2008–09 season > Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets

written by itamar moses
directed by tony taccone
main season | thrust stage
august 29–october 12, 2008
world premiere

the play

The season kicks off with the world premiere of an incisive play set in Berkeley and written by a Berkeley native. Nationally known playwright Itamar Moses returns to his hometown with a script set just around the corner in the halls of his alma mater, Berkeley High. When the school newspaper publishes an insensitive story, students suddenly find themselves embroiled in a volatile controversy—and even their teachers seem unprepared to deal with the repercussions. Artistic Director Tony Taccone directs Yellowjackets, a compelling collision of race and class that forces us to examine familiar surroundings with fresh eyes.

the players

After graduating from Berkeley High, Itamar Moses attended Yale and New York Universities—and later taught playwriting at both schools. Although only 30 years old, he’s penned popular plays like Bach at Leipzig, Celebrity Row, The Four of Us and Outrage that have been produced off Broadway and nationwide.

Tony Taccone took two recent shows from Berkeley Rep to New York City: he made his Broadway debut with Sarah Jones’ Bridge & Tunnel, which won a Tony Award for its star, and also directed a sold-out run of Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak’s Brundibar in Times Square. With Yellowjackets, he generates the same mix of intense emotion and timely politics that electrified shows like Continental Divide, Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell and Taking Over.

the buzz

“Moses clearly has a playful mind, an adventurous breadth of curiosity, and a delightful appreciation of the tension between form and meaning.”—Newsday

His writing is “brashly sophisticated, cuttingly comic, boldly brainy, verbally baroque, structurally complex, and altogether virtuosic.”—Chicago Sun-Times

Press Photos

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