THE TEMPEST
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jonathan Moscone
May 30–June 24
"O brave new world, that has such people in't!" As Shakespeare's works go, few are more magical than The Tempest, a fantastical and deeply human play about an exiled sorcerer, his budding daughter, a civilization abandoned, and a world reborn. Our very own Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone (Candida, Man and Superman, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby) will take the helm of 2012's season opener.
SPUNK
Three Tales by Zora Neale Hurston
Adapted by George C. Wolfe
Music by Chic Street Man
Directed by Patricia McGregor
July 4–29
Our 2012 season continues with a wild, bluesy wail—three stories by the great Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston, adapted into a staggeringly theatrical play by George C. Wolfe, who won an Obie for its 1989 off-Broadway premiere production. A trio of vignettes of African-American life in the first half of the 20th century, Spunk is a raucous, charming, blues-infused look at love, revenge, jealousy, and the fine art of the hustle.
BLITHE SPIRIT
By Noël Coward
Directed by Mark Rucker
August 8–September 2
The funniest haunting that ever there was! A novelist hosts a séance as research for his next book, unwittingly summoning the spirit of his first wife—making his current spouse none-too-pleased. Following in the fancy footsteps of his 2009 production of Private Lives, A.C.T. Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker brings Coward's romantic shenanigans and barbed-wire bon mots to the Cal Shakes stage for a second, splendid time.
HAMLET
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Liesl Tommy
September 19–October 14
Hamlet returns to tread the Bruns' boards for the first time in more than a decade, bringing with it the ultimate in treachery, madness, and murder. Liesl Tommy (director of 2010’s critically acclaimed Ruined at Berkeley Rep) illuminates Shakespeare’s great tragedy to find the new, visceral revelations stashed in every corner, making it as timely to the 21st century as it is unquestionably timeless.
Titles, dates, and artists subject to change.