2011-2012 Mid-Season Brochure

STILL TO COME...

THROUGH February 12, 2012

Red Hot Patriot:

The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins Written by

Margaret Engel & Allison Engel Directed by

David Esbjornson Featuring

Kathleen Turner & Matthew Van Oss

Get the inside scoop West Coast Premiere Two-time Tony and Oscar nominee Kathleen Turner sizzles as Molly Ivins, the brassy Texan reporter whose liberal journalism skyrocketed her to the national stage. From writing Elvis Presley’s New York Times obituary to becoming the most widely-read self-proclaimed “pain in the ass to whatever powers come to be,” Ivins, often described as a modern-day Mark Twain, made rabid fans and enemies alike with her sharp-tongued humor and unabashed political criticism. This acclaimed one-woman show captures the redheaded reporter’s indomitable character by weaving personal anecdotes with her colorful take on national politics.

APRIL 17 — MAY 27, 2012

The Geffen Playhouse and Hershey Felder present Mona Golabek in

The Pianist of Willesden Lane adapted and directed by

Hershey Felder based on The children of willesden lane by

Mona Golabek & Lee Cohen

Get inside the music geffen playhouse audience favorite hershey felder presents a world premiere in the intimate audrey skirball kenis theater Vienna, 1938. A young Jewish pianist, Lisa Jura, is working toward her concert debut playing the Grieg piano concerto at the storied Musikverein, Vienna’s greatest concert hall. But with the issuing of new ordinances under Nazi regime, everything for Lisa changes, except for her love of music and the pursuit of her dream. Featuring some of the world’s most beloved piano music performed live, The Pianist of Willesden Lane is performer Mona Golabek’s true family story. It is a story of hope and survival and how through our darkest times, music has the power to help us survive.

Select orchestra seats to any three for $60 a ticket!

Plays, dates and artists subject to change

April 3 — may 13, 2012

Good People

July 3 — August 12, 2012

The Exorcist

Written by

Written by

Directed by

Adapted from the novel by

Featuring

Directed by

David Lindsay-Abaire Matt Shakman Jane Kaczmarek

Additional performers to be announced

Get inside the heartbreak

John Pielmeier William Peter Blatty John Doyle

Get inside your head

West Coast Premiere

World Premiere

2010 Tony Award Nominee

Tony Award winning director

Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright Margaret Walsh can’t catch a break. Laid off from her job at the dollar store, South Boston is providing her the same level of opportunity it always has: none. Wry, rough around the edges and ready to make a change, she goes to seek out the one who got away – both from “Southie” and from her. Instead, she finds herself in the burbs and out of her element, facing the question – is opportunity granted or earned? Nominated for a 2010 Tony Award for Best Play, Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People takes an affectionate look at the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ through the eyes of characters who won’t be ignored.

Buy tickets, see artist interviews and more!

This world premiere adaptation of the famous 1971 novel documenting the terror and redemption of a ten-year-old girl remains as frightening and relevant as when first experienced. Under the direction of Tony Award winner John Doyle and adapted by acclaimed playwright John Pielmeier (Agnes of God), The Exorcist transforms the unsettling battles of good versus evil, faith versus fact and ego versus ethos into a uniquely theatrical experience as sophisticated as it is suspenseful.

GET INSIDE THE PLAYS

geffenplayhouse.com/getinside | 310.208.2028

(12:00 pm – 6:00 pm daily)

The World Premiere Theatrical Event The Exorcist Written by

John Pielmeier Adapted from the novel by

William Peter Blatty Directed by

John Doyle

Summer 2012 “I was drawn to this harrowing and moving script by John Pielmeier, the writer of the two-time Tony Award nominated play Agnes of God. John has brilliantly captured the psychological center of The Exorcist and the gravitas of novelist William Peter Blatty’s prose. His deft use of the audience’s own imagination is what drives this production; the horror does not come as a slap in your face special effect but it creeps in subtly and insidiously.”

— Tony Award Winning Director John Doyle

“Like the brief doomed flare of exploding suns that registers dimly on blind men’s eyes, the beginning of the horror passed almost unnoticed; in the shriek of what followed, in fact, was forgotten and perhaps not connected to the horror at all.”

— William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist

Exorcise your curiosity...

Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randall Arney discusses the first workshop of the play.

geffenplayhouse.com/theexorcist