TheatreSquared Announces 15th Anniversary Season

TheatreSquared (T2) Artistic Director Robert Ford and Executive Director Martin Miller today announced the 2020/21 TheatreSquared Season, the acclaimed company's first eight-play lineup for its fifteenth anniversary. Season packages are on sale today, with packages starting at $131 available by phone at (479) 777-7477 or online at theatre2.org/subscribe.

"Our fifteenth anniversary feels like a very special occasion - a testament to this region's hunger and appreciation for remarkable live theatre, done well and with passion," said Ford.

"This year has already been extraordinary for live theatre in Northwest Arkansas," said Miller. "Attendance has grown by more than half in our first season in the new TheatreSquared. Now, we are excited to launch a season which will have not only a regional, but national impact."

As The New York Times announced last week, the season begins with a world premiere which brings the megahit television series Designing Women to life for our current age on stage. Teeming with raucous hilarity and channeling the series' one-of-a-kind, trademark voice, Designing Women sets out to unite its audience-if nothing else-in laughter. It's 2020, and Julia, Suzanne, Mary Jo, and Charlene are partners in the startup Atlanta-based interior design firm, Sugarbaker's-but with the firm in crisis, they're on the verge of a radical decision to sell the business and separate. This timely, whip-smart and deeply funny new Southern comedy is set to take the theatre world by storm. This strictly limited engagement begins performances on August 12 and must close September 13, 2020, before continuing with co-production partners Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Dallas Theatre Center.

In October, TheatreSquared brings Violet by Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home) and playwright Brian Crawley. When Violet hops onto a Greyhound bus traveling across Arkansas towards a miracle in Tulsa-the healing touch of a TV evangelist who will make her beautiful-it turns into the journey of a lifetime. In a Critics' Pick review, The New York Times called it "a terrific, heart-stirring, enduringly rewarding musical with tangy flavors of country, gospel, blues and honky-tonk rock." This winner of the Lucille Lortel, Obie, and Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical and five Tony Award nominations plays in Northwest Arkansas September 30-October 25, 2020.

Next on stage is a raw and hilarious new comedy from Bryna Turner, At the Wedding. Following its development at TheatreSquared's Arkansas New Play Festival in 2019, the play will have its world premiere at Lincoln Center Theatre this fall. TheatreSquared will stage its full production just weeks after its New York debut. At this wedding, Carlo plans to be really well behaved. She's not going to get drunk. She's not going to give any long-winded speeches. And she's definitely not going to try to steal the bride. On stage November 4-December 13, 2020.

For the holidays, T2's original, smash-hit production of A Christmas Carol returns as a new celebratory tradition for Northwest Arkansas. Filled with stage magic and holiday cheer, Amy Herzberg's and Robert Ford's adaptation enduringly reimagines Dickens' classic ghost story for all ages. Three spirits come to visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and take him on a fantastic journey through past, present, and future. But will it be enough to save him? This production is a special add-on option for T2 subscribers and plays December 2- December 27, 2020.

After the New Year, T2 stages New York Times Critics' Pick, School Girls Or, the African Mean Girls Play. This buoyant and biting comedy finds Paulina, the reigning queen bee at Ghana's most exclusive boarding school, with her sights set on the Miss Global Universe pageant. But the arrival of Ericka, a new student with undeniable talent and beauty, captures the attention of the pageant recruiter-and Paulina's hive-minded friends. Written by Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh, this play was twice extended in its off-Broadway debut. Described by the Times as a, "a gleeful African makeover of an American genre" - and, as The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "ferociously funny," School Girls runs January 27-February 21, 2021.

Next up, TheatreSquared stages William Shakespeare's "most wonderful" comedic classic, Twelfth Night. This gender-bending comedy of mistaken identities, desperate passion, and drunken hijinx is full of vitality and romance. When a shipwreck separates Viola and her twin brother, each fears the other dead. On unfriendly shores, Viola disguises herself as a page boy to a mysterious Duke-only to find herself in an unlikely triangle of unrequited love. Overflowing with music and swordplay, TheatreSquared's reimagining of Shakespeare's beloved romantic comedy is a singular live theatre experience. Performances are March 10-April 4, 2021.

In spring 2021, TheatreSquared will produce the newest work by Lauren Gunderson, the country's top-produced playwright since 2016 and author of T2's record-setting Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. The Half-Life of Marie Curie is the story of the real-world friendship of two rock-star scientists, both women at the heights and depths of their lives and careers. Fresh from its 2019 New York debut, the play is a potent mix of science, scandal, humor and humanity. "It radiates empowerment" (TimeOut NY). The Half Life of Marie Curie is on stage March 25 - April 19, 2021.

The season concludes with the celebratory and heartwarming music-filled comedy, American Mariachi. This brand new, hilarious, high-energy story trumpets the freedom to dream big. It's the 1970s, and Lucha spends her days caring for her ailing mother, but longs to shake up her life. When a forgotten record album sparks her mother's memory, Lucha and her cousin strike upon a radical idea: to create an all-female mariachi band. Infused with live music, this play which the Denver Post called a "big-hearted tug at the heartstrings" reminds us how music and love can make just about anything possible. On stage May 19-June 13, 2021.

In June, the state's flagship celebration of bold new plays will take the stage with the 2021 Arkansas New Play Festival, including two weekends of performances at the region's most adventurous venues-TheatreSquared and The Momentary. Featuring local craft beers and a host of behind-the-scenes events, the festival is Northwest Arkansas's chance to help build a new play from the ground up.

Subscription packages for TheatreSquared are on sale now, giving season ticket buyers the first opportunity to book seats before single tickets for Designing Women go on sale. Subscription options include seven-play packages starting at $131, with four- and five- play flex packages starting at $72. Series options include Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm, as well as Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. Limited tickets are also available to T2's Opening Night Series on the first Friday of each production, which includes a catered reception and a champagne toast. Additionally, the Preview Saver Series is available on the first Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each production.

Add-on options available exclusively for T2 subscribers include reserved parking at the Spring Street Parking Deck ($35) and Kids' Club passes, allowing children (5+) to enjoy theatre classes at T2 while their parents enjoy the show ($15 per child per performance).

T2 will continue to offer its popular young patrons program, NexT2. NexT2 members enjoy exclusive benefits such as complimentary beverages, behind-the-scenes experiences, and parties in the fall and spring - as well discounted, first priority to the theatre's sell-out New Years' celebration. Membership is a $35 add-on.

All T2 subscriptions also include membership in National Stages, offering subscriber ticket pricing at 20 theatres ranging from The Public Theater in New York, to the Arkansas Rep in Little Rock, to Steppenwolf in Chicago. See the full list at nationalstages.org. Other benefits for season ticket holders also include savings of up to 15%, prime seating reserved before single tickets go on sale, and free unlimited exchanges. Subscribers enjoy same-day discounts of up to 20% The Commons Bar/ Cafe, located at TheatreSquared, or at T2 Restaurant Partners including Arsaga's Depot, Bordinos, Cork and Keg, Fresco Restaurant, Rolando's, Mockingbird Kitchen, Woodstone Pizza.

TheatreSquared will also tour more than 80 schools in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma in the 2020/21 Season with Ladies of Literature, an irreverent literary comedy with English curriculum integrated content. Arkansas teachers who are interested to host this free performance at their junior high or high school should contact Morgan Hicks, director of education, at (479) 445-6333.