Dreamwell Announces 2013-14 Season

Iowa City - "The Dreamwell Board has approved Dreamwell's Play Selection Committee selections for next season.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (tentatively Sept 6 – 14, 2013)
by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Set in a time-bending, darkly comic world between heaven and hell, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot reexamines the plight and fate of the New Testament’s most infamous and unexplained sinner. This serio-comedic courtroom thriller addresses the consequence of choice and the limits of forgiveness. With one fateful kiss Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ. Now his fate rests upon the testimony of a colorful host of saints and sinners. Among those called to the witness stand are Satan, Pontius Pilate, Mother Teresa and Sigmund Freud. Was he an avaricious man? An instrument of divine will? Or a thwarted revolutionary? Will he be forgiven? With blistering passion, the raw and poetic language of this play finds beauty in the most unexpected places.

Fictional Murders (tentatively October 11 – 19, 2013)
by Mike Moran
This unpublished original play is the work of local playwright, Mike Moran, otherwise known as the Iowa Goatsinger. It examines how a teenager gets lost in the fantasy of cyber sex and his parents’ reaction to his growing homosexuality. This ripped from the headlines play reflects on issues of trust and intimacy in internet relationships.

Clybourne Park (tentatively November 15 – 23)
by Bruce Norris

Clybourne Park explodes in two outrageous acts set fifty years apart. Act One takes place in 1959, as nervous community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification. The play was written in response to Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun.” It portrays fictional events set before and after the Hansberry play and is loosely based on historical events.

The Whipping Man (tentatively January 24 – Feb 2, 2014)
by Matthew Lopez
It is April, 1865. The Civil War is over and throughout the south, slaves are being freed, soldiers are returning home and in Jewish homes, the annual celebration of Passover is being celebrated. Into the chaos of war-torn Richmond comes Caleb DeLeon, a young Confederate officer who has been severely wounded. He finds his family’s home in ruins and abandoned, save for two former slaves, Simon and John, who wait in the empty house for the family’s return. As the three men wait for signs of life to return to the city, they wrestle with their shared past, the bitter irony of Jewish slave-owning and the reality of the new world in which they find themselves. The sun sets on the last night of Passover and Simon – having adopted the religion of his masters – prepares a humble Seder to observe the ancient celebration of the freeing of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt, noting with particular satisfaction the parallels to their current situation. But the pain of their enslavement will not be soothed by this tradition, and deep-buried secrets from the past refuse to be hidden forever as the play comes to its shocking climax.

Time Stands Still (tentatively March 28 – April 5)
by Donald Margulies

From Pulitzer Prize-winner Donald Margulies comes a moving and often hilarious story of relationships, mid-life crisis and the ties of friendship. After barely surviving a bomb blast in Iraq, photojournalist Sarah Goodwin finds herself caught in a tug-of-war between her exhilarating career and the contentment of family life. Returning home into the care of her long-time lover James, Sarah’s caught off guard by his desire for family and by the simple domestic life pursued by Richard, her editor, and his much younger girlfriend Mandy.

Becky’s New Car (tentatively May 2 – 10)
by Steven Dietz

Have you ever been tempted to flee your own life? Becky Foster is caught in middle age, middle management and in a middling marriage—with no prospects for change on the horizon. Then one night a socially inept and grief-struck millionaire stumbles into the car dealership where Becky works. Becky is offered nothing short of a new life…and the audience is offered a chance to ride shotgun in a way that most plays wouldn’t dare. Becky’s New Car is a thoroughly original comedy with serious overtones, a devious and delightful romp down the road not taken.

And to wrap up the season is an unique theatrical experience called the actors lab! More info to come!

Congratulations to the winners of our Guess the Shows in our Season contest at our website and Facebook page. Sandy Goodson, Chris Okiishi, Nate Sullivan, Stephen Ivester, Gavin Conkling and Adeara-Jean Maurice all won tickets to the shows that they guessed! We provided two clues to each play and winners were drawn from the pool of correct guesses."

(Source: Dreamwell newsletter)