Stage West reveals 2008-2009 season

by Shawn Parikh

Having just finished their 29th season, Stage West is gearing up quickly to begin their 30th anniversary year. Season tickets ($96-181) are already available online or by calling 817-784-9378. Make sure to check out their lineup as it has something for everyone:

• The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse, adapted by Mark Richard. From November 28, 2008 - January 4, 2009. Another of P. G. Wodehouse's witty tales of Bertie Wooster and his indispensible valet Jeeves. Another of Mark Richard's wonderful adaptations, this one picks up where Right Ho, Jeeves! left off. If you saw the productions of Thank You, Jeeves, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, and Right Ho, Jeeves!, you know this is a don't-miss. If you didn't, you're in for a perfect treat for the holiday season.
• The Seafarer by Conor McPherson. From January 29, 2009 - February 22, 2009. There's a whiff of the supernatural in the air, in this brilliant new play by the author of The Weir. A Christmas Eve poker game takes on higher stakes than anyone intended. "As close to perfection as any contemporary playwriting gets" -- The New York Times.
• The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn. From March 19, 2009 - April 26, 2009. Three hilarious plays, each offering a different perspective on one weekend's romantic misadvantures. The three plays, Table Manners, Living Together, and Round and Round the Garden, will each open separately and then run in rep for three weeks. One of Stage West's first blockbuster hits, this is not to be missed.
• Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl. From May 21, 2009 - June 14, 2009. A remarkable new dramatic comedy by the author of The Clean House. Pending availability. A young woman answers the incessantly ringing phone of the title, and finds that she has unwittingly embarked on a journey literally to hell and back in search of genuine communication.
• The Spitfire Grill by James Valcq and Fred Alley. From July 9, 2009 - August 9, 2009. A feisty young parolee decides to restart her life in a rural Wisconsin town, setting the town on its own journey toward re-awakening. "A soul-satisfying ... work of theatrical resourcefulness. The songs are shiny with tunefulness, hope and all-American inflections." -- The New York Times.
• The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder. From September 3, 2009 - October 4, 2009. The other great classic from the author of Our Town, it's a timeless comic statement about human frailties and endurance. An eternal American suburban family deals with climate change, flood and war in this Pulitzer Prize winner from 1943.