Dear Friends,

I can’t believe this is the tenth season I've had the privilege to program for the Citadel Theatre and the Edmonton community. It’s been a special honor to be the first Edmonton-born Artistic Director of this venerable organization.

The last nine years have gone by extremely quickly and have been incredibly productive. We’ve seen the resurrection of the Rice Theatre Series, a series for young audiences and the Teen Festival. In addition we have committed to family programming, promoting local talent and developing and producing new plays.

Our latest and most ambitious project is the innovative professional development program with the internationally renowned Banff Centre. This program will bring together fourteen of the most exciting young professional actors from across the country to further develop their skills in a fifteen-week intensive program. Together, with an exceptionally talented faculty, they will rehearse and perform Tom Wood’s new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to open the season on the Shoctor stage.

We are very pleased and proud that there will be three other world premieres next season and that they are all by Alberta writers.

For young audiences we have a new musical by Edmontonians Marty Chan and Robert Walsh. It is called The Forbidden Phoenix and is a unique fusion of the Peking Opera style and contemporary musical theatre. We also have a new play by local director and playwright Ron Jenkins called Extinction Song that stars local favorite Ron Pederson.

Our fourth premiere is a new piece by the internationally acclaimed, Lethbridge-born marionettist, Ronnie Burkett. Titled Billy Twinkle, Requiem for a Golden Boy, it will play here before setting out on a world tour.

We are also offering a full range of theatrical experiences from the latest Broadway hit, to Shakespeare to the greatest family classic of all time, The Wizard of Oz.

We hope to see you at the theatre so that we may share these incredible performances with you. We have many options to fit your schedule and your budget. We would love it if you shared the good news of the Citadel with your friends and co-workers. Everyone is welcome.

Thank you for joining us for my 10^th season. I’m looking forward to sharing many more with you.

BOB BAKER
Artistic Director
bbaker@citadeltheatre.com

Bob Baker Biography

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Citadel productions directed by Bob Baker

2007/2008	Noises Off Disney’s Beauty and the Beast A Christmas Carol
2006/07	The Pillowman The Constant Wife A Christmas Carol Oliver!
2005/06	Blithe Spirit A Christmas Carol Peter Pan
2004/2005	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof A Christmas Carol West Side Story Vanya
2003/2004	The Shape of Things A Christmas Carol Measure for Measure
2002/2003	Servant of Two Masters Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You and The Actor’s Nightmare A Christmas Carol Grease
2001/2002	Cabaret A Christmas Carol Present Laughter Who Has Seen the Wind
2000/2001	Betty’s Summer Vacation A Christmas Carol Art
1999/2000	Picasso at the Lapin Agile Popcorn Into the Woods Little Shop of Horrors

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