Philadelphia, PA

The Wilma Theater has announced the productions for its 30th Anniversary season, which will open with the Philadelphia premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, September 17-October 19. Blanka Zizka will direct this work, which spans the years 1968-1990 from the double perspective of Prague, Czechoslovakia, where a rock ‘n’ roll band comes to symbolize resistance to the Communist regime, and of Cambridge, England, where the verities of love and death are shaping the lives of three generations in the family of a Marxist philosopher.
Over the holiday season, the Wilma will produce the U.S. premiere of Schmucks (December 3-January 4), a comic fantasy by Roy Smiles that tells of a fictitious meeting between two comic icons, Groucho Marx and Lenny Bruce. Jiri Zizka will direct.

Following will be the Philadelphia premiere of Scorched (February 25-March 29) from the internationally acclaimed Lebanese-born playwright Wajdi Mouawad. The play, to be directed by Blanka Zizka, portrays characters searching for humanity while surrounded by the irrationality of war in the Middle East.

The season will close with the Philadelphia premiere of Terry Johnson’s Olivier Award Winner for Best New Comedy, Hysteria (May 13-June 14), based on an historical meeting between Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dalí. This production full of surrealist imagery will feature a set by Barrymore Award winner Mimi Lien. Jiri Zizka will direct.

For more information visit the Wilma Theater online at wilmatheater.org.