Dynamic plays from three important women playwrights, plus a landmark Arthur Miller drama, a romantic Shakespearean romp and a beloved musical masterpiece, will highlight the 2016-2017 main-stage season from PlayMakers Repertory Company. The new season is the first selected by Vivienne Benesch, PlayMakers’ new producing artistic director.
“I couldn’t be more excited about this first season of captivating contemporary plays joined by re-imaginings of iconic classics PlayMakers does so well,” said Benesch. “These great stories of transformation are designed to engage, delight and invigorate.”
Subscription packages are available for purchase. Renewing subscribers can secure their current seats for the new season through April 8. Call (919) 962-7529 or visit http://www.playmakersrep.org/ for more information.
Main-stage productions for 2016-2017:
“Detroit ‘67” by Dominique Morisseau: Sept. 14-Oct. 2
In the regional premiere, the world is shifting for two siblings running an after-hours joint to make ends meet. Tensions mount when an outsider threatens their tight-knit community and the streets erupt in violence, in this riveting new play set to a driving Motown beat. The Huffington Post called “Detroit ‘67” “mind-blowing!” and the Star Tribune said it’s “[a] poetic play of fire-fueled dreams and frustrated love set against a backdrop of historic social unrest in Motown.”
“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller: Oct. 19-Nov. 6
Miller’s landmark play gripped PlayMakers’ audiences 40 years ago, but it couldn’t be more timely in today’s political climate. The theater crowns its 40th anniversary with a fresh look at this masterful drama that explores the slippery slope of mass hysteria. The Tony Award-winner for Best Play, The New York Times called “The Crucible” a “cruelly magnificent play [of] undeniable power.”
“The May Queen” by Molly Smith Metzler: Nov. 23-Dec. 11
This regional premiere is a savvy new comedy about shifting expectations that asks “Whatever happened to your high school ‘queen’?” Everyone wonders what happened to Jen Nash, Kingston High’s beautiful 1997 May Queen. When she suddenly resurfaces back in town as a temp worker, things are a far cry from what anyone had imagined. It’s a mixed up mash-up when an unexpected high school reunion meets the hilarity of “The Office.” The Huffington Post raved, saying “The May Queen” is “an inspired tragicomedy … crackling with humor and raw emotions.”
“Intimate Apparel” by Lynn Nottage: Jan. 25-Feb. 12, 2017
Esther sews elegant intimates for high society and fallen women alike, fashioning an independent path in her search for love and respect in this compelling look at the joys and sorrows of an African-American seamstress told against the rich tapestry of 1905 New York. The Observer called the play “quietly subversive … a defining piece of American drama.” Nottage, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, garnered Best Play nods from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle and Outer Critics Circle.
“Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare: March 1-19, 2017
This perfectly made comedy of mistaken identity, “Twelfth Night” features a shipwreck, lost twins, gender-bending disguise and romantic intrigue. The Bard’s riotous romp affirms the power of love to transform loss into hope, with every word, wink and wooing a sheer delight. The New York Times proclaimed it “a celestial comedy.”
“My Fair Lady” book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Loewe, adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture “Pygmalion,” original production directed by Moss Hart: April 5-29, 2017
Audiences will be transported by glorious music and cheer Eliza on as she grabs her chance for reinvention, breaking barriers and changing the lives of Henry Higgins and everyone she meets along the way. The multiple Tony and Olivier Award-winner has been called irresistible” by Variety and “probably the greatest musical of all time” by The Daily Telegraph.
PlayMakers will also present three topical, thought-provoking shows in its PRC2 second-stage 2016-2017 season:
TBA: Aug. 24-28
PlayMakers is finalizing plans for the first play in next season’s PRC2 series.
“De Profundis” by Oscar Wilde, adapted for the stage by Brian Mertes: Jan. 11-15, 2017
This work-in-development will explore Wilde’s infamous account of lost love and betrayal, so beautifully expressed in his “letter from Reading Gaol,” taking the audience into his journey of transformation from the depths of despair to transcendent heights of forgiveness and understanding. PlayMakers’ new staging will explore why, as Wilde wrote, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
“Mr. Joy” by Daniel Beaty: April 26-30, 2017
A Harlem community takes stock when a Chinese immigrant’s shoe repair shop curiously doesn’t open one morning, eventually leading the neighborhood to hope and healing. An array of customers, including indomitable 11-year-old Clarissa and “gangsta granny” Bessie, come to realize what the shop owner has meant to their lives. Theatermania praised “Mr. Joy” as “the most uplifting and inspiring theater you’ll see this year.”
All performances will be presented in UNC-Chapel Hill’s Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road – main stage productions will take place in the Paul Green Theatre and PRC2 shows will be presented in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre.
For information on PlayMakers’ current season including visit http://www.playmakersrep.org or call (919) 962-7529.
