Berkeley Rep creates ambitious theatre that entertains and challenges its audiences, provokes civic engagement, and inspires people to experience the world in new and surprising ways.

Arts & Culture , Theater

Berkeley repertory theatre presented a record 525 performances of 12 shows for an audience of more than 200,000 attendees. Local media celebrated berkeley rep's shows with several front-page stories, and several productions attracted the attention of critics from los angeles and new york. Berkeley rep had an auspicious start to its 2013-14 season in august with a special engagement of harold pinter's no man's land starring ian mckellen, patrick stewart, billy crudup, and shuler hensley. Under the direction of sean mathias, these phenomenal actors of the stage and screen wowed bay area audiences before taking the production to broadway on a double bill with beckett's waiting for godot in the fall for an acclaimed run. The season officially began with the 2013 tony award winner for best play, christopher durang's vanya and sonia and masha and spike. The rollicking comedy that turned chekhov on his head and delighted audiences also reunited longtime berkeley rep actors sharon lockwood and lorri holt along with director richard e. T. White. The pianist of willesden lane was a surprise hit of the season. The true story of pianist lisa jura, a young jewish musician whose dreams are interrupted by the nazi regime, was played by her daughter mona golabek, a concert pianist who also performed some of the world's most beautiful music live. The show enjoyed two extensions and broke box office records, with many patrons reporting that they saw it two or three times. In march, actor steven epp returned to berkeley rep with a criminally funny accidental death of an anarchist by dario fo, directed by christopher bayes. In keeping with fo's original intention for the play, they updated the script to include references to the great recession, eliciting a passionate response from audience members. Nina raine's tribes followed. The story of a young deaf man trying to find a place in a world where everyone needs to be heard, tribes featured a deaf actor james caverly, who previously performed the role at a theatre on the east coast. James had an asl interpreter who worked with him in rehearsals, performances, and was also available night and day. The production had an asl consultant, anthony natale, who is best known for his performance in the film mr. Holland's opus and who ensured the signs used on stage were appropriate. Berkeley rep did extensive outreach to the deaf community, hiring a consultant from the community and scheduling three asl performances and three open-captioning performances (an additional two). Audiences could use their smartphones to scan images in the show program and in the lobby to view an asl video translation. And the video display in the lobby featured a welcome message in asl. Berkeley rep was proud to present the world premiere of the house that will not stand, a witty and sensuous play that we commissioned from oakland native marcus gardley and developed in the ground floor: berkeley rep's center for the creation and development of new work. This powerful drama about free women of color in 1836 new orleans earned terrific reviews before it went on acclaimed productions at yale repertory theatre and tricycle theatre in london. Berkeley rep also offered up two west coast premieres. Kneehigh returned with tristan & yseult, a fantastically inventive take on the classic love story, which enjoyed an extended run. Artistic director tony taccone teamed up with longtime collaborator tony kushner for the epic tale of love, family, sex, money, and politics in the intelligent homosexual's guide to capitalism and socialism with a key to the scriptures. The winner of two tony awards, three obies, an emmy, and a pulitzer prize, kushner reworked the script significantly for its berkeley rep run, which featured mark margolis, known for his role in the award-winning tv series breaking bad. the berkeley rep school of theatre provides comprehensive arts experiences for students throughout the bay area each year. Through ons

Born in a storefront on College Avenue, Berkeley Rep has moved to the forefront of American theatre—and is still telling unforgettable stories. Founded in 1968 by Michael Leibert, the Theatre quickly earned respect for presenting the finest plays with top-flight actors. In 1980, with the support of the local community, Berkeley Rep built the 400-seat Thrust Stage where its reputation steadily grew over the next two decades. It gained renown for an adventurous combination of work, presenting important new dramatic voices alongside refreshing adaptations of seldom-seen classics. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. The company celebrated by unveiling a new 600-seat proscenium stage in 2001, the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre. It also opened the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, a permanent home for its long tradition of outreach and education programs. The addition of these two buildings transformed a single stage into a vital and versatile performing arts complex, the linchpin of a bustling Downtown Arts District which has helped revitalize Berkeley. In four decades, four million people have enjoyed more than 300 shows at Berkeley Rep, including 50 world premieres. In the last five years, Berkeley Rep has helped send eight hit shows to New York: Bridge & Tunnel, Brundibar, Eurydice, Passing Strange, Taking Over, Wishful Drinking, In the Next Room or the vibrator play, and American Idiot.

San Francisco Bay Area