Palo Alto Players presents CLYBOURNE PARK

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Nov. 3, 2015 - PRLog -- Palo Alto Players, the Peninsula’s first theatre company, presents CLYBOURNE PARK, a satirical companion piece to Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.  This hilarious play by Bruce Norris is full of witty writing and razor-sharp insights about a cast of relatable characters exploring the pitfalls of race and real estate.  Winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play, CLYBOURNE PARK will play for eleven (11) performances November 6 - 22, 2015 at the Lucie Stern Theater located at 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto.  Tickets are on sale now online at www.PAplayers.org or by phone at 650.329.0891.

Bruce Norris takes a feisty jab at race relations in this satirical spin-off of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.  Through its two acts, CLYBOURNE PARK shows a Chicago neighborhood’s evolution as two families move in, fifty years apart.  Act One begins in 1959, as a black family moves into the all-white neighborhood, igniting fierce discussions about race and real estate.  Act Two returns to the same house in 2009, but this time the neighborhood is becoming gentrified and the roles are reversed.  Winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play, CLYBOURNE PARK is razor-sharp in its hilarity, full of smart writing about relatable characters who are just trying to navigate the housing market and survive the tricky waters of social politics.

Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun won five Tony Awards and is celebrated for its gripping portrayal of a black family’s experiences moving into an all-white neighborhood in 1950’s Chicago, before the passage of the Fair Housing Act.  CLYBOURNE PARK bookends the events of A Raisin in the Sun, and is loosely based on the same historical events that inspired Hansberry.  CLYBOURNE PARK premiered off-Broadway in 2010 and had its Chicago debut in 2011, before opening on Broadway in 2012.  Praised by critics for being both funny and deeply provocative, the play won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play, along with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2011) and the Olivier Award for Best New Play (2011).

Palo Alto Players’ Artistic Director Patrick Klein is especially excited about this second show in their 85th Season.  “We knew we were setting high expectations this year when we chose ‘Our Tony-est Season Yet!’, and following the success of Chicago, we knew we’d need a really strong play to match that energy.  CLYBOURNE PARK is a great part of this year’s season: not only is it an award-winning show with insightful observations about race dynamics and social mobility, but it’s also a fiercely funny show with great wit and big laughs.”

Show director Jeanie K. Smith says, “I fell in love with this wickedly funny play when I found myself laughing and groaning at the same time – recognizing our cultural biases in these brilliantly drawn characters and their well-meaning words.  Playwright Bruce Norris skewers society in all the right places, making us think hard about our own shortcomings, and delivering a rollicking zinger of a play while doing it.”

The CLYBOURNE PARK cast includes:
Francine/Lena: Damaris Divito (San Jose)
Bev/Kathy: Betsy Kruse Craig (Sunnyvale)
Betsy/Lindsey: Kelly Rinehart (San Francisco)
Albert/Kevin: Fred Pitts (San Francisco)
Karl/Steve: Michael Rhone (Santa Clara)
Jim/Tom/Kenneth: Casey Robbins (San Francisco)
Russ/Dan: Todd Wright (San Jose)
Russ/Dan (Understudy): Dale Albright (Castro Valley)

The production features direction by Jeanie K. Smith, scenic design by Patrick Klein assisted by scenic artist Paulino Deleal, costume and properties design by Pat Tyler, lighting design by Matthew Johns, sound design by Gordon Smith, technical direction by Janny Coté, and stage management by Lauren Howry.

Opening night for CLYBOURNE PARK is Saturday, November 7, 2015 at 8pm, and the show runs through November 22, 2015; there is also a paid preview performance on Friday, November 6, 2015 at 8pm.  Performance times are Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm.  Ticket prices range from $34 to $46.  Senior, student, and military discounts are available only for performances on Thursday and Friday evenings and Sunday matinees.  Special discounts of 20-25% for groups of 10 or more are also available.  On Opening Night, Saturday, November 7, enjoy a post-show reception with complimentary drinks and appetizers while meeting the cast, complimentary with the purchase of a ticket for that evening’s performance.  Enjoy our Talkback series with Artistic Director Patrick Klein, Show Director Jeanie K. Smith, and members of the cast following the performances on Thursday, November 12 and Thursday, November 19, complimentary with the purchase of a ticket for any performance.  For tickets, please call 650.329.0891 or visit www.PAplayers.org.

In cooperation with The City of Palo Alto, CLYBOURNE PARK and the shows of the 85th Season of Palo Alto Players are produced at the Lucie Stern Theater located at 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto, California.  Use of this facility is made possible through support from The City of Palo Alto, Community Services Department, Division of Arts and Sciences, and from our patrons.

Founded in 1931, Palo Alto Players is the San Francisco Peninsula’s first theatre company.  Based at the Lucie Stern Theater, built explicitly for Palo Alto Players in 1933, Palo Alto Players produces a season of comedies, dramas, classics, and musicals from September to June.  Audiences and participants come from all over the Bay Area to be a part of Palo Alto Players’ productions.  Palo Alto Players is committed to providing a meaningful theatre experience for both audience and production participants.  Intrinsic in this is the belief that theatre benefits the community-at-large and enhances the quality of life of those who are touched by it through education, enlightenment, and enrichment.  Palo Alto Players is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for public benefit.

For more information about Palo Alto Players and upcoming shows, please visit www.PAplayers.org or call the box office at 650.329.0891.