Musicals, a world premiere and a modern classic are all part of Actor’s Express‘ 25th anniversary season, beginning Aug. 22 with the dark and dangerous Kiss of the Spider Woman.
The five-show season includes a couple of names familiar to metro theatergoers: playwright Steve Yockey (2008’s Octopus) and director Melissa Foulger, and one as-yet-unnamed show that will close the season in May and June. It also will include the return of beloved Atlanta singer Libby Whittemore, who will have concert dates throughout the year. Artistic Director Freddie Ashley calls this the company’s most ambitious season to date. Here’s the lineup.
Kiss of the Spider Woman. Aug. 22-Oct. 7. Winner of seven 1993 Tony Awards, including best musical. Valentin, a Marxist revolutionary, and Molina, a gay window dresser, develop an uneasy friendship rooted in surviving life in a Latin American prison. As the bond between them deepens, the line between reality and fantasy blurs. Music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb. Book by Terrence McNally (Ragtime, Love! Valor! Compassion!). Ashley directs.
Wolves. Nov. 7-Dec. 2. World premiere. Steve Yockey’s savagely funny fairy tale for adults features twists and turns on its way to a finale. Ben is a timid young city dweller who freaks out when roommate Jack brings home a big, bad wolf for a one-night stand. When he tries to rescue Jack, Ben sets into motion a dangerous chain of events that will alter the world as they know it. The San Francisco Chronicle calls Yockey, an Atlanta native, “a fiercely imaginative and finely tuned new voice.” Foulger directs.
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Jan. 9-Feb. 17. This sexy explosion of rock ‘n’ roll reimagines our seventh president as a rock god maverick who fights for the common man, wrestles the country away from Native Americans — and looks hot in a pair of skinny jeans. The New York Times called this recent musical, which played regionally, off-Broadway and briefly on Broadway, “a goofy delight and a perversely affecting comment on the American temperament.” Music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Book by Alex Timbers. Director TBA.
Equus. March 20-April 21. Peter Shaffer’s 1975 Tony Award-winning best play is a modern classic. Troubled young Alan Strang has blinded six horses and no one knows why. When ambitious psychiatrist Richard Dysart begins treating the boy, he launches into a dangerous odyssey through Alan’s psyche — and his own. Director TBA.
Season subscriptions are $80 and $135, respectively. Details HERE. Single tickets are $27 to $32, plus fees. Details HERE or at 404.607-SHOW (7469). The theater is at 887 W. Marietta St., in West Midtown’s King Plow Arts Center.
