American Theatre – I think next season's lineup truly celebrates who we are and where we have come from, and speaks to the moment in which we live."

Adds Bielstein, "Actors Theatre remains committed to engaging this community in great arts experiences and sharing the thrill of live theatre. We continue to offer flexible and affordable ticket package options so that our patrons can continue to join us and enjoy all the exciting productions we have throughout the season. As testimony to this commitment we have not increased the price on any of our season ticket packages for the 2012-2013 Season."

The Actors Theatre of Louisville's 49th Season lineup includes:

Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
directed by Tony Speciale

September 4 – September 26, 2012
Pamela Brown Auditorium

Two star-crossed lovers with feuding families will cross bitter divides and risk everything to be together, as a new generation strains against the limits of a world their parents have defined. Directed by Louisville native Tony Speciale, this swift, contemporary staging of Shakespeare's masterpiece brings to life one of the most famous love stories ever written with all of the immediacy, danger and romance that have made it endure for centuries.

Long Day's Journey into Night
by Eugene O'Neill
directed by Artistic Director Les Waters

October 9 – October 28, 2012
Pamela Brown Auditorium

In his first production as Artistic Director, Les Waters directs this epic yet powerfully intimate, Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a family confronting a sea of regret and longing, haunted by the past. Over the course of one fateful summer day, renowned actor James Tyrone, his troubled wife Mary and their two sons wrestle with resentment so deep-and a love so fierce-that it threatens to consume them. O'Neill's play is both a poem of forgiveness to his own family, and one of the legendary achievements of American drama.

True West
by Sam Shepard

November 13 - December 9, 2012
Bingham Theatre

Well-educated Austin and thieving con man Lee, estranged brothers from different worlds, reunite in their mom's California kitchen, where Austin is working out a screenplay deal. But when Lee comes up with his own big idea and steals much more than just the neighbors' TV, challenges are issued, many drinks are downed, and the siblings find that they might not be such opposites after all. This dynamic, darkly funny play by iconic actor-writer Sam Shepard is a tale of brotherly love and competition, Hollywood producers and stolen toasters.

The Whipping Man
by Matthew Lopez

January 8 - February 2, 2013
Bingham Theatre

At the end of the Civil War, a Jewish Confederate soldier returns to find his once-grand home in ruins, occupied only by two of his family's former slaves. Confronted with a changed, uncertain social order, and bound by the history and faith they share, the three men must grapple with their responsibility toward each other and the secrets they hold. The Whipping Man is a moving drama about newfound freedom, the legacy of slavery, redemption and regret.

Girlfriend
book by Todd Almond
music and lyrics by Matthew Sweet
directed by Artistic Director Les Waters

January 29 - February 17, 2013
Pamela Brown Auditorium

Nebraska, the 1990s. Two teenage boys-one a social outcast, the other the quintessential jock-explore a relationship during a summer of self-discovery between high school graduation and the rest of their lives. Set to irresistible songs from Matthew Sweet's landmark pop album of the same name, this rock musical gives voice to those of us who grew up in small towns, those of us who didn't quite fit in and learned we were somehow different, and anybody who remembers the terror and thrill of first love.

The 37th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays
February 27- April 7, 2013

The Humana Festival is the premier event of its kind in the nation, debuting new plays right in your backyard! Catch groundbreaking world premieres that represent many generations, many voices and many views-including yours. The festival runs the gamut from comedies to dramas to plays that forge new theatrical territory. Combined with world-class design and performances, this celebration of American Playwrights' innovation and imagination has something in it for everyone.

Fifth Third Bank's Dracula
originally dramatized by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston
from Bram Stoker's world famous novel, Dracula
as adapted & directed by WilLiam McNulty

September 12 – October 31, 2012
Bingham Theatre

Experience the Louisville Halloween tradition that drips with suspense-and even more blood. This celebrated gothic screamfest is jam-packed with plenty of thrills and chills to keep you on The Edge of your seat.

A Christmas Story
by Philip Grecian
based on the motion picture A Christmas Story © 1983 Turner Entertainment Co.,
distributed by Warner Bros., written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark; and on the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd
directed by Drew Fracher
with support provided by Fifth Third Bank

November 7 – November 25, 2012
Pamela Brown Auditorium

In this Christmas adventure like no other, a boy's ardent campaign for a Red Ryder BB gun against all odds ("You'll shoot your eye out!") unfolds amid seasonal shenanigans involving a leg lamp, a bunny suit and a tongue stuck to a frozen flagpole. Relive a family tradition or start one anew by joining Ralphie and his family for this stage adaption of the beloved film inspired by Jean Shepherd's classic American story of Christmas-and growing up-in the Midwest.

Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol
written by Charles Dickens and adapted by Barbara Field
directed by Drew Fracher

December 4 – December 23, 2012
Pamela Brown Auditorium

Louisville's biggest and best holiday tradition-the classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future, brought to life with visual splendor and the warmth of holiday music.

2012-2013 season ticket packages are on sale now starting as low as $121 and are available online at ActorsTheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at 502-584-1205.

Now entering its 49th season, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the State Theatre of Kentucky, has emerged as one of America's most consistently innovative professional theatre companies. Actors Theatre's programming includes a broad range of classical and contemporary work, presenting more than 500 performances each season. The company performs annually to nearly 200,000 people and is the recipient of the most prestigious awards bestowed on a regional theatre: a special Tony® Award for Distinguished Achievement, the James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, and the Margo Jones Award for the Encouragement of New Plays. Actors Theatre's international appearances include performances in over 29 cities in 15 foreign countries. Currently, there are more than 40 books of plays and criticism from Actors Theatre in publication and circulation.