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TimeLine Theatre Company, dedicated to presenting plays inspired by history that connect to today's social and political issues, announces three of the four plays of its 2009-10 season, including the Chicago premiere of Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention. A fourth play and the season's schedule are still to be announced.
"We have put together a season filled with bold ideas and tremendous heart and hope and guts," said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. "Through a steadfast commitment to our mission, TimeLine aspires to be a place for people to come together, to feel a sense of community and to engage in a dialogue about our place in history. The work on our stage allows audiences to lose themselves in a story from the past in order to perhaps better understand where we are today and where we might go tomorrow. During our 2009-10 season, we look forward to exploring some defining moments of the 20th Century together - moments of art and beauty, of friendship and understanding, and of innovation and exploration."
THE 2009-10 TIMELINE THEATRE SEASON INCLUDES:
When She Danced
by Martin Sherman
directed by Nick Bowling
Travel to the Paris of 1923 for this gorgeous and incredibly funny portrait of legendary dancer Isadora Duncan. The so-called mother of modern dance is desperate to keep herself financially solvent and to realize her dream for retirement: a school in Italy to teach young dancers her art. Through a multi-lingual script of great heart and appeal, Sherman mixes the high comedy of a colorful cast of characters with a poignant view of the importance of the arts to move and inspire us. Through the eyes of those in Duncan's life we glimpse her greatness and how she touched so many lives when she danced.
Master Harold.... And The Boys
by Athol Fugard
directed by Jonathan Wilson
Recipient of a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Play in 1982, 'Master Harold' ... and the Boys is considered Athol Fugard's masterpiece, valued for both its universal themes of humanity and its skilled theater craft. Set in South Africa during the 1950s era of apartheid, it depicts how institutionalized racism can become absorbed by those who live under it. A white 17-year-old spends time with two African workers he has known all his life, and through their conversations on one rainy day we see what unites and divides them. The play's beautiful and haunting dialogue and message of hope also inspire the recognition that there is much work to be done to bring people of different races together.
The Farnsworth Invention
Chicago premiere
by Aaron Sorkin
directed by Nick Bowling
From the creator of A Few Good Men and The West Wing comes this fascinating new play direct from Broadway. It's the story of two ambitious visionaries - Philo T. Farnsworth, an Idaho farmboy, and David Sarnoff, head of RCA - battling each other for the rights to one of the greatest inventions of all time: the television. Through corporate espionage, family tragedy, financial disaster and the thrill of discovery, these two larger-than-life men compete for fame and credit and become part of a decision that would change America, and eventually the world.
A fourth play and the season's schedule are still to be announced.
Performances take place at TimeLine's home inside the Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago, near the corner of Wellington and Broadway in the Lakeview East neighborhood. Four-admission FlexPass Subscriptions are available for $85 - $112. For more information call 773-281-TIME (8463) or visit timelinetheatre.com.