WaterTower Theatre
Encyclopedia
Addison, Texas
Addison is a city in Dallas County, Texas . The population was 14,166 at the 2000 census, and 15,737 according to a 2009 estimate. Addison is a northern suburb of Dallas...
, in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
. WaterTower is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group is an organization dedicated to the promotion of non-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG has over 450 member theatres located in 47 states; 17,000 individual members; and a growing number of University, Funder, Business and Trustee Affiliates...
, the national organization for the American theatre (see member theatres) and is also a member of the Dallas Theatre League
Dallas Theatre League
The Dallas Theatre League was the primary sponsor of the annual Leon Rabin Awards, an event celebrating the diversity and excellence of live theatre in Dallas, Texas, USA...
.
History
In its 11-year history, WaterTower Theatre has presented over 76 productions of plays and musicals. It has produced 5 world premieres including the musicals Song of Motherhood and Blind Lemon: Prince of Country Blues, and the plays Free Fall (with Sandy DuncanSandy Duncan
Sandra Kay "Sandy" Duncan is an American singer, dancer and actress of stage and television, recognized through a blonde, pixie cut hairstyle and perky demeanor...
), Baptized to the Bone by Dave Johnson, and A Country Life, Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin’s southern adaptation of Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
’s Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
. The Theatre has also mounted over a dozen regional premiere productions.
Performance Venues
The Theatre’s venue, the Addison Theatre Centre, is a 32000 square feet (2,972.9 m²) state-of-the-art, custom-designed space, including the flexible Main Stage (seating approximately 200) and the Studio Theatre (seating approximately 70). WaterTower and the Addison Theatre Center were profiled in the “American Stages” series produced by National Public Radio’s All Things ConsideredAll Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, in a segment on “Theater Shape and Design.” Productions are also staged in the Stone Cottage (seating approximately 50) adjacent to the Theatre Centre.
Current Season
WaterTower Theatre’s 2007-2008 season includes:Main Stage
- The Great American Trailer Park MusicalThe Great American Trailer Park MusicalThe Great American Trailer Park Musical is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso. It was performed in the first annual New York Music Theater Festival in 2004...
(September - October 2007) - Rockin’ Christmas Party (November - December 2007)
- As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(January – February 2008) - The ForeignerThe Foreigner (play)The Foreigner is a play by Larry Shue.Set in a resort-style fishing lodge in rural Georgia, the comedy revolves around two of its guests, Englishman Charlie Baker and Staff Sergeant Froggy LeSueur. Charlie is so pathologically shy that he is unable to speak...
, by Larry ShueLarry ShueLarry Shue was an American playwright and actor, best known for writing two often-performed farces, The Nerd and The Foreigner.-Early life:...
(April 2008) - Intimate ApparelIntimate ApparelIntimate Apparel is a play written by Lynn Nottage. The play is a co-production and co-commission between Center Stage, Baltimore, Maryland, and South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California....
by Lynn NottageLynn NottageLynn Nottage is an American playwright whose work often deals with the lives of women of African descent, African Americans and women. She was born in Brooklyn and is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005, and a MacArthur Genius...
(May – June 2008 - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
, music & lyrics by Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, book by Burt SheveloveBurt SheveloveBurt Shevelove was an American musical theater playwright, lyricist, librettist, and director. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he graduated from Brown University and Yale . At Brown in 1935, he acted in the first ever Brownbrokers musical titled Something Bruin...
& Larry GelbartLarry GelbartLarry Simon Gelbart was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter and author.-Early life:...
(July – August 2008)
Studio Theatre/Discover Series
- The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter BeaneDouglas Carter BeaneDouglas Carter Beane is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Beane now lives in New York...
(October - November 2007) - Almost, MaineAlmost, MaineAlmost, Maine is a play by John Cariani, an American actor. The play is composed of nine short plays that explore love and loss in a remote, mythical place called Almost, Maine. It premiered at the Portland Stage Company in Portland, Maine where it broke box office records and garnered critical...
by John CarianiJohn CarianiJohn Cariani is an American actor best known for his role as CSU Tech Julian Beck on television's Law & Order, and for his performance as Motel the Tailor in the 2004 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof for which he received a Tony Award nomination. He is also a playwright best known for...
