The
Pillsbury House Theatre Mainstage
"…the cast delivers raw, by the throat theater, the kind
that makes you want to shout out."
Rohan Preston, Star Tribune
Since its establishment in 1992, Pillsbury House Theatre Mainstage
productions have garnered overwhelming critical acclaim for boldly
provocative stagings of both world premiere and classic contemporary
plays.
Pillsbury House Theatre has produced over 30 plays on the Mainstage
including more than a dozen area premieres. Among the celebrated
playwrights whose works have been presented are Athol Fugard, Ed
Bullins, Tony Kushner, Lisa Jones, Lorraine Hansbury, Tennessee
Williams, Leroi Jones and Lanford Wilson.
Located in an inner-city neighborhood in the heart of South Minneapolis,
the comfortable 96-seat theatre offers an intimate setting to experience
the powerful performances and explosive productions that are the
hallmarks of Pillsbury House Theatre. Performances
take place Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Dates and plays are subject to change.
Tickets are $18 Thursday through Saturday. "Wednesdays at the
House" welcomes you to attend and pay what you can for all
Wednesday night performances. Be
on our mailing list. Keep up to date on Pillsbury House Theatre
performances and activities. Please call 612-825-0459 or e-mail
us at [email protected]. The
Theatre Programs | | 2007
Schedule
Mainstage
season tickets are $18 Thursday – Saturday, Wednesday evenings are
pay-what-you-can. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information
call 612-825-0459. Underneath
the Lintel: An Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences
By Glen Berger.
Directed by Noël Raymond.
February 23 – March 17, 2007 This performance
is recommended for ages 12 and up. Children under 12 are not allowed
into the theatre. Breaking
Ice
Written and performed by the Breaking Ice Company.
Directed by Heidi Hunter Batz
May 11 & 12, 2007 LOW
Written and performed by Rha Goddess.
Directed by Chay Yew
May 30 – June 16, 2007 Home
By Samm-Art Williams
Directed by Marion McClinton
October 5 – November 3, 2007
Back
to Top Underneath
the Lintel: An Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences In Underneath
the Lintel: An Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences,
Glen Berger’s one-man Off Broadway hit comedy, a Dutch librarian
comes across a book that is 113 years overdue. An obsession to find
the miscreant borrower sets the librarian on a world-wide quest.
As he gathers more clues about the mysterious library patron, his
collection of "lovely evidences" leads him to the belief
that he is on the heels of a myth. Underneath the Lintel
is a funny and profound play that explores the nature of time, the
substance of life and the possibility of miracles. Underneath
the Lintel had over 450 performances Off-Broadway, Time Out
New York named it one of the Ten Best Plays of 2001 and the play
also received a 2001 Ovation Award for Best Play and the Garland
Award for Best Playwriting. Pillsbury House Theatre’s production
features former Twin Cities resident John Shuman, who was most recently
seen in Li’l Abner at Goodspeed Opera House and on Broadway
in La Cage aux Folles. PHT’s Co-Artistic Director Noël
Raymond, who last directed An Almost Holy Picture, directs
the production. Underneath the Lintel runs February 23 –
March 17, 2007. This performance
is recommended for ages 12 and up. Children under 12 are not allowed
into the theatre. Back
to Top Breaking
Ice On May 11 &
12, Breaking Ice will perform an originally created production.
For over ten years, Breaking Ice has brought artists from the Twin
Cities community together to collaboratively create theatre for
a vast array of audiences. In 2006, Breaking Ice performed across
the country, inspiring dialogue around social issues in hospitals,
universities, government agencies, conferences and corporations.
Breaking Ice will bring its provocative performance style to the
mainstage using poetry, music, movement and scenes to follow a host
of characters as they navigate their way through social norms and
biases in search of a sense of belonging. Back
to Top LOW The season continues
with LOW, written and performed by Rha Goddess and directed
by Chay Yew. LOW is a one-woman multidisciplinary theatre
piece that explores the mythology, stigma, fear and confusion surrounding
mental illness. The title of the show refers both to its main character,
Lowquesha, and to the way she feels. Low, a budding poet, grows
from a bright, happy and creative young girl to a troubled teenager
who quickly descends into homelessness, addiction and a frightening
psychosis. Low’s arduous journey gives voice to those who strive
for dignity and self-possession even as the painful descent into
madness takes over. LOW initially was presented as part
of the 2006 Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre
of Louisville. Rha Goddess
is a world-renowned performance/recording artist, poet, social activist
and a legendary voice in the hip-hop community. Her debut album
Soulah Vibe was named "one of the year’s coolest records"
by Time magazine in 1999. As a community activist, she founded The
Next Wave of Women and Power and co-founded the Sista II Sista Freedom
School for Young Women of Color and the World Conference Against
Racism. Essence magazine named her one of the 30 Women to Watch
in the new millennium. Chay Yew was the director of the Taper’s
Asian Theatre Workshop for 10 years. His numerous directing credits
include The Architecture of Loss (New York Theatre Workshop);
Citizen 13559 (Kennedy Center); LOW (Actors Theatre
of Louisville); 36 Views (Portland Center Stage, Geva Theatre
Center and Laguna Playhouse); and Frozen, The Laramie Project
and Strange Attractors (Empty Space). LOW runs May 30
– June 16. Back
to Top Home The mainstage
season closes with Samm-Art Williams classic of the African American
theatre canon, Home. First produced to great acclaim by the
Negro Ensemble Company in 1979, the production subsequently moved
to Broadway the following year and was nominated for both the Tony
and Drama Desk Awards. In the play, Cephus Miles is raised on the
family farm in the rural community of Cross Roads, North Carolina.
His life is hard but happy, filled with work on the family farm,
church revivals, and stolen kisses from his sweetheart Pattie Mae.
With the onset of the Vietnam War, Cephus is forced to make a life-altering
decision, and finds himself part of a great migration to the urban
north. But the glitter of the city quickly fades and Cephus returns
to North Carolina, settles on the land and finds redemption in coming
home. Home
marks the Pillsbury House Theatre directing debut for Marion McClinton.
A long-time member of the Penumbra Theatre Company and a Pillsbury
House Theatre associate company member, McClinton recently directed
the Mixed Blood production of Yellowman at Guthrie’s Dowling
Studio, and the world premiere of August Wilson’s Gem of the
Ocean at Goodman Theatre and Mark Taper Forum. His Broadway
productions include Drowning Crow, the revival of Ma Rainey’s
Black Bottom and King Hedley II (Tony nomination). His
Off-Broadway credits include Jitney (Obie and Lortel Awards),
Roar, Talk and Breath, Boom. Home runs October 5 – November
3.
Back
to Top |
