Last night, the Laboratory Theater of Florida announced the productions for its 2014-2015 season. The season opens October 3 with Deathtrap and closes in April of 2015 with The Diary of Anne Frank.
Deathtrap by Ira Levin opens October 3, 2014. The play revolves around a successful writer experiencing a dry spell who tries to steal a script idea from one of his students. He offers a collaboration which the young man quickly accepts. Suspense mounts as the plot evolves with cleverness, thrills and laughter with the pieces of the play rearranged and twisted again and again until the startling final moment. “If you care to assassinate yourself with laughter, try Deathtrap,” said Time Magazine of the play. “Two-thirds thriller and one-third devilishly clever comedy,” adds Cue Magazine. Deathtrap was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, and was the longest running comedy/thriller on Broadway.
My Brilliant Divorce by Geraldine Aron opens November 7 and is sponsored by The Association of Family Law Professionals. In this delightful comedy, Angela shares her humor, loneliness, and insight into the absurdities of life after divorce. This charming piece resonates with humor, sarcasm, poignancy and kindness. “My Brilliant Divorce is a fast-moving play with many subtle layers and nuances of emotion, sarcasm, and humor,” states Hampton.com. “The truly wonderful dialogue is heartwarming, funny, and filled with relatable touches that bring each point home whether you’ve been through a divorce or not.” “Devastatingly honest…hugely empathetic and amusing…packed with detail…treat yourself” adds London’s Sunday Express. The play was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award.
Scrooge TV: A Modern Christmas Carol by Laura Lorusso opens December 12. Fun for the whole family, this modern version of the beloved classic by Charles Dickens was created for the LaboratoryTheater by the 2013 winner of the 24-hour Playwriting Project. Watch as the story you and your family already know is delightfully woven into the setting of a popular TV show.
Agnes of God by John Pielmeier opens January 9, 2015. Set in the late 1970s, this is the story of three women who are drawn together by the death of a child. When a disillusioned ex-Catholic psychiatrist is summoned to a convent and meets Sister Agnes, a young novitiate accused of murder, she is deeply moved by the young nun’s spiritual purity. Determined to circumvent the overprotective Mother Superior, Dr. Livingstone struggles to unearth the truth about the conception, birth and death of Agnes’ child. “Riveting, powerful electrifying drama…the dialogue crackles,” the New York Daily News wrote about the play. “Outstanding play…deals intelligently with questions of religion and psychology,” said The New York Times.Agnes of God was nominated for two Tony Awards and a Drama Desk Award.
Cabaret by Christopher Isherwood, John Kander and Fred Ebb opens February 6, 2015 and is sponsored by Dave and Brenda Kensler. The play takes place in 1931 Berlin, Germany as the Nazi Party is rising to power. In a seedy nightclub, the emcee oversees a cross-section of tawdry performers and audience in the doomed city. Sally Bowles, the headliner, has a relationship with a young American writer and is caught, as they all are, in the German Jewish trauma of pre-World War II. This award-winning musical recently starred Alan Cumming in its gritty Studio 54 revival. “The action shakes with naughty excitement,” notes the Star Tribune. Cabaret won 8 Tony Awards in 1967, along with the 1967 New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The 1998 Broadway revival won four more Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards.
Same Time Next Year by Bernard Slade opens March 13, 2015. This charming romantic comedy tells the story of two people, married to others, who meet for a romantic tryst once a year for 25 years. They develop an emotional intimacy, share their lives and react to the social changes in America. “Delicious wit, compassion, a sense of humor and a feel for nostalgia,” touts The New York Times. “Genuinely funny and genuinely romantic,” opines the New York Post. Same Time Next Year won the 1975 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play
The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett opens April 10, 2015 and will be sponsored by Ella Nayor and Jeffrey Cull. This play takes place in occupied Amsterdam and centers around a family and acquaintances hidden in the sealed-off upper rooms of an office building. Anne Frank began her diary when she turned 13 and 22 days before she went into hiding. This is her story of captivity and fear, but also the burgeoning of a hopeful and beautiful spirit. The Diary of Anne Frank is a play which reminds us of the horrors of war and is a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty. “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart…” said Anne Frank. “A moving document on the stage,” adds the New York Post. “There is so much beauty, warm humor, gentle pity…this is a fine drama,” states the New York Daily News. The Diary of Anne Frank won the 1956 Tony Award for Best Play, 1956 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the 1956 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play.
Season Tickets go on sale soon. For more information, please visithttp://www.laboratorytheaterflorida.com or telephone 239-218-0481.
