WHAT's silver anniversary--25 years on the edge in Wellfleet

Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater announces its Summer Season :: 25 Years on the Edge

Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater is celebrating its silver anniversary in high style – more shows and special events than ever before with programming that stretches all year long.

Plays by Michael Frayn, Christopher Durang, Eugene Ionesco, and David Hare, special performances by Dar Williams, Helen Mirren as Phèdra – in a satellite broadcast direct from London’s National Theater – another world premiere children’s show by Stephen Russell, a comedy review hosted by Dave Kennedy, and a lavish gala dinner party are just a few of the events offered in WHAT’s jam-packed season.

“When WHAT was born twenty-five years ago, it hit the ground running with Rhinocerous by Eugene Ionesco and Mamet’s American Buffalo,” says Jeff Zinn, WHAT Artistic Director.  “And we’ve kept true to our mission ever since – providing a theatergoing experience you can’t find anywhere else on the Cape.”

“When WHAT was born twenty-five years ago, it hit the ground running with Rhinocerous by Eugene Ionesco and Mamet’s American Buffalo,” says Jeff Zinn, WHAT Artistic Director.  “And we’ve kept true to our mission ever since – providing a theatergoing experience you can’t find anywhere else on the Cape.”

Seven Shows to Tickle Every Fancy

The 2009 Summer season combines old favorites with new plays by up-and-coming dramatists, theater of the absurd chestnuts with last year’s Off-Broadway hits, all designed to appeal to the wide variety of tastes WHAT patrons have come to expect. 

Brendan Hughes Returns to the Harbor Stage

Coming back this year is Harbor Theater Impresario Brendan Hughes, who will be directing all three shows at the Harbor.  Expect the same high-energy approach that re-energized the Harbor Stage last year after the opening of WHAT’s new Julie Harris Stage in 2007.

Special Offers in Celebration of Its Silver Anniversary

To help us celebrate our 25th Anniversary, WHAT is offering our loyal patrons the following:

• $25 seats in the balcony of the Julie Harris Stage
• $25 flex passes (in 6-ticket packs)
• $24 tickets in the subscription packs for both the Harbor Stage and the Julie Harris Stage
• Pay-what-you-can nights the day after each show’s opening night
• Free Gallery Openings before each show premiere at the Julie Harris Stage

Tickets On Sale Now

Subscriptions, 2009 Flex Passes and individual tickets are on sale now.  Call the WHAT box office at (508) 349-9428 to reserve your tickets.  Or stop by the July Harris Stage at 2357 State Highway Rt. 6 in Wellfleet between Noon and 5pm Wednesday through Sunday to buy tickets in person.  Or visit www.what.org to purchase tickets online.

2009 SUMMER SEASON

The Mystery of Irma Vep – A Penny Dreadful 
by Charles Ludlum, directed by Todd Olson
May 20 – June 20, Wednesday – Sunday at 8:00pm

Hitchcock’s “Rebecca”, the novels of the Bronte sisters and practically every monster movie ever made are tossed together and shaken vigorously to create this frothy, gag-filled comedy.  With two actors portraying a dozen delectable roles, Irma Vep is a tour-de-force that can’t be missed.

This hilarious hit from our 1991 season returns to celebrate our 25th.

(Sponsored by Blackfish Restaurant)

Noises Off 
by Michael Frayn, directed by John Hancock
July 1 – August 1, Tuesday – Saturday at 8:00pm

A Monty Python-esque peek behind the scenes of a fifth-rate acting troupe in crisis.  We follow them on-stage and off as they wrestle with 73 flubbed lines, 46 miscues, 22 double entendres, and six regular entendres – all while trying to find a missing plate of sardines.

After premiering to ecstatic reviews in 1982, Noises Off has become a modern comedy classic.

(Sponsored by Finely J.P.’s Restaurant)

The Little Dog Laughed
by Douglas Carter Beane, directed by Daisy Walker
August 6 - September 5, Tuesday – Saturday at 8:00pm

A razor-sharp look at our celebrity-obsessed society. Diane, an acerbic Hollywood agent, is worried that budding screen idol Michael’s "slight recurring case of homosexuality" will derail his career before it gets started. Hilarious twists and turns keep the audience guessing – and titillated – from start to finish. 

