Artists' Repertory Theatre (ART) is community theatre group based in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. Founded in 2005, the group's maiden performance took place in 2006, with the critically acclaimed ''Love's Fire.'' In 2009, ART produced the Fresno premier of the Pulitzer Prize–winning ''Rabbit Hole'', by

David Lindsay-Abaire David Lindsay-Abaire ( Abaire; born November 14, 1969) is an American playwright, lyricist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play '' Rabbit Hole'', which also earned several Tony Award nominations. Early ...

, and caused a local stir with the Fresno premier

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

's ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...

''. According to

the Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a daily newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's newspapers. I ...

, ART is one of few theatre groups in Fresno with an "established reputation for quality."

Production history

Because many ART Board members are affiliated with the summer Woodward Shakespeare Festival, the ART performance season runs from fall to spring.

2009 - 2010 season

Fall 2009: ''

All in the Timing ''All in the Timing'' is a collection of one-act plays by the American playwright David Ives, written between 1987 and 1993. It had its premiere Off-Broadway in 1993 at Primary Stages, and was revived at Primary Stages in 2013. It was first publish ...

Director's Cut'', including all seven

plays previously performed by ART, and one new play, all by

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; ''The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

. Rogue Festival 2010: ''

Parallel Lives Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

'', by

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...

Mo Gaffney Maureen E. Gaffney (born November 5, 1958, in San Diego, California) is an American actress and activist. Career Gaffney hosted two of her own television talk shows: ''Women Aloud!'' (which was shown on the Comedy Central network) and ''The Mo S ...

2008 - 2009 season

Fall 2008: ''

'', by

. Winter 2009: '' Rabbit Hole'', by

. Rogue Festival 2009: ''

Too'', three one-act plays by

, including ''Mere Mortals'', ''The Universal Language'', and ''Sure Thing''. Spring 2009: ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'', music by

Harvey Schmidt Harvey Lester Schmidt (September 12, 1929 – February 28, 2018) was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, ''The Fantasticks'', which ran off ...

and lyrics by Tom Jones.

2007 - 2008 season

Winter 2008: ''

Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...

'', by

Eve Ensler V, formerly Eve Ensler (; born May 25, 1953), is an American playwright, performer, feminist, and activist. V is best known for her play ''The Vagina Monologues''.

. Rogue Festival 2008: ''

'', four one-act plays by

, including ''Words, Words, Words'', ''The Philadelphia'', ''Phillip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread'', and ''Variations on the Death of Trotsky.'' Spring 2008: ''

Glengarry Glen Ross ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' is a play by David Mamet that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts� ...

'', by

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

2007 season

Winter 2007: '' The Tempest'', by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. Spring 2007: ''

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

'', by

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

2006 season

Rogue Festival 2006: ''Love's Fire'', ART's maiden performance, consisting of three one-act plays: ''140'', by

Marsha Norman Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play '' 'night, Mother''. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as ''The Se ...

; ''Terminating'', by

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

; and ''Bitter Sauce'', by

Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian ( hy, Էրիկ Բոգոսյան; ; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and ...

. Spring 2006: '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', adapted for the stage by

Dale Wasserman Dale Wasserman (November 2, 1914 – December 21, 2008) was an American playwright, perhaps best known for his book for Man of La Mancha. Early life Dale Wasserman was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, the child of Russian immigrants Samuel W ...

, based on the novel by

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

Reviews & external links

Fresno Bee's review of ''Parallel Lives.''''Parallel Lives'' Rogue Festival page.''All in the Timing'' reviews from Rogue 2008.Fresno Famous article on ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''.ART MySpace page

References

{{authority control Theatre companies in California Organizations based in California Performing groups established in 2005 2005 establishments in California