STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL HOBBS AND KAREN BOSSICK
“Woody Guthrie’s American Song” will take the stage of The Liberty Theatre this summer.
The Sun Valley Center for the Arts will delve into politics during one of its Big Idea Projects.
And Big Head Todd & The Monsters will headline The Center’s Summer Concert Series.
Company of Fools and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts unveiled their upcoming season during the annual Fools Day party at The Liberty Theatre Monday night amidst wine, laughs and scrumptious homemade cookies.
“Our affirmation is simply: The stories live on,” said R.L. Rowsey, who declared himself “forever a fool.”
Here’s a look at the upcoming season
COMPANY OF FOOLS’ 23rd SEASON
“Woody Guthrie’s American Song” will be staged in June and July 2018. The ensemble musical based on the Great Depression troubadour’s songs and writings was conceived and adapted by Peter Glazer. It is, Rowsey said, “a musical celebration of our music, history and shared humanity.”
“Heisenberg” by British playwright Simon Stephens will be staged in October 2018. It’s a novel take on the love-in-the train station story as two strangers—one, a reserved older gentleman from Ireland and the other, a rowdy middle-aged American woman—collide. Of course, their lives will never be the same.
The play, directed by Denise Simone, will star Hanna Cheek, who started in The Fools’ production of “Grounded.”
A HOLIDAY TREAT for the entire family will be staged in December 2018. “I can’t tell you its name but I can promise it will offer laughter and a heartwarming tale,” said Rowsey.
“4000 MILES’’ by Amy Herzog will take the stage in February and March 2019. The 2013 finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama revolves around a 23-year-old who seeks solace from his feisty 91-year-old grandmother after suffering a major loss during a cross-country bike trip. The play, which won the 2012 Obie Award for Best New American Play, depicts how two outsiders find their way in this world, said Rowsey.
“There’s a reason Company of Fools is sitting on our Main Street for decades,” added Rowsey. “My husband John Glenn said, ‘I don’t know if we always get it right. I just want to know we always give it our best shot and that our stories make a difference in people’s lives.’ ”
2018 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
ST, PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES, a six-piece soul band from Birmingham, Ala., with special guest NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS, an American southern rock/blues band. Monday, June 25, 7 p.m., Sun Valley Pavilion.
BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS, a four-piece Colorado rock band, with special guest SHOVELS & ROPE, a husband-wife American folk duo from Charleston, S.C. Wednesday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m., River Run Lodge.
“They play some really big venues so we’re excited to have them here,” said Kristine Bretall, director of Performing Arts for The Center.
BALDY GRASS MUSIC FEST featuring THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS, which won a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, with KUINKA & AHI and a yet-to-be announced guest. Wednesday, Aug. 22, 6 p.m. River Run Lodge.
Our purpose is to bring people together and have a great time during our beautiful summer,” said Bretall. “I try to hit the sweet spot with my audience, which ranges in age from 8 to 85.”
Series tickets cost $120 go on sale to members at 10 a.m. April 13. Individual tickets for members go on sale 10 a.m. April 20. Tickets for the general public go on sale at 10 a.m. April 27.
BIG IDEA PROJECTS
The Center has come up with three diverse interesting ideas, said Kristin Poole, artistic director for The Center.
WE THE PEOPLE, which will debut in September 2018, will look at our democracy and the impact of protests and other practices.
The Fools will stage a play reading titled “The Agitators” in conjunction with it. It’s the story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, abolitionists who were two of the pioneers in the American civil rights movement.
AT THE TABLE: KITCHEN AS HOME will run from Dec. 21 through March 1. It will look at how our memories come from that table and other big events that take place at the kitchen table.
UNRAVELING: REIMAGINING COLONIAL HISTORY will run from March 8 through May 31.
The 2018-19 Lecture Series will present journalist and author David Grann, author of the non-fiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” in conjunction with it on March 14.
The book investigates a series of murders of wealthy Osage people in Oklahoma in the early 1920s after big oil deposits were discovered beneath their land. Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are developing a film adaptation of the book.
FOR MEMBERS ONLY: PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT
The Center will offer a concert in the Liberty Theatre for members on May 11.
ANOTHER COMING ATTRACTION:
The 50th Arts and Crafts Festival will be held Aug. 10-12.