While doing so, Mill Valley’s acclaimed theatrical company has unveiled the roster of plays for its 50th anniversary season in 2016–2017, a run that will include plays by Tracy Letts, Lauren Gunderson, and Jiehae Park.
“We have put together a season that sets the bar for this company’s next 50 years where we will nurture and create the best new American work and honor the journey our company and community have taken to arrive at this momentous anniversary,” MTC Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis says. “It’s a season of celebration as we honor the legacy of our past and stride boldly into the future.”
The 2016-17 season kicks off with Tracy Letts’s August: Osage County (Sept. 8–Oct. 2), about a family getting together after its patriarch goes missing, followed by Miss Bennet: Christmas at the Pemberley (Nov. 25–Dec. 18), which follows Mary Bennet, a bookworm who meets a man who is also a bookworm and in possession of a large fortune.
The season continues Jan. 19–Feb. 12, 2017 with Native Son, Nambi E. Kelley’s take on Richard Wright’s novel that follows Bigger Thomas, whose life takes a violent turn after he gets into an accident at his job. Jihae Park’s Peerless (March 9–April 2, 2017) chronicles the Macbeth-inspired path of twins “M” and “L” when one sister’s slot at a prestigious university is given to a different student. On April 27, 2017, the season continues with Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj, a look at childhood friends who embark on a traumatic task as imperial guards of the Taj Mahal. The final play of the season is to be announced at a later date.
Anne Boleyn was originally commissioned by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and World Premiered in 2010. In this brilliant twist on the story of King Henry VIII (played by Craig Marker) and his ambitious second wife, Anne Boleyn herself (played by Liz Sklar) shares the story of her rise into the household of the King of England during the reformation of the Catholic Church, and her epic, infamous and tragic demise. The story is spliced with that of King James I (also played by Craig Marker), some 70 years later. James has found copies of two banned books that belonged to Anne, and goes on a ghost hunt to learn about her motivations…leading to his own attempts to settle the “religious question” in England and leading to the creation of the King James Bible.
Now in his 10th season as MTC’s artistic director, Minadakis is set to direct Anne Boleyn.
The 411: More info on MTC’s production of Anne Boleyn and further details on the 50th Anniversary season.