Theatre News Wire

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, announces the final two selections of the 2013-14 season: the Midwest Premiere of Detroit '67, directed by Ron OJ Parson and Jon Jory's acclaimed adaptation of Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, directed by William Brown. The previously announced plays are the 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog, directed by Kimberly Senior; the World Premiere of Christian O'Reilly's Chapatti, directed by BJ Jones and featuring John Mahoney; and Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Lost in Yonkers.

BJ Jones comments, "A Pulitzer prize winner, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a new play throbbing with Motown music, a world premiere, and a revitalized classic fill out our 2013-2014 season. Kimberly Senior, the celebrated director of The Whipping Man returns to helm Pulitzer finalist 4000 Miles, and Ron OJ Parson joins us to make his Northlight debut as director of Detroit '67, a hit at New York's The Public Theatre this season. Bill Brown, who directed the luminous Lady Windermere's Fan, will head up the raucous Tom Jones. It's a season of the freshest theatrical work as well as towering classics; diverse, challenging and joyous theatre you won't want to miss."

The 2013-14 season includes:

4000 Miles
by Amy Herzog
directed by Kimberly Senior
September 14 - October 20, 2013

At the end of an arduous cross-country bike trip, a rudderless 21 year-old seeks refuge in his elderly grandmother's West Village apartment. These two outsiders face ideological differences, but ultimately find their way together in "a beautifully rendered portrait" (The New York Times) of a cross-generational relationship.

4000 Miles was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist; Time Magazine's #1 Play of 2012; the winner of the Obie Award, Best New Play (2012); and received The New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award (2012).

Detroit '67
by Dominique Morisseau
directed by Ron OJ Parson
November 8 - December 15, 2013

It's 1967 and the world is changing around Chelle and Lank, who run an after-hours club in the basement of their late parents' house. Tensions mount when the siblings discover that their dreams have diverged, their tight-knit community is threatened by the arrival of an outsider, and the city around them erupts in violence. The music of Motown fuels this riveting new play set in America's Motor City.

The Northlight production marks the Midwest premiere of Detroit '67, which recently completed an acclaimed run in New York with the Public Theatre in conjunction with the Classical Theatre of Harlem and the National Black Theatre. Ron OJ Parson will make his Northlight directing debut with this powerful and Motown-infused production.

Tom Jones
adapted by Jon Jory from the novel by Henry Fielding
directed by William Brown
January 17 - February 23, 2014

Tom Jones is an amiable young rascal with a fondness for the fairer sex...and for getting into trouble. Caught succumbing to the charms of local girl Molly and the refined Sophia, poor Tom is banished by his benefactor and sets off on a whirlwind of misadventures in this new adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel, a charming tale full of timeless wit and good old-fashioned, bawdy fun.

Northlight favorite William Brown returns to direct Jon Jory's new adaptation of the beloved novel. Northlight audiences will remember Jon Jory's previous adaptation of Sense & Sensibility. The Northlight production will be the second-ever for this adaptation, which will celebrate its World Premiere in fall 2013.

Chapatti
by Christian O'Reilly
directed by Artistic Director BJ Jones
featuring John Mahoney
March 7 - April 13, 2014

Romance is a distant memory for two lonely animal-lovers living in Dublin. When forlorn Dan and his dog Chapatti cross paths with amiable Betty and her nineteen cats, an unexpected spark begins a warm and gentle story about two people re-discovering the importance of human companionship.

John Mahoney returns to Northlight for this World Premiere play by the acclaimed Irish playwright Christian O'Reilly, a connection that was made through Northlight's ongoing relationship with The Galway Arts Festival.

Lost in Yonkers
by Neil Simon
Director TBD
May 2 - June 8, 2014

This nostalgic memory play takes us back to the summer of 1942 - WWII is on, and Eddie, flat broke, has no alternative but to leave his sons with their grandmother while he struggles to pay off his debts. The boys are left to contend with an ill-tempered Grandma, the sweet but damaged Aunt Bella, and Uncle Louie, a small-time hoodlum in a strange new world called Yonkers.

Lost in Yonkers won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.