Mixed Blood Theatre today announced its 2007-08 season, featuring Sarah Ruhl’s New York triumph, The Clean House, a newly-imagined staging of Jevetta Steele’s critically acclaimed Two Queens One Castle atThe Music Box Theatre, the world premiere of Love Person by Aditi Brennan Kapil, The Poetry of Pizza by Deborah Brevoort, and Mixed Blood’s 10th annual Spanish-language play, Esperando la Carroza (Waiting for the Hearse),at the brand new 430-seat home of Steppingstone Theatre.
Since its inception, Mixed Blood has used theatre to address artificial barriers that keep people from succeeding in American society. Historically that has manifested itself in terms of race, culture, language, class, sexual orientation and disability. The 2007-08 season continues in those footsteps, this time with gender at the fore. Women have been the foundation of Mixed Blood’s success for 31 years, but in the 32nd season the theatre’s women will be front and center more than ever: penning the plays, performing on stage, designing and directing off stage, working backstage and behind the scenes. Mixed Blood’s major institutional maturation came in the wake of its most well-received women-authored plays, from 1979’s production of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls… (remounted in 1980 and 1984) to the 750 performances of A…My Name Is Alice and A…My Name Is Still Alice from 1986 to 1993 to Lisa Loomer’s Maria!Maria!Maria! and Living Out (1998 and 2004 respectively) to Suzan-LoriPark’s Topdog/Underdog in 2003 to Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman in the fall of 2006. In this season, four of the five writers and 2/3 of the characters are women, hence the season’s moniker, “A Woman’s Work…Is Being Done!” In addition to celebrating the contributions of women artists, this Mixed Blood season features the transformative forces of love – in its many guises. “Mixed Blood’s origins are easily traced to the teachings and preachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who often called upon the irrefutable power of love to nurture social change,” said Artistic Director Jack Reuler. “This season, love (and laughter) will transcend language barriers, family feuds, health challenges, global politics, generations, betrayal, deceit, and more to prove itself the universal elixir.” Its love stories, told in five languages, are comprised of three comedies, a dramatic musical, and a fascinating new polyglot play.
THE 2007-2008 MAINSTAGE SEASON Jevetta Steele’s TwoQueensOneCastle Book and Lyrics by Jevetta Steele and Thomas W. Jones II Music by J.D. Steele and William Hubbard Musical Direction by SanfordMoore Directed by Thomas W. Jones II September 21 – October 7, 2007 At the Music Box Theatre in Downtown Minneapolis Two Queens One Castle opened Mixed Blood’s 2002-03 season for nine sold-out weeks and has since set box office records in Atlanta and DC.Mixed Blood Theatre brings back Jevetta Steele’s critically acclaimed blockbuster musical for a limited run. The Washington Post headlined the musical as “Hip and Upbeat” with critical praise that declared it “a testament that with strong faith and a community of formidable women, you can deal with any outrageousness that comes your way.” Through 15 gospel, R&B, jazz, and pop tunes, this musical parable explores the complexities of one woman’s life – catapulting career, motherhood, marriage, extended family, church – which are even more complicated when half of the married couple is clandestinely gay. Stigmas of homosexuality within African American communities are explored and exposed, and the foundation of love collides with deceit and illness in an ultimately harmonic affirmation of self. It is a story of deception, love, revelation, and hope. Two Queens One Castle, featuring a cast led by Jevetta Steele, will be presented at the intimate 450-seat Music Box Theatre, home of the long-running Triple Espresso. Given the popularity of this production and the limited number of performances, Mixed Blood will have assigned seating for the first time in its 32-season history. Season ticket holders will get priority seating. The Clean House By Sarah Ruhl Directed by Stan Wojewodski, Jr. October 19 – November 18, 2007 At Mixed Blood’s Alan Page Auditorium Upon its Lincoln Center 2006 premiere, the New York Times raved, “Thanks to the alchemical imagination of Sarah Ruhl this strange grab bag of ideas and images magically coheres to form one of the finest and funniest new plays in New York this season.” From MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” recipient Sarah Ruhl comes The Clean House, a play with kaleidoscopic sensibilities that takes the simple tasks of housecleaning and joke-telling and gives them transcendental levels of meaning. This fast-moving, compassionate comedy revolves around a maid (who hates cleaning) on a mission to create the perfect joke (her parents were the funniest people in Brazil). Her presence leads to the amazing transformations of a household, of disconnected women, and of classes while arguing that the best things in life — a sublime joke, a fulfilling purpose, a soul mate, even a satisfactory death — are infinitely worth waiting for. The Clean House will be directed by Stan Wojewodski, Jr., (at Mixed Blood: Take Me Out, The Mad Dancers, Bill of (W)Rights).He is the former Artistic Director of the Yale Rep and Dean of the Yale School of Drama, during which time author Sarah Ruhl attended graduate school under his tutelage.
