March 08--Court Theatre has announced its 2016-17 season, the company's 62nd, including plays by Michael Cristofer, Sophocles, Pearl Cleage, Tom Stoppard and Mary Chase.
Opening the season is "Man in the Ring" (Sept. 15 -- Oct. 16), a world premiere from Cristofer. To be directed by artistic director Charles Newell, the new play charts the rise of champion boxer Emile Griffith.
Following is Nicholas Rudall's translation of Sophocles' "Electra" (Nov. 10 -- Dec. 11). Seret Scott will direct the final chapter of Court's Greek cycle, featuring Kate Fry as Electra with Sandra Marquez as Clytemnestra and Michael Pogue as Aegisthus.
Cleage's "Blues For an Alabama Sky" (Jan. 12 -- Feb. 12) is next, with direction by Ron OJ Parson. Set in 1920s Harlem, two struggling artists clash with a politically-minded social worker.
Newell will also helm the spring production of Stoppard's "The Hard Problem" (March 9 -- April 9). The Chicago premiere will star Chaon Cross as a young pyschologist caught between the conscious and the unknown.
Closing out the season is a stage adaptation of "Harvey" (May 11 -- June 11), the Pultizer Prize-winning comedy about a man who happens to be best friends with a life-size, invisible rabbit. Devon de Mayo will direct Tim Kane in the role of Elwood P. Dowd.
