Prologue from the Artistic Director

Fifty years.

Four hundred and eight shows.

Three theatres built. A school. Rehearsal halls, shops, and office space.

Hundreds of employees.

Thousands of audience members.

Innumerable artists of every stripe...with wildly different aesthetic strategies but all trying to reveal the present, past, and future. Trying to blow their own minds. To expand the imagination of the community. To create fervent and fabulous conversation. About who we are and how we live. And how we might — even against all odds and armed only with our creativity — how we just might move forward.

And so, with 50 years of history behind us, we welcome you to Berkeley Rep’s golden anniversary season. Featuring plays by a slew of brilliant young writers (Jackie Sibblies Drury, Marcus Gardley, Lucas Hnath), directors turned playwrights (Mary Zimmerman and Lisa Peterson), and a play without any words at all (by the clown/ auteur Geoff Sobelle). Plus John Leguizamo. Who loves nothing more than to break comic boundaries (even ones that don’t exist). With this group of artists leading the way, this season is bound to be a year-long celebration of theatrical possibility.

And what better way to kick off the party than by bringing back the intrepid Les Waters, he of the big beard and big talent, who loves directing more than he loves to eat? A Doll’s House, Part 2 is right up his alley, a contemporary fantasy about what happened to Ibsen’s Nora after she famously slammed that door and walked out on her family in 1879. Now she’s come back, 15 years later, seeking to finalize her divorce but running head on into the ramifications of what she abandoned...her family, the law, and her freedom. The genius of the play is that the conversation between Nora and her former household manages to bridge the 140 years since she first appeared on stage. We are both back in time and in the present day. The questions are shockingly immediate. And the answers are complicated, humorous, and achingly raw.

Les’ work is always beautiful, but he has the added advantage here of having worked with Lucas on many occasions. His understanding of the text and the intentions of the author are second to none. I always love seeing what he and his team of designers come up with, not to mention the paths he explores with his expert cast.

So here we go.

Play 409.

Bring on the next 50 years.

Sincerely,

Tony Taccone