Actors Theatre of Louisville announces new season

Actors Theatre of Louisville has announced its next season of plays.The theater will kick off the 2012-13 season September 4 with William Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers “Romeo and Juliet.” The tragedy will be directed by Louisville native and former Actors Theatre apprentice Tony Speciale, currently associate artistic director of New York City’s Classic Stage Company.New artistic director Les Waters will direct two plays in the upcoming season, Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer Prize-winning family and addiction drama “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” (Oct. 9) and “Girlfriend,” a musical inspired by and featuring the music of Nineties alternative pop star Matthew Sweet (Jan. 29). Waters directed the 2010 world premiere of “Girlfriend” at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where he previously served as associate artistic director.Sam Shepard’s “True West,” (Nov. 13) a dark comedy about sibling rivalry and Hollywood dreams, and Matthew Lopez’s acclaimed Civil War-era drama “The Whipping Man,” (Jan. 8 ) which won last year’s New York Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Playwriting Award, will round out the regular season.Three seasonal plays will return this fall. William McNulty’s adaptation of “Dracula” will open in the Bingham Theatre in September, and “A Christmas Carol” will celebrate its 37th production December 4 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium. “A Christmas Story” will be back for one final run in November before the show is retired.The line-up for next year's  Humana Festival of New American Plays (February 27-April 4) will be announced later this year.