KNOXVILLE –The Clarence Brown Theatre’s 2014-2015 Season promises fun, fantasy and thought-providing drama. From the musical tribute “Hank Williams: Lost Highway” to Shakespeare’s most enchanting comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the CBT’s 40th Anniversary Season offers something for everyone. Season subscriptions are on sale now starting at just $135. For tickets please call the Box Office at 865-974-5161 or click clarencebrowntheatre.com.
"Our 40th Anniversary Season looks to be a powerhouse, created exclusively for our community and representing the duality of our mission well. Filled with variety and rich, wonderful works of theatre, I am very excited for each offering. Brecht, Shakespeare, Fugard, “The Miracle Worker”, a nearly-new play by Amy Herzog, and Barbara Lebow's lovely “A Shayna Maidel”. There is even a new version of “A Christmas Carol.” And, of course, there's Hank Williams,” said Calvin MacLean, CBT Producing Artistic Director and UT Theater Department Head.
The 2014-2015 40th Anniversary Season includes:
“Hank Williams: Lost Highway”
by Randal Myler and Mark Harelick
September 4-21, 2014
Directed by Karen Kessler
Carousel Theatre
“The best example of a musician’s bio put on stage that I’ve seen!” The New York Post
Follow the music legend’s rise from his humble beginnings at the Lousiana Hayride to his triumph at the Grand Ole Opry to his untimely death at the age of 29. With more than 20 of his famous hits including “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Move It On Over” and “Hey, Good Lookin’”, you will be humming all the way home.
The corporate sponsor is UT Medical Center. Media sponsors are Knoxville News Sentinel, WUTK, WUOT and B97.5.
“The Miracle Worker”
by William Gibson
October 2-19, 2014
Directed by Kate Buckley
Clarence Brown Theater
“One of the most well-crafted, suspenseful, and poignant plays ever written.” Houston Chronicle
Adapted from the true story of her life, this inspirational drama chronicles Helen Keller’s miraculous journey from her trapped and silent world to one of knowledge and freedom with the help of her beloved and gifted tutor Anne Sullivan.
Corporate sponsors are Schaad Companies, Pilot Flying J, UT Federal Credit Union and Rotary Club of Knoxville. Media sponsors are WBIR, Comcast, Knoxville News Sentinel, WUOT, WUTK, and B 97.5.
“4000 Miles”
by Amy Herzog
Starring Carol Mayo Jenkins
October 30 – November 16, 2014
Directed by Lise Bruneau
Carousel Theatre
“A funny, moving, altogether wonderful drama…” The New York Times
After losing his best friend during a cross-country bike tour, Leo lands on his grandmother’s West Village doorstep. Named “Best Play of the Season” by Time Magazine, this Pulitzer Prize nominated drama explores the funny, frustrating and ultimately life-changing relationship between a grandson learning to face his life and a grandmother who is starting to forget hers.
Corporate sponsors are Pilot Flying J and the Clayton Foundation. Media sponsors are Knoxville News Sentinel, WUTK and WUOT.
“A Christmas Carol”
by Charles Dickens
November 26 -December 14, 2014
Directed by Micah-Shane Brewer
Clarence Brown Theatre
“Don’t miss this one…it’d be like celebrating the season without a Christmas tree or carols or gifts.” Knoxville News Sentinel
Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts return in our long-running and most popular production. Join us for music, dancing and Dickens’ timeless tale of love and redemption.
Corporate sponsors are Schaad Companies, Pilot Flying J, and the UT Medical Center. Media sponsors are WBIR, Comcast, B96.5, Knoxville News Sentinel, WUOT and WUTK.
“MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys
by Athol Fugard
February 5-22, 2015
Directed by Kristine Thatcher
Carousel Theatre
“One of those plays that has lasting relevance and can survive any test of time…” The New York Post
A white South African teenager has grown up in the affectionate company of two black waiters employed in his mother’s Port Elizabeth tea room. When he learns his racist, alcoholic father is coming home from the hospital, an ensuring rage unwittingly triggers his inevitable passage into the culture of hatred fostered by apartheid.
