To celebrate their 2009 - 2010 seasons the Hilberry and Bonstelle Theatres are thanking their subscribers for their unwavering loyalty over the past 46 years. Approximately twenty-five percent of subscribers at the Hilberry and Bonstelle theatres have been supporting the theatre students at Wayne State University for twenty or more years. As part of a class assignment, Wayne State Theatre Management students will be honoring all of these loyal subscribers and thanking them for the continued support that has helped to create the best possible learning enviroment for the students in the Theatre program.

The 2009 - 2010 season also heralds some changes for the Hilberry and Bonstelle Theatres, including on-line ticketing availability twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at www.wsushows.com. New television monitors in the Hilberry lobby offer a fresh opportunity to save space and paper. The most unique change that subscribers and single ticket buyers will notice is the addition of a musical, The Fantasticks, to the Hilberry schedule which will not run in the traditional rotating repertory. Instead, this "straight run" show will be performed on consecutive weekends.

The Hilberry Theatre will open its 2009 - 2010 season with The Fantasticks featuring music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. The Fantasticks is the longest running off-Broadway musical of all time, and will be the second musical ever to be produced on the Hilberry stage! Matt and Luisa are in a forbidden love that is "prohibited" by their feuding fathers, which results in construction of a wall to keep them apart. Can Luisa's vision of being saved by Matt from a kidnapper save their love, or will it be lost forever? The Fantasticks features the hit song "Try To Remember". The Fantasticks will play in stock October 2, 2009 - October 24, 2009.

After featuring the second musical in Hilberry's history, the traditional rotating repertory schedule will commence with William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Hermia loves Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius. Demetrius loves Hermia. The couples escape to the forest to preserve their love, but are soon faced by mischievous fairies, with plans of their own. Using juice from a magical flower, fairies Oberon and Puck construe a plan of chaos, havoc, and fun! It will play in rotating repertory November 6, 2009 - January 29, 2010.

Wayne State University is one of the only institutions that is given permission to take students across the globe to the Moscow Art Theatre to study in Moscow, Russia. Continuing the new season, the Hilberry will present The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, a playwright who is frequently studied by the students in Moscow. The Seagull is the story of Konstatin, a man who has spent much of his life in the shadow of his Mother Abkadina, a famous actress. While visiting his uncle's estate he directs and writes a revolutionary play which he believes will validate his reputation as an artist. The play, with which he plans to impress his mother, will feature Nina, the woman he adores. But Nina wants nothing more than to leave the country to pursue her dreams of becoming an actress and escape her overbearing father and step-mother, who want her to abandon her silly dreams. This play will run in rotating repertory December 4, 2009 - February 11, 2010.

The Hilberry will bring a unique theatrical experience with The Servant Of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni. Even though Truffaldino is fed by his master, Florindo, he is always hungry. When the opportunity to service another master and to fill his stomach twice as often arrives in Venice, he jumps at the idea. As Truffaldino runs around Venice trying to fulfill both master's wishes without being caught for serving two masters, he doesn't realize his two masters are looking for each other! Performed in the original style of commedia dell'arte, where the outcome of a scene is pre-determined but the actors create the lines and jokes to get there, The Servant of Two Masters treats the audience to a comical and original experience that is hard to forget! The play runs in rotating repertory January 15, 2010 - March 27, 2010.

Next season will also feature the play Good by C.P. Taylor. Professor John Hadler is a good man. He is dedicated to his wife, children and close friends. When a book he has written catches the attention of the Nazi party, things start to change for him. Good examines the gradual rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany through Professor Hadler's eyes, and how even "good" people can be lead into very bad things. Good will play in rotating repertory February 26, 2010 - May 7, 2010.

The Hilberry Theatre Company will close its season with, The Beaux Stratagem by George Farquhar. Two gentlemen, Aimwell and Archer pose as a fashionable gentleman and his servant and travel from town-to-town in search of wealthy maidens to charm and steal from. When the men arrive in Lichfield, they find exactly what they are looking for: Aimwell finds the daughter of the wealthy Lady Bountiful and Archer the wonderful Kate Sullen. Unfortunately for the duo, while in Lichfield the double-crossers get double-crossed by their own hearts, and fall in love with their would-be victims! The Beaux Stratagem will play in rotating repertory April 9, 2010 - May 15, 2009.

The Bonstelle Theatre kicks off the season with The Talented Tenth, by Richard Wesley. Referring to an article written W.E.B. Dubois in 1903, which discussed the likelihood of one in ten black men becoming leaders of their race in the world, Howard University alumni discuss this issue in the late 1980s, and how it applies to their very successful lives. The group of friends, and formerly dedicated champions of the black revolution, question whether or not they have "sold out" in exchange for the successful lives they have led. It will play October 16, 2009 - October 25, 2009.

To celebrate the holiday season, the Bonstelle Company will perform A Christmas Carol. Based off the classic book by Charles Dickens, this timeless tale takes its audience through the Christmas memory of the rich and greedy Ebenezer Scrooge. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, and is warned he will be visited by three ghosts. The ghosts remind Scrooge of the value of life and the true meaning of Christmas. A Christmas Carol plays December 4, 2009 - December 13, 2009.

The Bonstelle Theatre will also be presenting A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. Identical twin brothers and their identical twin servants are reunited in Syracuse after being separated shortly after their birth in a storm. There's only one problem: nobody can tell which brother is which and which servant is which, including the twins themselves! It will play February 19, 2010 - February 28, 2010.

The 2009 - 2010 season will end with Pippin, with book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Pippin is a coming of age musical, which describes the adventures of Pippin, a young prince who leaves his royal life to search for true love and happiness. This Tony-award winner features music from the composer of Wicked. Pippin will tickle your funny bone while examining themes of war, art, love and hapiness. Pippin comes to the Bonstelle stage April 16, 2010 - April 25, 2010.

Located in Detroit, Michigan the Wayne State University Department of Theatre is home to the Hilberry Company, the nation's only true graduate rotating repertory theatre company, which consists of approximately 50 full-time graduate students. Wayne State University is also home to the Bonstelle Company, which consists of over one hundred undergraduate students. The Hilberry and Bonstelle theatres draw subscribers from not only Detroit and surrounding communities, but also from as far away as Ohio and Canada. Each production at Wayne State University is designed, staffed, managed, and performed by up-and-coming theatre professionals. Season subscription tickets go on sale beginning February 20, 2009. Subscriptions are available for as low as $48 for a four-show season at the Bonstelle and for as low as $90 for a six-show season at the Hilberry. Subscriptions are available for all 10 shows at both theatres for as low as $138. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, with 2 p.m. matinees on selected Wednesdays and Saturdays. Performances at the Bonstelle are at 8 p.m. on Fridays and also at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

The Hilberry Theatre is located at 4743 Cass Ave. on the corner of Cass and Hancock in Detroit. The Bonstelle Theatre is located at 3424 Woodward Ave., one block south of the Mack and Woodward intersection. The box office, located in the Hilberry Theatre building, is open 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday, October through May, with extended hours to 8:15 p.m. on performance evenings. To purchase subscriptions, individual tickets, or for more information call the Wayne State University box office at (313) 577-2972, or visit www.hilberry.com.

Season selections are subject to change.