Theatre News Wire

TimeLine Theatre Company, dedicated to presenting plays inspired by history that connect to today's social and political issues, announces three of the four plays of its 2010-11 season, including the previously announced Chicago premiere of Peter Morgan's F rost/Nixon , the world premiere of a new play commissioned by TimeLine and written by William Brown and Doug Frew, and the return of a true Chicago classic. A fourth play is still to be announced.

"Our 14th season builds on the success and excitement of TimeLine's past year," said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. "As we did with The History Boys and The Farnsworth Invention, we'll feature the local premiere of a widely renowned play. We'll present the first production of a brand-new script that we commissioned. And we will dig into Chicago's past for a revival of one of our town's most fun and beloved tales. Plus we will soon be announcing a fourth production. It's a big, ambitious season that will tell the stories of big, ambitious people, and we can't wait to get started."

THE 2010-11 TIMELINE THEATRE SEASON INCLUDES:

FROST/NIXON
Chicago Premiere
by Peter Morgan
directed by Louis Contey
August 21 - October 10, 2010 (previews 8/18 – 8/20)

Frost/Nixon takes audiences inside the real-life 1977 television interviews between journalist David Frost and former president Richard Nixon. It has been three years since Nixon resigned from office in disgrace. The Watergate scandal is still on the minds of many, but the former commander-in-chief has yet to break his silence about his role in those events. Now Nixon has agreed to be interviewed by the up-and-coming British broadcaster David Frost. Behind-the-scenes it's a battle of egos for the upper hand in controlling history, but as the cameras roll, the world is riveted by a remarkably honest exchange between one man who has lost everything and another with everything to gain.

MASTERING THE ART
World Premiere
by William Brown and Doug Frew
directed by William Brown
October 30 - December 19, 2010 (previews 10/27- 10/29)

Commissioned by TimeLine Theatre Company in 2008 and developed here in 2010, Mastering The Art is a look at the lives of Julia and Paul Child as they meet, fall in love and embark on a transatlantic journey of discovery together. Visiting pivotal moments in their lives - from the table in France where Julia fell in love with food, wine and Paul, to the table in their home where Julia recreated everything she learned in cooking class, to an interrogation room where Paul was grilled by U.S. agents about alleged Communist contacts - this play unfolds the true story of a larger-than-life culinary icon as she and her husband struggle to find themselves as Americans abroad. Mastering the Art marks the first production commissioned by TimeLine to be produced on the company's stage. The development of Mastering the Art has been partially supported by The Dramatists Guild Fund .

TO BE ANNOUNCED
January 22 - March 20, 2011 (previews 1/19 - 1/21)
The third production of TimeLine's 2010-11 season is still to be announced.

THE FRONT PAGE
by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
directed by Nick Bowling
April 16 - June 12, 2011 (previews 4/13 - 4/15)

The Front Page is a 1920's classic Chicago comedy often considered responsible for defining the newspaper business. Drawn from Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's careers as journalists in Chicago, the play takes you inside the press room at Chicago's Criminal Courts Building as a group of reporters cover a controversial execution and uncover the rampant corruption, scandal and hi-jinx associated with Chicago politics and journalism. TimeLine is thrilled to revive a quintessential Chicago classic and to highlight for audiences the wealth of local history embedded in this script.

Casting for all productions in TimeLine's 2010-11 season is still to be determined.

TimeLine Theatre's FlexPass subscription is an affordable, flexible and convenient option for Chicago theater-goers. Four-admission Anytime ($122) and Weekday ($90) FlexPasses are available. All FlexPasses offer up to 20% off regular ticket prices, the convenience of choosing a date for each show, the flexibility to choose when to use admissions, an easy reservation process, unlimited exchange privileges, TimeLine's Backstory magazine provided in advance, discounts on additional tickets and with neighborhood partners, and access to exclusive news and events. To purchase and for more information, call (773) 281-TIME (8463) or visit timelinetheatre.com.