Perseverance Theatre
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Perseverance Theatre, the only professional theater in the State of Alaska, and was founded in Juneau in 1979 by Molly Smith, and has since emerged as one of the nation's leading not-for-profit regional theaters. The theater has collaborated with some of the nation's leading theater artists, and has premiered more than 50 new plays by Alaskan and national playwrights. Among these is Paula Vogel’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned To Drive, written and developed while Vogel was an artist-in-residence at PT.
Molly Smith served as artistic director from the theater's founding in 1979 until 1996, leaving to become artistic director of the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. She was succeeded by Peter DuBois, who served until the fall of 2003, leaving to assume the position of Associate Producer at New York's Public Theater. The current artistic director is PJ Paparelli.
PT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with an annual budget that has nearly doubled over the past five years to just over $1 million. In December 2002, it was one of just seven theatres nationwide to have been awarded a $500,000 endowment challenge grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in New York, through their Leading National Theatres Program. Perseverance Theatre is also in the midst of a $1.1 million facility renovation and expansion project.
[edit] Past season
The 2005-06 Perseverance season includes productions of:
- The People's Temple, written and directed by Leigh Fondakowski. A stage documentary of Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre. (September 2–September 18, 2005)
- Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare and directed by PJ Paparelli. A sexual comedy of mistaken identity. (October 28–November 27, 2005)
- King Island Christmas, by Deborah B. Brevoort and David Friedman, based on the book by Jean Rogers, directed by David Charles Goyette. Based on a true story of a small island village in northern Alaska. (December 1–December 4, 2005)
- The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, directed by Eleanor Holdridge. Arthur Miller's seminal allegory on the Communist witch-hunts of the 1950s, set in colonial Salem, Massachusetts. (January 13–February 5, 2006)
- Hair, by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt MacDermott, directed by PJ Paparelli. A classic musical of the '60s experience, slightly updated for the Perseverance production by author James Rado. (March 10–April 16, 2006)
- A world premiere of the rewritten Laramie Project, by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project, directed by Leigh Fondakowski. A stage documentary of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. (May 12–May 28, 2006)
The 2005-06 season also included a revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, featuring indie rocker Rory Merritt Stitt in the titular role.
This year saw the birth of the Perseverance Theater Second Stage project, featuring smaller-scale productions off the theater's main stage.
[edit] Current season
- Hamlet, Written by William Shakespeare and directed by PJ Paparelli.
- NOISES OFF By Michael Frayn and Directed by Keith Baxter.
A World Premiere of * The Raven Odyssey Adapted by Ishmael C. Hope and PJ Paparelli, and Directed by Rubén Polendo.
- The Who's Tommy Music and Lyrics by Pete Townsend. Book by Pete Townsend and Des McAnuff. Directed by PJ Paparelli.
- Equus Written by Peter Shaffer and Directed by PJ Paparell.