(February - March 2008) - Tuesdays with MorrieTuesdays With MorrieTuesdays with Morrie is a 1997 non-fiction novel by American writer Mitch Albom. The story was later adapted by Thomas Rickman into a TV movie of the same name directed by Mick Jackson, which aired on 5 December 1999 and starred Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria...
by Mitch AlbomMitch AlbomMitchell David "Mitch" Albom is an American best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide...
and Jeffrey HatcherJeffrey HatcherJeffrey Hatcher is a playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the stage play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which he later adapted into a screenplay, shortened to just Stage Beauty...
(January – February 2008)
Out of the Loop Festival
The Theatre’s annual Out of the Loop Festival, a 10-day celebration of theatre, dance, music and art, seeks to present new work by local and national writers. The Festival features productions by WaterTower Theatre as well as other arts organizations from the local area and the region, utilizing the Theatre's three performances spaces simultaneously. This year’s festival runs March 6 – 16, 2008.Awards and recognitions
Since 1999, WaterTower Theatre productions and artists have been honored 34 times and have received over 125 nominations at the annual Leon Rabin AwardsLeon Rabin Awards
Named after the Leon Rabin, an arts patron who devoted his life to the development of Dallas based arts and artists, the Leon Rabin Awards , the Awards served as an avenue to recognize the numerous artists who support these theatres, as well as a way to showcase the vast and diverse talent that...
presented by the Dallas Theatre League
Dallas Theatre League
The Dallas Theatre League was the primary sponsor of the annual Leon Rabin Awards, an event celebrating the diversity and excellence of live theatre in Dallas, Texas, USA...
. Productions awarded Best Play: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
(2002), The Old Settler (2003). Productions awarded Best Musical: Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
(2002), Urinetown
Urinetown
Urinetown: The Musical is a satirical comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics...
: The Musical (2006). WaterTower’s world premiere productions of Blind Lemon: Prince of Country Blues (2001) and A Country Life (2005) earned Leon Rabin Awards for Best New Work. Productions named in the annual Theater Top Ten by the Dallas Morning News include: Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
(2001), The Old Settler (2003), The Spitfire Grill
The Spitfire Grill
The Spitfire Grill is a 1996 American motion picture that tells a story of a woman who was just released from prison and goes to work in a small-town café known as The Spitfire Grill. A central theme is redemption....
, and A Country Life (2004), Lisa Loomer
Lisa Loomer
Lisa Loomer is a playwright and screenwriter of Spanish and Romanian ancestry who has also worked as an actress and stand-up comic...
's Living Out (2005), Urinetown
Urinetown
Urinetown: The Musical is a satirical comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics...
: The Musical (2006), and The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso. It was performed in the first annual New York Music Theater Festival in 2004...
(2007).
In June 2007, WaterTower was featured in D Magazine
D Magazine
This article is about the magazine about Dallas. For the Italian magazine, see La Repubblica.D Magazine is a monthly magazine covering Dallas-Fort Worth. It covers a range of topics including politics, business, food, fashion and lifestyle in the city of Dallas. The first issue was published in...
as "The Best Theater in Dallas." Among other prior honors, WaterTower was named Best Local Theatre by D Magazine
D Magazine
This article is about the magazine about Dallas. For the Italian magazine, see La Repubblica.D Magazine is a monthly magazine covering Dallas-Fort Worth. It covers a range of topics including politics, business, food, fashion and lifestyle in the city of Dallas. The first issue was published in...
in 2005 and the Dallas Observer
Dallas Observer
The Dallas Observer is a free alternative weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas . At its inception, it was conceived as a weekly local arts and cinema review publication, with the credo "Advocate for Excellence in the Arts" on the cover. For a time during the early years, the paper...
in 2002. The Out of the Loop Festival was named Best Inaugural Festival by D Magazine
D Magazine
This article is about the magazine about Dallas. For the Italian magazine, see La Repubblica.D Magazine is a monthly magazine covering Dallas-Fort Worth. It covers a range of topics including politics, business, food, fashion and lifestyle in the city of Dallas. The first issue was published in...
in 2002 and in 2004 was awarded a special citation from the Dallas/Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum for providing performance opportunities to new works and new production companies.