THEATRE + COMEDY

Love, Revolution, Music.  Four-time Tony Award winner Tom Stoppard returns to the Alley Theatre with Rock ‛n’ Roll, winner of London Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play.

It's August 1968, and Russian tanks are rolling into Prague. Jan, the Czech student, lives for rock music, Max, the English professor, lives for Communism, and Esme, the flower child, is high. By 1990, the tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in and idealism has hit the wall. Stoppard's sweeping and passionate play spans two countries, three generations and 22 turbulent years, at the end of which, love remains - and so does rock 'n' roll.

"Tom Stoppard's astounding new work is funny, wise and triumphant," says New York Magazine.

Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard and directed by Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd begins Friday, April 24 and runs through Sunday, May 24 on the Hubbard Stage. Rock 'n' Roll is sponsored by Neuhaus Stage Season Sponsor Randall H. Jamail. The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2008-2009 season sponsor Continental Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.

Tom Stoppard exploded into the spotlight in 1966 with the sensational Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. From the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to London's West End to Broadway, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern earned Stoppard the first of what would soon become many prestigious awards, including a Tony Award for Best Play. His plays are now household names and are immediately recognized as a part of the Western canon: Jumpers, Travesties, The Real Thing, Arcadia, Hapgood and The Invention of Love, as well as short favorites like The Real Inspector Hound and After Magritte.

In addition to his original plays, Stoppard has adapted and translated classic European works such as Johann Nestroy's Einen Jux Will er Sich Machen (Stoppard's On the Razzle), Arthur Schnitzler's Dalliance (Undiscovered Country), and Ferenc Molnar's Play at the Castle (Rough Crossing).

Past productions of Tom Stoppard's plays at the Alley Theatre include the smartly funny Travesties in 1999, the romantic comedy The Real Thing in 2000, and The Invention of Love in 2002. The Alley's most recent production of Stoppard's work was the thrilling spy comedy Hapgood in 2005.

Tom Stoppard has freely crossed between mediums, finding success in film as well as on the stage. In addition to his Academy Award-winning screenplay for Shakespeare in Love, and his Oscar-nominated script for Brazil, he has written such films as The Human Factor, The Russia House, Billy Bathgate, and Empire of the Sun. Chief among his many honors is the Knighthood bestowed upon him in 1997, making him the first playwright in a quarter century to receive the title.

The cast of Rock 'n' Roll features Alley Theatre Resident Company Actors James Belcher, James Black, Justin Doran, Elizabeth Heflin, Philip Lehl, Emily Neves, Melissa Pritchett, and Todd Waite. Also included in the cast are Josie de Guzman, Sara Gaston and Spencer Plachy.

The design team of Rock 'n' Roll includes Scenic Design by Hugh Landwehr (Alley's Mrs. Warren's Profession, Cyrano de Bergerac, Arsenic and Old Lace, Doubt), Costume Design by Alejo Vietti (Alley's Maurituis, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Scene, Tryst), Lighting Design by Pat Collins (Alley's The Man Who Came to Dinner, Arsenic and Old Lace, Journey's End), Sound Design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (Alley's Cyrano de Bergerac, Twelfth Night, Topdog/Underdog), Hair and Wig Design by David H. Lawrence (Alley Debut, Broadway's Rock 'n' Roll, Coram Boy, Company), Projection Design by Clint Allen (Alley's Underneath the Lintel, The Clean House, Hapgood), Dialect Coach Stephen Gabis (Alley's Journey's End. Broadway's The 39 Steps, The Farnsworth Invention, 110 in the Shade).

Recommended for mature audiences.

Read more about Stephen Gabis, Alley Dialect Coach for Rock ‘n’ Roll, who made his Alley debut in Journey’s End. Broadway credits include The 39 Steps, The Farnsworth Invention and 110 in the Shade.

Rock ‛n’ Roll
By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Gregory Boyd
Previews start April 24, 2009
Opens April 29, 2009
Ends May 24, 2009
Neuhaus Stage
TUE - THU, SUN evenings 7:30 PM
FRI and SAT evenings 8:00 PM
SAT and SUN matinees 2:30 PM

SPECIAL PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS:

Special Reception
Tuesday, April 7 5:30-7:30PM
Join us at the Czech Center Museum Houston, 4920 San Jacinto, Houston, 77004

CAPTIONED AND AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE
Saturday, April 25, 2:30 PM
The Alley Theatre is pleased to offer open captioning and audio description for many of our productions throughout the season. To ensure that your seats will accommodate your needs, please call the box office 713.220.5700 when ordering tickets to this performance. Discounted tickets are available for groups of ten or more. Call 713.315.3346 for more information.

TALKBACK
Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 PM
Members of the cast return to the stage following the performance to take questions from the audience. TalkBacks are led by a member of the Alley Artistic Staff.