Noir opens in January, but fast-forward to the summer and another production of the ExxonMobil Summer Chills™ series is back with a version of Clue.
Not unexpectedly, A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas returns during the winter holidays. The only surprise here being that the Alley didn't move to a different version of the classic after so many years of the Michael Wilson adaptation. But then again, who can argue with success?
A graduate of the Alley All New Reading Series, Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, will be on stage in April in a re-imagined meeting in a pub of Kit Marlowe and William Shakespeare.
And Sherlock Holmes will be back on stage at the Alley in Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. If you enjoyed Ludwig's version of The Three Musketeers and Murder on the Orient Express, then this should be right up your alley (so to speak). Five actors will portray more than 40 characters so be prepared for some quick changes.
Here's the details on these productions as described by the Alley Theatre:
2020-21 PARTIAL SEASON
HUBBARD
EXXONMOBIL SUMMER CHILLS™
A New Comedy
CLUE
Based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn
Written by Sandy Rustin
Additional Material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price
Based on the Paramount Pictures Motion Picture
Based on the Hasbro board game CLUE
Directed by Brandon Weinbrenner
July 24 – September 6, 2020 in the Hubbard Theatre
It’s a dark and stormy night, and you’ve been invited to a dinner party. Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Based on the cult movie and the classic board game, Clue is the ultimate whodunit that will leave you dying of laughter and keep you guessing until the final twist.
World Premiere Musical
NOIR
A new musical
Music by Duncan Sheik
Book by Kyle Jarrow
Lyrics by Kyle Jarrow and Duncan Sheik
Directed by Darko Tresjnak
By Special Arrangement with Robert Cole, Mary Beth O’Connor, and Carl Moellenberg
January 21 – February 21, 2021 in the Hubbard Theatre
A heartbroken man never leaves his apartment, finding his only solace in the music on the radio. Then a couple moves in next door. Eavesdropping becomes his new entertainment - and his new obsession. Soon he finds himself drawn into a web of love, lies, deceit, and danger. Inspired by early radio plays and classic film noir, this new musical is written by Broadway artists Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Kyle Jarrow (The SpongeBob Musical) and directed by Darko Tresnjak (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder).
A Comedy-Mystery
KEN LUDWIG’S BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY
By Ken Ludwig
Directed by Eleanor Holdridge
March 12 – April 4, 2021 in the Hubbard Theatre
Get your deerstalker cap on — the play’s afoot! Comedic genius Ken Ludwig (The Three Musketeers, Murder on the Orient Express) transforms Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic The Hound of the Baskervilles into a murderously funny adventure. The male heirs of the Baskerville line are being dispatched one by one, but Sherlock Holmes is on the case! To find the killer, Holmes and Watson must brave the desolate moors before a family curse dooms its newest heir. Our intrepid investigators try to escape a dizzying web of deceit, silly accents, and disguises, as five actors portray more than forty characters. Join the fun and see how far from elementary the truth can be.
NEUHAUS
World Premiere Play
BORN WITH TEETH
By Liz Duffy Adams
Directed by Rob Melrose
April 2 – May 2, 2021 in the Neuhaus Theatre
An aging authoritarian ruler, a violent police state, a restless polarized people seething with paranoia: it’s a dangerous time for poets. Two of them—the great Kit Marlowe and the up-and-comer Will Shakespeare—meet in the back room of a pub to collaborate on a history play cycle, navigate the perils of art under a totalitarian regime, and flirt like young men with everything to lose. One of them may well be the death of the other. Developed in the Alley All New Reading Series.
HOLIDAY
A CHRISTMAS CAROL – A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS
By Charles Dickens
Adapted and Originally Directed by Michael Wilson
Directed by James Black
November 19 - December 30, 2020 in the Hubbard Theatre
Current Alley subscribers may renew subscriptions now online (alleytheatre.org) or by phone (713-220-5700). Five and 8-play subscription packages, which include Noir, Born with Teeth, and Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, will be available May 18, 2020 and can be ordered online (alleytheatre.org) or by phone (713-220-5700). Package prices range from $125 - $649. The full season will be announced in late March. Subscribers may purchase priority tickets for Clue and A Christmas Carol before they go on sale to the general public. Groups of 10 or more may reserve discounted tickets now by calling 713-315-.3346.
