Iowa Stage Theatre Company Presents Virtual Season

Iowa Stage Theatre Company, central Iowa's home for award-winning theater that inspires, enlightens and entertains, is announcing a three-show virtual season in the spring of 2021.

Three shows will be presented on the streaming platform Broadway On Demand. They are:

• Bright Half Life by Tanya Barfield is the story of the relationship between two women that spans love, children, skydiving and illness, told in a creative and fluid style that keeps the audience guessing.

• The Agitators by Mat Smart tells the story of the decades long friendship between Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, their partnership and falling out.

• Exit Strategy by Ike Holter looks at the faculty and staff of an inner-city high school as they fight the system and each other to keep it open.

"These are three shows that come from the cutting edge of great theater writing," says ISTC's Artistic Director Matthew McIver. "They look at issues of racial injustice, economic disparity, and the lives of LBTQ+ Americans. They look at America from the 19th Century to 2030. They are funny, passionate, moving and exciting."

Tanya Barfield is an award-winning playwright and the co-director of Julliard's American Playwright's program. Also a performer and television writer, she has shared a WGA award for her work on The Americans. Mat Smart has written 25 full-length plays that have been produced around the country. And Ike Holter has written the 7-play Rightlynd saga, of which Exit Strategy is a part, and is currently developing a television series about Harold Washington, Chicago's first Black mayor.

All three shows will be produced digitally and will be available on Broadway On Demand, both individually and as a three-show package. More information will be available at Iowa Stage Theatre Company's website, www.iowastage.org

"In the ongoing pandemic Iowa Stage Theatre is continually growing to find new ways to share the greatest stories ever put onstage," said McIver. "With the help of our patrons, sponsors and Resident Artist Company, we are excited to present this spring season for audiences in Iowa and beyond."