The Phoenix Theatre has announced its 2013/14 Indianapolis season.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike By Christopher Durang
September 19 – October 20, 2013
2012 Tony Award-winner for Best Play
It’s a lovely day at Vanya and Sonia’s farmhouse in Bucks County, PA. But instead of spending the morning strolling through their cherry orchard, these wacky siblings have their hands full with a soothsayer/cleaning woman, a neighborhood costume party, and a surprise visit from their movie star sister, Masha, and her studly new boy-toy, Spike. This explosively funny, laugh-out-loud Broadway smash-hit marks the eighth Christopher Durang production at the Phoenix Theatre – with the playwright at his affectionate, unpredictable best.
Rancho Mirage
By Stephen Dietz
October 24 – November 24, 2013
NNPN Rolling World Premiere
From the playwright of Yankee Tavern and Becky’s New Car comes this National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. On this comedic journey into the psyche of 2013 America—where affluence is perhaps our greatest mirage—six longtime friends gather at an ill-fated dinner party, where the evening unspools with alarming secrets and shocking bombshells. Dietz’s dark comedy asks: What connects us when our youth, our dreams and our last bottle of wine are gone?
A Very Phoenix X-Mas 8: Angels We Have Heard While High By Various Artists
November 29 – December 22, 2013
World Premiere
We’re back with another round of all-new sketches, songs and dances! Share your holiday with us-we’ve got everything on your list: traditional holiday music, wacky comedy skits, and some very talented people to help you celebrate this most joyful – and stressful – time of year. We turn the holidays on their head with local and national playwrights putting a new spin on all things traditional. An Indy favorite!
Tribes
By Nina Raine
January 9 – February 9, 2014
Indiana Premiere
Billy, a young deaf man, lives silently among his loud, intellectually elite and fiercely opinionated family who talk a lot, but don’t listen so well. It’s not until he meets Sylvia, a young woman on the brink of deafness, that he finally understands what it means to be heard. Touching and beautiful with just the right amount of heart, this London and New York hit is a surprisingly refreshing look at how we align ourselves within this world, whether we realize it or not.
North of the Boulevard By Bruce Graham
February 13-March 9, 2014
Regional Premiere
In a time when the gulf between the “haves” and “have-nots” continues to grow comes this gritty blue-collar comedy set in a decaying garage where three childhood friends and a cantankerous old man struggle to make sense of their dead-end lives. Living on pipe dreams, they seek the opportunities lying dormant just across the boulevard. When a chance event gives them the opportunity to escape their crumbling neighborhood, morality may have to take a backseat to prosperity.
I and You By Lauren Gunderson
March 13 – April 13
NNPN Rolling World Premiere
Only in high school would two completely unconnected people—cranky, chronically ill Caroline and level-headed basketball star Anthony—be paired to collaborate on a project to deconstruct a poem about the interconnectivity of everything. The two teens cram to finish their presentation on Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, unaware that a much deeper mystery has brought them together. I and You is a valentine to youth, love, and the strange beauty of human connectedness.
Spun
Book by Emily Goodson
Music and Lyrics by Jeremy Schonfeld
April 17 – May 11
Originally commissioned and produced by fellow NNPN Member Theatre: Bloomington Playwrights Project.
Following their father’s death, twenty-something estranged siblings, Molly and Jesse, try to find a way to reconnect within the ruins of their childhood. But memories have a funny way of changing over time, and with two very different recollections of their life-altering choices on a night eight years prior, blame, doubt, and rock-n-roll become weapons. This high-octane musical explores the complexities of family, forgiveness, memory and perception, weaving together the memories and unique perspectives of siblings with comedy, wit, and rock.
Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya
By May 15 – June 8, 2014
Regional Premiere
Based on the best-selling Chicano novel of all time, this magical coming-of-age adventure follows Antonio and his family in 1940s New Mexico. In a time when the world is changing beyond comprehension, Antonio’s elderly relative, Ultima, imparts ancient wisdom and traditions to Antonio, hoping that he can learn his people’s way of living and carry it forward. This enchanted production incorporates elements of music and dance, bringing the novel to life in a way only possible in the theatre. Some performances will be in Spanish.
Cock
By Mike Bartlett
June 12 – July 6, 2014
Indiana Premiere
In this provocatively titled, tense comedy about sexual identity, Cock explores one man’s choices about which path of love to pursue. Taking a break from his longtime boyfriend, the last thing John expects is to fall in love with a woman. This sparks unexpected sexual excitement, and suddenly his whole existence is in turmoil. Playwright, Mike Bartlett, detonates the love triangle with his wry investigation of attraction, ambivalence, and commitment.
Miles and Ellie By Don Zolidis
July 10 – August 10, 2014
Indiana Premiere
Miles and Ellie are two unlikely teenagers in love when a youthful misunderstanding breaks them apart. Fast forward twenty years when road-weary divorcée Ellie comes home for what she expects to be a typical dysfunctional-family Thanksgiving. Not long into the shenanigans, however, Ellie learns that Miles is still in town and carrying a torch for her. Is it possible to get a second chance at your first love? This charming romantic comedy will make you wonder, “What if?”
Photo Courtesy of the Phoenix Theatre
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