Pear Theatre Announces 2020-21 Season

Pear Theatre announces its 19th season, full of reimagined classics and intriguing new works. All performances are held at the Pear Theatre's performance space at 1110 La Avenida St., Mountain View. Each show offers a preview performance on the first Thursday, followed by Press/Opening Night on Friday. For subscriptions and individual tickets the public may visit www.thepear.org or call (650) 254-1148.

"In my first season as Artistic Director, I find myself thinking of how much work we have to do as a nation, as a culture, as a species. It's a challenge that we've always faced as humans: our gains are hard won and easily lost, and there is a significant price to the progress we make," said Sinjin Jones, the newly appointed Artistic Director. "But in challenging times I take solace in art - finding relief in laughter, connecting with stories on stage, seeing a play that forces me to engage deeply in things that make me uncomfortable. Isn't that one of the reasons we all love the theatre? It is that spirit, the spirit of reflecting on the price of progress, that weaves itself through our upcoming season."

The season opens in August with the poetic and moving Elliot: A Soldier's Fugue by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Tracing the legacy of war through three generations of a Puerto Rican family, the play focuses on nineteen-year-old Elliot, a recently anointed hometown hero who returns from Iraq with a leg injury and a difficult question: Will he go back to war a second time? While on leave, Elliot learns the stories of his father and grandfather who served in Korea and Vietnam before him. Evocative, poignant, and heartfelt, this play examines the personal and generational impact of war.

Following is a reimagined classic: Lysistrata by Aristophanes is a hilarious tale that explores the power of women during wartime. A new interpretation of this ancient standard explores the power of sex, the strength of the feminine spirit, the personal sacrifices some will make for the sake of peace, and the hilarity that can come from it all. What would you do - or not do - for peace in our time? Pear Theatre explores the breadth of what gender means today in this production.

December brings an exciting co-production with the Arabian Shakespeare Festival. Somewhere by Marisela Treviño Orta is a beautiful new piece that explores the consequences of our neglect of the environment. With almost all the insects gone, the world is beginning to fall apart as crops fail and people struggle to hold on to their ways of life. Cassandra and her brother Alexander are tracking the last monarch butterflies in the world as they head to the west coast. Their path intersects with a truffle farm where a small group of people are hunkering down for the on-coming collapse of society.

The New Year joins with Black History Month for the hilarious and somewhat uneasy contemporary comedy Fairfield by Eric Coble. Fairfield Elementary is a progressive integrated school in a progressive integrated community where Black History Month goes horribly wrong. One bad role-playing exercise by an over-eager 1st grade teacher and suddenly black and white parents, principals, superintendents, and teachers are fighting for their educational lives, just hoping to reach the "CelebrEthnic Potluck" on February 28th in one piece.

Next up is Under Milk Wood, an emotive and hilarious account of a spring day in the fictional Welsh seaside village of Llareggub, where we learn of the inhabitants' dreams and desires, their loves and regrets. Commissioned by the BBC, and described by playwright and poet Dylan Thomas as 'a play for voices', Under Milk Wood is a simple and elegant piece in which we will explore immersion, sound, and the challenges of everyday life when the world moves on without you.

As always, spring means the return of Pear Slices, the popular annual short-play showcase featuring original, short plays from the members of the Pear Playwrights Guild, returns in the spring. Audiences have grown to love this annual short-play foray, with a new story taking the stage every 10-15 minutes, all performed by a single, versatile cast of local actors.

The season finale is a fully staged musical: Falsettos. Written by William Finn and James Lapine, this musical tells the tale of Marvin, who leaves his wife and young son to live with another man. His ex-wife marries his psychiatrist, and Marvin ends up alone. Two years later, Marvin is reunited with his lover on the eve of his son's bar mitzvah, just as AIDS is beginning its insidious spread. Both exhilarating and heartbreaking, it is the perfect way to end our season.

Continuing the theatre's recent initiatives, Pear Theatre will hold General Auditions for its season in the next few months; will present Fresh Produce, staged readings of full-length plays from the Pear Playwrights Guild, November 13th and 14th; will host occasional cabaret weekends with Pear Flambé Cabaret; and will continue its children's theatre education program, Pear Seeds, this summer.

Pear Theatre began as the Pear Avenue Theatre in June 2002, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Tasca, by a group of theatre artists who believe that audiences are eager for plays that challenge as well as delight and move them. Producing intimate theatre by passionate artists, whether classic works or cutting-edge plays, the Pear attracts theatre artists and audiences from all over the Bay Area for its award-winning and high-quality productions.

Pear Theatre moved in 2015 from its original 40-seat warehouse space to a new, state-of-the-art black box theatre close by, with capacity of 75-99 seats depending on the configuration of the production. In 2017, the theatre welcomed its second Artistic Director, Betsy Kruse Craig, who stepped down at the end of two years of impressive growth. Sinjin Jones, who took on the title of Artistic Director this January, will continue the theater's forward momentum into new audiences, new collaborations, and an even more diverse range of stories told on stage.

Season subscriptions will be available in May 2020. Pear Theatre offers ticket discounts for seniors and students. For information, or to order tickets, visit www.thepear.org or call (650) 254-1148.

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