This production contains strong language and content and is recommended for high school and up.
Media sponsors are Knoxville News Sentinel, WUOT and WUTK.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
by William Shakespeare
February 19 – March 8, 2015
Directed by John Sipes
“Shakespeare’s most enchanting comedy.” The New York Times
Hermia loves Lysander and Helena loves Demetrius – but Demetrius is supposed to be marrying Hermia. When the Duke of Athens tries to enforce the marriage, the lovers take refuge in the woods and wander into a dispute between the king and queen of the fairies. In Shakespeare’s family-friendly comedy, anything is possible when young lovers – human and fairy royalty – and an amateur theater troupe reel through romance and spell craft in a moonlit Athenian forest.
Corporate sponsors are Schaad Companies, Pilot Flying J, the UT Medical Center and Stowers Machinery. Media sponsors are WBIR, Comcast, Knoxville News Sentinel, B97.5, WUOT and WUTK.
“A Shayna Maidel”
by Barbara Lebow
March 26- April 12, 2015
Directed by Terry Silver-Alford
Lab Theatre
“…a tribute to the sustaining power of family and to man’s indomitability.” The New York Times
A powerful and deeply affecting portrait of a family in the aftermath of the Holocaust: two sisters, one a survivor of Nazi concentration camps, the other brought up as an American, meet in 1946 after a separation of almost 20 years.
Media sponsors are WUTK and WUOT.
“The Threepenny Opera”
Book and Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
Music by Kurt Weill
April 16 – May 3, 2015
Directed by Calvin MacLean
Clarence Brown Theatre
“The greatest musical of all time.” Newsweek
With a haunting jazz score and biting lyrics, the “haves” clash with the “have-nots” in Brecht’s sharp critique of Capitalism.
This brilliant masterpiece of epic theatre originated the popular songs “The Ballad of Mack the Knife,” “Solomon Song,” and “Pirate Jenny.”
The corporate sponsor is Schaad Companies. Media sponsors are WBIR, Comcast, B97.5, Knoxville News Sentinel, WUOT and WUTK.
To enhance the audience experience, the CBT will continue, and in some cases expand, several popular programs in 2014-2015. “Deaf Night at the Theatre” has been expanded to include three productions: Tuesday, Oct. 14 for “The Miracle Worker,” Tuesday, December 9 for “A Christmas Carol” and Tuesday, March 3 for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Produced through a partnership with UT’s Center on Deafness, these special events are designed to be fully accessible for members of the Deaf community with more than a dozen interpreters stationed throughout the theater and two teams interpreting the productions. Open captioned productions also will continue in the new season, taking place on the first Sunday matinee of each show. Talk backs, which are informative discussions with the director and cast, will continue to take place following the second Sunday matinee of each show.
Three different season packages are available. The 8-show package includes all shows in the season. The 6-show package includes all shows except “A Christmas Carol” and “A Shayna Maidel.” With the Create Your Own Package, patrons can pick any 4 shows in the season. A proud member of the Blue Star family, the CBT offers discount tickets to military personnel. Discounts also are available to senior citizens and UT faculty/staff and students. For more information or tickets, call the CBT Box Office at 865-974-5161 or visit us online 24/7 at clarencebrowntheatre.com.
With a dual mission to train the next generation of theatre artists and to provide top quality professional theatre, the Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee Knoxville is one of only 12 academic LORT (League of Resident Theatre) institutions in the nation. Under the artistic direction of Calvin MacLean, the CBT season runs from August through May and features eight productions ranging from musicals to drama. Stay connected with the Clarence Brown Theatre on Facebook (Clarence Brown Theatre), follow us on Twitter (@ClarenceBrown) and view Clarence Brown videos on YouTube (Clarence Bro).
Robin Conklin
Marketing and Communications Director
Clarence Brown Theatre
Rconkli1@utk.edu
865-974-2497