Rave reviews hailed this 2006 Tony™-winning comedy as a fearlessly funny and “puckish urban entertainment.”

(Sponsored by Van Rensselaer’s Restaurant)

The Blue Room
by David Hare, directed by Richard Hamburger
Sept 10 - Oct. 4, Wednesday – Sunday at 8:00pm

A daisy chain of ten characters seek fulfillment as they fall in and out of bed with each other. Hare’s reworking of Arthur Schnitzler notorious – and banned – 1896 comedy, became the hottest ticket in town when it opened in New York with Nicole Kidman.

WHAT favorites Robert Kropf and Stacy Fisher ignite this sizzling merry-go-round from one of Britain’s finest playwrights.

(Sponsored by Wicked Oyster Restaurant)

The Happy Oyster Spectacular Show
by Dave Kennedy
July 12 - August 23rd , Sundays at 8:00pm

A fast-paced comedy review that places contemporary culture under the microscope – one with a fractured lens.  Good Morning America, Garrison Keillor, YouTube, drug commercials, and dating services are just a few of the subjects that fall prey to Dave and his comedy troop’s satirical examination. 

A live-action/video/music review with an Outer Cape bent that will leave you enlightened and laughing.

(Sponsored by Jules Besch and WOMR)

ON THE HARBOR STAGE

The Bald Soprano
by Eugene Ionesco, directed by Brendan Hughes
June 10 - July 12, Wednesday – Sunday at 7:30pm

A jewel from the Absurdist Movement of the 1950s, The Bald Soprano celebrates the power of nonsense. The Smiths and the Martins are two British couples who unexpectedly discover during the course of an innocent dinner party that words no longer mean what they mean.

A brilliant and hilarious comic masterpiece.

(Sponsored by Bookstore & Restaurant)

Laughing Wild
by Christopher Durang, directed by Brendan Hughes
July 15 - August 16, Wednesday – Sunday at 7:30pm

Durang’s play takes place at the point where laughter, angst and hope intersect.  A man and a woman confide their fears and irritations – supermarkets, the ozone layer, tuna fish, God’s alleged interest in the Tony Awards™ – before playing out a series of dreams about what might have been.

From the author or Beyond Therapy, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All to You, and The Marriage of Bette and Boo.

(Sponsored by Fairway Restaurant and Pizzeria)

Speech and Debate
by Stephen Karam, directed by Brendan Hughes
August 19 – September 27, Wednesday – Sunday at 7:30pm

When three high school misfits – a frumpy girl, an openly gay guy and a nerd – discover they are linked to the sex scandal that rocks their town, they band together to expose the truth. As secrets come to light, the trio’s connection deepens in unexpected ways.

This fiercely funny comedy with music was last year’s Off-Broadway hit. 

(Sponsored by Mac’s Seafood)

WHAT FOR KIDS

Puss in Boots - The astonishing adventures of Ocelot Ugg
Written & directed by Stephen Russell
World Premiere!
July 7 - August 27, Mondays - Thursdays at 7:00pm

Come with us to 17th century France for an evening of swordplay and silliness, mousers and musketeers as the renowned feline adventurer, M.Ocelot Ugg, duels and delights his way into the hearts of King, Queen and commoner alike. His quest? Win fame and fortune before anyone discovers he's just an ordinary barn cat.

From the writer/director of last year’s run-away hit The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship.

(Sponsored by Abiyoyo and Cape Cod Five)

Season Sponsors: Winslow’s Tavern - Left Bank Gallery - Cape Cod Life - Pearl Restaurant - Arts Foundation of Cape Cod - Mass Cultural Council -Wellfleet Public Library

Release courtesy of WHAT.

About WHAT: Founded in 1985, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater is the award-winning non-profit theater on Cape Cod that The New York Times says brought “a new vigor for theater on the Cape” and The Boston Globe says “is a jewel in Massachusetts’ crown.” Boston magazine named us Best Theater in 2004.  The Boston Drama Critics Association has twice awarded us their prestigious Elliot Norton Award.