the (short) week of november 19 - 23, 2022
holiday half-week edition
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in-person theatre
Alexis Scheer’s Our Dear Dead Drug Lord is now playing at Chicago’s Steep Theatre. The feverish wild ride about four Ouija board-armed teen girls trying to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar is directed by Sophiyaa Nayar.
Hansol Jung’s Among the Dead is now playing at Chicago’s Jackalope Theatre. Artistic Director Kaiser Ahmed directs the “riveting time warp about a family broken apart by betrayed promises, and finding each other again through SPAM, journals, and Jesus. Mostly Jesus.”
Anna Ziegler’s The Wanderers starts performances November 26th at City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh. Colette Robert directs the “mysterious new drama that puts a magnifying glass on the complications of love across generations and what it means to be happy.”
Laiona Michelle, Greg Dean Borowsky and Shaun Borowsky’s Mandela begins November 29th at London’s Young Vic. The new musical about the life and legacy of the South African president and anti-apartheid activist is directed by Schele Williams. (The production will be available to livestream January 19-23.)
Denis Johnson’s Des Moines runs November 29 - January 1 at Theatre for a New Audience. Arin Arbus directs the drama about “an unlikely assortment of people coming together for an impromptu party that takes them, by the evening’s end, on a dam bursting ride down a stream-of-consciousness deluge”
Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol begins November 29th at Writers Theatre in Glencoe, IL. The performance/design collective’s adaptation of the Dickens holiday classic features their signature blend of visual innovation, puppetry, and music.
The world premiere of April De Angelis’ Kerry Jackson runs November 30 - January at The National in London. Indhu Rubasingham directs the “biting new comedy” about the titular restauranteur opening a new tapas spot in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
Austen Unbound starts performances November 30th at Book-It Repertory in Seattle. The long-form improvised play celebrating the works of Jane Austen is directed by Dave Morris.
The world premiere of Vichet Chum’s Bald Sisters runs December 1 - January 15 at Steppenwolf. Jesca Prudencio directs the “irreverent, comedic and ultimately poignant examination of the ties that bind multigenerational families of immigrants together: history, spirituality and humor.”
La Jolla Playhouse’s 2022 DNA New Works Series begins December 1st. The first two readings of the annual festival are Keith Bunin’s The Loyal Opposition (directed by Christopher Ashley) and Idris Goodwin’s Manny and the Wise Queens (directed by Jacole Kitchen).
the regional theatre game of thrones
Jasson Minadakis is stepping down as artistic director of Marin Theatre Company. Minadakis has led the Bay Area company for 17 years, which, per Lily Janiak’s reporting, had a pre-pandemic “$4 million annual budget and 24 staffers to produce six plays per year. Now the budget is less than $2 million, with 10 staffers (up from a pandemic low of eight) producing four plays — a retrenchment that’s not unusual in theaters right now.”
2023 season updates
Theater Alliance in DC announced its 2023 season. The line-up of all-family-friendly programming includes Finegan Kruckemeyer’s This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing (directed by Johamy Morales); Lydia R. Diamond’s adaptation of Tori Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (directed by Otis Cortez Ramsey-Zöe); and El Chelito and Raymond O. Caldwell’s adaptation of Jason Reynolds’ Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks (directed by Caldwell in a Kennedy Center co-pro).
The Gift announced its 2023 season. The Chicago theatre will produce Anna Ouyang Moench’s Mothers (directed by Lili-Anne Brown) and Jim Cartwright’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (directed by Devon de Mayo).
The Flea announced its 2023 season. Projects include two world premieres: Zora Howard’s Hang Time and Nkenna Akunna's cheeky little brown; five commissioned Juneteenth celebration performances from Ebony Noelle Golden, James Scruggs, Paris L’Hommie, Chanon Judson, and Nia O. Witherspoon; and the company’s annual house party.
playwright news
Ensemble Studio Theatre announced the new members of Youngblood. The next cohort of the emerging playwright collective includes Lyndsey Bourne, K'yana Faulkner-Smith, Renae Jarrett, kl, Charlie Oh, Holly Settoon, Danny Tejera, and Susan Yassky.