The Poetry of Pizza By Deborah Brevoort Directed by John Miller-Stephany January 18 – February 10, 2008 At Mixed Blood’s Alan Page Auditorium The Poetry of Pizza,“a comedy in four slices,” is a contemporary comedy-of-errors in which the unlikely romance of an American scholar and a Kurdish refugee sets in motion a rash of culinary courtships. In an entertainment industry woefully inept at accurate/humane portrayals of Arabs, Muslims, or Iraquis, The Poetry of Pizza is a romantic feel-good (and taste-good) comedy that span scultural gulfs while celebrating heartfelt human connection. As it adheres to Mixed Blood’s core values of being predictably unpredictable and theatrically illustrating disparate people (and peoples) successfully coexisting, this is a sit-back-and-smile farce replete with Danish agoraphobics, Middle Eastern pizza chefs, and busybody voyeurs, all in love with the idea of finding true love. The partnership formed last year between the Guthrie Theater and Mixed Blood with the performance of Yellowman in the new Dowling Studio Theatre continues to grow as The Poetry of Pizza will be directed by Guthrie Associate Artistic Director John Miller-Stephany. A World Premiere Love Person By Aditi Brennan Kapil Directed by Risa Brainin February 29 – March 22, 2008 At Mixed Blood’s Alan Page AuditoriumMixed Blood resident artist Aditi Kapil authors Love Person, a fascinating hybrid of whodunit thriller and happily-ever-after love fest. It’s a love story about language as a portal and barrier to human connection in which love transcends sexual orientation, physical attraction, and social structure, and rests instead on the ways in which people communicate. Two couples, four people, three cultures, and four relationships blossom, break, sustain, repair, and/or flourish in this polyglot play. Performed in American Sign Language (ASL), Sanskrit, spoken English, and projected e-mail, all audiences will be able to understand all dialogue all the time. Love Person will have a unique “rolling premiere” opening three productions at three different theatres. Led by Mixed Blood Theatre, the Marin Theatre Company of Mill Valley, CA and the Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis will each produce this new script in the 2007-08 season, and will thus receive enhancement funds from the National New Play Network’s Continued Life Fund. Mixed Blood’s production of Love Person will be directed by Risa Brainin, professor of acting and directing at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is the former Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, as well as Associate Artistic Director of The Missouri Rep and Indiana Repertory Theatre, and former Resident Director at The Guthrie Theater.She directed A…My Name Is Still Alice for Mixed Blood in 1993, a show that ran for nine months. Mixed Blood’s 10th Annual Spanish-language Show Esperando La Carroza (Waiting for the Hearse) By Jacobo Langsner Directed by Jerry Ruiz April 18 – 26, 2008 At the new Steppingstone Theatre in St. Paul Esperando La Carroza (Waiting for the Hearse) by Uruguayan playwright Jacobo Langsneris a class system family satire that finds everything about the human condition laughable. A needy octogenarian with three adoring married sons becomes increasingly burdensome to her three daughters-in-law – one poor, one middle-class, and one affluent. The fast-paced crackling comic dialogue traps all of its conniving characters in one form of personal scandal or other to expose their greed, hypocrisy, mendacity, and mere sloth. Mixed Blood is pleased to introduce the work of Jacobo Langsner, a much beloved Latin American comic playwright, to Minnesota audiences. Esperando La Carroza will be directed by Jerry Ruiz and performed in two languages by a cast of bilingual actors (with English supertitles over the Spanish dialogue).
THE ETHNOMETROPASS AND SEASON TICKETS Season tickets are now available.Packages range in price from $50 to $126.In its continuing mission to build an audience for culturally specific entertainment, Mixed Blood will once again partner with other Twin Cities arts organizations to offer the Ethno Metro Pass, which will include The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts production of Blues in the Night (3/11/08 – 5/18/08) by Sheldon Epps; The Children’s Theatre Company’s production of Average Family (9/4/07 – 10/7/07) by Larissa FastHorse; Mu Performing Arts’ production of Clarence Coo’s Bahala Na (9/14/07 – 10/7/07), performed at Mixed Blood Theatre; and Interact Center for the Performing Arts and the Tutti Ensemble of Adelaide, Australia co-production of Between the Worlds (11/23/07 – 12/22/07). Additional information is available at (612) 338-6131 or www.mixedblood.com.
THE 2007-2008 TOURING REPERTOIRE Mixed Blood will continue to tour six shows throughout the Midwest: According to Coyote, Minnecanos, Black Eagle, Jackie Robinson, Dr. King’s Dream, and Daughters of Africa.Additional information about Mixed Blood Theatre’s touring program is available at www.mixedblood.com or by contacting Charlie Moore at (612) 338-0937.
