the week of may 31-june 4, 2021
a post-electric play/a post-pandemic play
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Identity design by Elizabeth Haley Morton.
online & audio theatre
Madeline Sayet’s Where We Belong starts streaming at Woolly Mammoth on June 14th. Directed by Mei Ann Teo, Indigenous theatermaker Sayet “journeys across geographic borders, personal history and cultural legacies in search of a place to belong.”
Amelia Roper’s short audio play Camberwell House will release on June 6th from Playing On Air. The “tale of old age, murder and gingernut biscuits” stars Dana Ivey.
Young Jean Lee’s We’re Gonna Die starts streaming at Round House on June 14th. Directed by Paige Hernandez, the production stars Regina Aquino, one of my very favorite DC actors.
The 2019 LCT3 production of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Marys Seacole will be available for free streaming starting June 10th. The world premiere was directed by Liliana Blain-Cruz.
in-person theatre
I said I wasn’t keeping track of Broadway reopening dates because I didn’t care (and I don’t) but this doesn’t apply to Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over, which will start previews on August 4th and open on September 12th. The Off Broadway cast — Jon Michael Hill, Namir Smallwood, and Gabriel Ebert — will reprise their roles in the Broadway production.
end of an era
The UK-based Kneehigh Theatre announced the company’s closure. In a statement, the trustees said that “recent changes in artistic leadership raised questions as to whether Kneehigh could sustain their vision going forward. The Trustees and company reflected on a possible new future but concluded that it was better and more responsible to close Kneehigh and ensure an orderly wind down.” (I saw Kneehigh’s touring production of Brief Encounter at STC and it is forever seared in my memory.)
2021-22 season updates
The UK’s National Theatre announced additional 2021-22 shows. Projects include Kae Tempest's Philoctetes (directed by Ian Rickson); Hex, a new musical based on Sleeping Beauty directed by Rufus Norris; Anupama Chandrasekhar's new play The Father and the Assassin (directed by Indhu Rubasingham); Moira Buffini's new play Manor (directed by Fiona Buffini); Emma Rice's version of Wuthering Heights; Emlyn Williams’s The Corn is Green (directed by Dominic Cook); Winsome Pinnock's Rockets and Blue Lights (directed by Miranda Cromwell); Alecky Blythe’s new verbatim piece Our Generation (directed by Daniel Evans); and Alice Childress' Trouble in Mind (directed by Nancy Medina).
La Jolla Playhouse announced its 2021-22 season, with productions starting this month. Projects include 600 Highwaymen’s Thousand Ways (Part 2): An Encounter, Charlayne Woodard’s The Garden (directed by Patricia Macgregor), Kimber Lee’s the yellow house (directed by Neel Keller), and the Mike Lew/Rehana Lew Mirza/Sam Willmott musical Bhangin’ It (directed by Amy Anders Corcoran).
Arena Stage announced its 2021-22 in-person season. The season includes Lydia R. Diamond’s Toni Stone (directed by Pam MacKinnon), Eduardo Machado's Celia and Fidel (directed by Molly Smith), August Wilson’s Seven Guitars (directed by Tazewell Thompson), Craig Lucas' Change Agent, the musical Catch Me If You Can, and the launch of the North American tour of Signature Theatre’s production of Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band, directed by Chay Yew.
MCC Theatre announced its in-person 2021-22 season. The line-up includes Jocelyn Bioh’s Nollywood Dreams (directed by Saheem Ali), Van Hughes and Nick Blaemire’s musical Space Dogs, Ana Nogueira’s Here She Is Boys (directed by Mike Donahue), and Donja R. Love’s soft (directed by Whitney White).
Asolo Rep announced its 2021-22 season. The season includes Thornton Wilder’s Our Town (directed by Desdemona Chiang), Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons (directed by Celine Rosenthal), Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap (directed by Vanessa Stalling), Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day (directed by Bianca LaVerne Jones), the new Douglas Carter Beane/Lewis Flinn musical Hood (directed by Mark Brokaw), and the world premiere of the musical Knoxville from Frank Galati, Stephen Flaherty, and Lynn Ahrens.
Theater Wit announced its 2021 in-person season. The line-up includes Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, a post electric play; Matthew Lombardo’s Who’s Holiday!; and Madeleine George’s Hurricane Diane.
(As a betting woman, I wouldn’t have put money on the Mr. Burns revivals happening this early but I also believe that it is never the wrong time to produce an Anne Washburn play.)
assorted news
Black Theatre Coalition is now accepting applications for their new paid fellowship program. Each fellow will receive a $50,000 salary over the course of the 12-month program and available disciplines include writing, composition, directing, choreography, set design, lighting design, costume design, sound design, video design, wig and hair design, stage management, theatre management, musical direction, casting, marketing and advertising, public relations, digital media, and talent representation.
