Baltimore’s Center Stage announce details of its 2016-17 season, which will include the one-man Donny Hathaway musical Twisted Melodies, as well as the world premiere of Toni Morrison’s Jazz, based on the novel.
The season will be the first in Center Stage’s renovated space that features the redesigned 400-seat Head Theater, new lobby and entrance plaza and a new 99-seat theatre configuration. Kwame Kwei-Armah is the artistic director of the acclaimed theatre company.
The season at a glance follows:
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Adapted by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Hana S. Sharif
November 26–December 23
“Two French aristocrats, Marquise de Merteuil and her ex-lover, the Vicomte de Valmont, challenge each other to seduce unsuspecting innocents in this story of revenge, debauchery, and hidden motives. Set just before the French Revolution, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) is a glimpse into the lives of beautiful people poised to denigrate and control everyone around them, including each other. But when one of them actually falls in love, the real betrayals unfold. Based on the French classic by Choderlos de Laclos.”
The White Snake
Adapted by Mary Zimmerman
Directed by Natsu Onoda Power
February 24–March 26
"Mystery and magic intertwine in this fantastical fairy tale brought to life in grand spectacle in the newly renovated Head Theater. Originating from the ancient Chinese fable, The White Snake tells the story of animal spirits White Snake and Green Snake, who take human form as a beautiful woman and her sly servant. White Snake soon falls passionately in love with a poor fisherman, but their relationship is reviled by a conservative monk and tragedy lurks behind their newfound happiness."
Twisted Melodies
By Kelvin Roston
Directed by Derrick Sanders
March 17–April 16
“This powerful one-man show is based on the real life of ’70s soul singer and composer Donny Hathaway, the creator of ‘The Closer I Get to You’ and ‘Where is the Love?’ and perhaps best known for his duets with Roberta Flack. Twisted Melodies is an immersive and crushing play about the brilliant musician’s compelling inner struggle. Torn between the muses that inspire him and the mental illness that torments him, Hathaway evaluates the choices in his life in a gripping performance by Kelvin Roston.”
Toni Morrison’s Jazz
Adapted by Nambi E. Kelley
Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah
May 19–June 25
“In Morrison’s exhilarating novel, Joe and Violet move from the Virginia countryside to Harlem at the turn of the century, young and in love. Twenty years later, Joe’s interactions with a young woman set off a series of violent events and unforgivable acts. Peeling back layers and alternating perspectives expose ultimately sympathetic characters, who—like the growing New York neighborhood and the winding woods of their youth—reveal their own rhythms.”
That Face
By Polly Stenham
April 2017
“Mia is in trouble at school. Her brother Henry is in trouble at home. Their mother is drunk and in Henry’s bed. And their estranged father is about to come home. That Face is a darkly funny British play about a seriously dysfunctional family hurtling toward collapse.”
Visit centerstage.org.
