Works by DiPietro, Bryan, Rebeck, Logan & More Play Alley Theater in 2011-2012

Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announced that the Alley Theatre's 65th Season beginning in September 2011 will include two world premieres, Elizabeth Egloff's epic play Ether Dome and Theresa Rebeck's black comedy What We're Up Against, (the latter in a rolling world premiere that includes theatres in San Francisco and Chicago), and the Outer Critics Circle Award-winning rock musical The Toxic Avenger by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, winners of last year's Best Musical Tony Award for Memphis. Also in the Season is last year's Best Play Tony Award Winner, Red by John Logan, about the abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko, and Conor McPherson's haunting comedy drama The Seafarer; a new production of Michael Frayn's brilliant farce Noises Off; the return to the Alley of the late Texas playwright Horton Foote, with his Dividing The Estate, and the Alley resident company in Anton Chekhov's masterpiece The Seagull.

"Our new season focuses both on contemporary playwrights - and the return of a master - and a bushel of brilliant opportunities for actors" says Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd. "Each of the plays, new and 'classic' provide a wealth of outstanding opportunities for the resident artists, and for a wonderful group of returning actors, as well as some extraordinary performers making their Alley debuts. The season embraces the full breadth of bold, inventive theatrical storytelling coupled with unforgettable characters."

The Alley's subscription season includes five Hubbard Stage productions and three Neuhaus Stage plays, all produced in the Alley's two-theatre complex at 615 Texas Avenue in downtown Houston. The Theatre proudly welcomes returning Season Sponsor United Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.

Please note: play titles and dates are subject to change.

Alley Theatre'S 2011 - 2012 SEASON:

World Premiere
Ether Dome
By Elizabeth Egloff
Directed by Michael Wilson

September 9 - October 9, 2011
Recommended for mature audiences.

Ether Dome is about love, medicine, and the relationship between two of the greatest medical innovators in Western history, Horace Wells and his student, William Morton, who in 1847 discovered Ether as anesthesia, thereby opening the door to the enormous medical achievements of the 20th and 21st centuries, and challenging our understanding of God, pain, and what it means to be truly human.

Elizabeth Egloff's plays The Swan, The Devils, Phaedra, and Wolf-Man have been given productions at major theatres across the United States and abroad and garnered her a wide array of prestigious awards and grants including The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation Writer's Award, The Weissberger Prize and The Kesselring Prize. Among her numerous screen credits is the award-winning series The Reagans, Emmy nominated for Best Screenplay.

Michael Wilson returns to the Alley to direct Ether Dome. His Alley productions have included A Christmas Carol, Angels in America, A Streetcar Named Desire, and many more. He has been for 13 seasons the Artistic Director of Hartford Stage in Connecticut, and his New York productions include Dividing the Estate, The Orphans' Home Cycle, The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, Enchanted April and Necessary Targets.

Dividing the Estate
By Horton Foote
Directed by Michael Wilson

October 7 - October 30, 2011
Recommended for mature audiences.

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