Intiman Will Stage Ruined, Paradise Lost and Scarlet Letter in 2010

By Adam Hetrick
19 Nov 2009

Kate Whoriskey will repeat her directorial duties for the West Coast premiere of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined, which will be part of the 2010 season at Seattle's Intiman Theatre.

Whoriskey, who joins Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher as co-artistic director of the Intiman, staged the world premiere of Nottage's play that received eight extensions Off-Broadway earlier this year. Whoriskey will ultimately succeed Sher as artistic director of the Intiman at the conclusion of the 2010 season. Sher was appointed resident director of Lincoln Center Theater in 2008.

"Kate's first season at Intiman includes great plays that will inspire conversation—and listening," Sher said in a statement. "It is a season in which Intiman audiences and the Seattle community will have the chance to see her vision, hear her ideas and be part of the journey of one of the most ambitious theatres in the country. I'm honored to have spent a decade at Intiman, and to introduce one of the most adventurous directors I know to the best audience I can imagine."

The first production of the season will be Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost under the direction of Dámaso Rodriguez. The Depression era drama about a middle class family who loses their business will run March 19-April 25, 2010 (opening March 26, 2010).

Seattle playwright Sonya Schneider will offer the world premiere of her solo play The Thin Place. Andrew Russell directs the work – based on interviews conducted by journalist Marcie Sillman – that explores how Puget Sound residents address their own faith. The Thin Place will run May 14-June 13, 2010 (opening May 21, 2010).

Up next is Nottage's Ruined. Set in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the civil war, the play centers on a brothel owner and the women who work for her. Whoriskey stages the production that runs July 2-Aug. 8, 2010 (opening July 9). Presented as a co-production with the Geffen Playhouse, Ruined will travel to South Africa's Market Theatre following its Seattle debut.

Passing Strange Tony nominee Daniel Breaker will star in Moličre's A Doctor in Spite of Himself, co-adapted and directed by Christopher Bayes. Steven Epp will co-adapt the farce that is set to run Sept. 3-Oct. 10, 2010 (opening Sept. 12, 2010).

The final production will be Naomi Iizuka's adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, presented as part of the American Cycle series at the Intiman. Lear deBessonet will direct the production about adultery and community that will run Oct. 22-Dec. 5, 2010 (opening Oct. 29).

Subscriptions to productions at the Intiman, 201 Mercer Street at Seattle Center, can be purchased by calling (206) 269-1900.

For more information visit Intiman.org.