News: (Toronto) Randolph Academy announces 2014 season (press release)

Randolph Academy Unveils 2014 Theatre Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Toronto, ON -- The Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts kicks off its 2014 theatre season this spring with Lord of the Flies, a stage adaptation of William Golding's classic dystopian novel currently celebrating 60 years in print, and Stuff Happens, David Hare's controversial political satire about the lead up to the 2003 Iraq invasion. The remainder of the season is rounded out by Gwendolyn MacEwan's adaptation of Euripides' The Trojan Woman (July 2-13), Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods (July 31-August 9), and John Kander and Fred Ebb's musical comedy "whodunnit" Curtains (December 2-6). Lord of the Flies runs March 18-22 and Stuff Happensruns April 1-5; both are at the Annex Theatre, 730 Bathurst Street, Toronto. Tickets are available atticketmaster.ca. "Be prepared for a wild ride this season," says Darlene Spencer, Artistic Director, Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts. "Our season is riddled with stories that take us to worlds where things are not always what they seem, promising intrigue, adventure, romance and the fight for survival alongside friends and faceless foes." First published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is a riveting allegory of war that author Golding once described as "lamenting the lost childhood of the world". Nigel Williams' skillful adaptation was first professionally produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in July 1995. In the play, a plane crash maroons a group of students on a tropical deserted island. What starts out as fun, games, and a little roughhousing gradually descends into a barbaric power struggle between those who resist the dark side of human nature and those who succumb. Lord of the Flies is directed by Rosanna Saracino and features an all-female cast. With a chorus of young actors brought up in the traumatic aftermath of the post-9/11 world, director Steven McCarthy takes on David Hare's 2004 history play Stuff Happens to delve into timeless questions about the nature of power, the responsibility of leadership, and the potency of nightmares. Inspired by a quote from U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ("Stuff happens and it's untidy, and freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things."), Stuff Happens uses press conference quotes, television interviews, and invented conversations to depict the camaraderie and turmoil within the inner circle of the world's politicians and decision makers on the road to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The casts of Lord of the Flies and Stuff Happens are made up of students in their final year of professional training in the Randolph Academy's Triple Threat® college program. 2014 SEASON Lord of the Flies, Mar. 18-22, 2014, at 8 p.m., Mar. 22 at 2 p.m., Annex Theatre Stuff Happens, Apr. 1-5, 2014, at 8 p.m., Apr. 5 at 2 p.m., Annex Theatre Euripides' The Trojan Women, Jul. 2-13, 2013 - Toronto Fringe Festival, Annex Theatre Into the Woods, Jul. 31-Aug.t 2, Aug. 7-9 at 8 p.m., Aug. 2 and 9 at 2 p.m., Randolph Theatre Curtains, December 2-6 at 8 p.m., December 6 at 2 p.m., Annex Theatre All tickets $22  (except Trojan Women): www.ticketmaster.ca or 1.855.985.2787 Trojan Women tickets: www.fringetoronto.com or 416.966.1062

Founded by George C. Randolph Jr., the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit educational institution providing world-class performing arts training to young artists. Distinguished faculty and entertainment industry professionals shape Triple Threat® skills of dancing, acting, and singing in a college program (registered as a private career college under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005), youth show choir program, and children's recreational program. Faculty and alumni have appeared on Stratford, Shaw, Mirvish, Broadway (New York) and West End (London) stages, as well as Hollywood (Los Angeles). www.randolphacademy.com