TheatreSquared Unveils 2022/23 Season

TheatreSquared (T2) Artistic Director Robert Ford and Executive Director Martin Miller today announced the 2022-23 TheatreSquared Season. Season packages are on sale today, with packages starting at $105 available by phone at (479) 777-7477 or online at theatre2.org/subscribe.

"What does joy really feel like?" asked Ford. "It's hard to describe. But as we roll out the new season, there's one thing we can say-you're about to see a whole lot of it on our stages."

"We've read through hundreds of scripts and talked with our most trusted collaborators in the national artistic community," said Miller. "And now, we have a slate of eight shows that we absolutely love. And we think our audiences will, too."

The season opens with an "out of this world" premiere-It Came From Outer Space, adapted from the cult favorite '50s sci-fi film by Joe Kinoisian and Kellen Blair, the writing duo behind T2's smash hit, Murder for Two. When an astronomer encounters a spaceship in the desert, everyone just laughs-until some townspeople start acting very strange. Are the aliens here to conquer the Earth? Or... do they come in peace? Full of raucous music, over-the-top comedy, and virtuosic performances, It Came from Outer Space is a co-production premiere with the Tony Award-winning Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Performances will run from August 24-September 18, 2022.

October brings the Motown music-filled Detroit '67 by MacArthur "Genius" Fellow Dominique Morisseau. In 1967 Detroit, Motown music is getting the party started, and Chelle and her brother Lank are making ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours joint. But when a mysterious woman finds her way into their lives, the siblings clash over much more than the family business. "Crackling with humor. Fire up some Motown, get those hips moving and everything will work out fine!" wrote The New York Times of the play's debut. Winner of the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, Detroit '67 will run from October 12-November 6, 2022.

Next up is Marie Jones' Stones in His Pockets, an Olivier Award-winner for Best New Comedy in which two talented actors virtuosically portray more than a dozen roles. Hollywood comes to rural Ireland when Charlie and Jake are hired as extras in an epic American movie, but when a famous actress takes a shine to Charlie-and tragedy strikes-chaos ensues. The Associated Press called Stones in His Pockets "inventive and riotously funny" while The Daily Mail called it "an unalloyed source of joy, laughter, tears and delight." This show will run from November 9-December 18, 2022.

A new Northwest Arkansas holiday traditions returns to TheatreSquared's West Theatre with A Christmas Carol, adapted by T2's own Amy Herzberg & Robert Ford from the novel by Charles Dickens, in December. In the inventive, magic-filled T2 original, 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? For all ages. This ghost story of Christmas will run from December 1-December 24, 2022.

Qui Nguyen's raucous comedy Vietgone thrilled audiences in T2's 2017-2018 season and, now, with Poor Yella Rednecks, Nguyen continues the story in this sequel about an immigrant family's bumpy road to the American dream. Filled with infectious music and unexpected humor, this brand-new play is a co-production with Chicago's Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre. The Los Angeles Times writes, "A genuine love story with unstoppable comic verve, filled with music, humor, rap, puppetry and-heck, why not?-martial arts." Nguyen is an Arkansas native, Emmy Award winner and co-writer of the currently Academy Award-nominated Best Animated Feature, Raya and the Last Dragon. On stage January 25-February 19, 2023.

In Sanctuary City, a New York Times Critics' Pick and "Best Theatre of 2021" selection, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok tells the remarkable story of two teenagers struggling "with two kinds of unreciprocated love: the kind they feel for each other and the kind they feel for their country." The Times writes: "Trenchant, gleeful, disorienting, Sanctuary City snaps with surprises, incandescence and rage." T2's production is on stage March 1-April 9, 2023.

Douglas Lyons' Chicken & Biscuits was on Broadway just three months ago, where Variety called it "fresh, relatable and laugh-out-loud funny." Rival sisters, Baneatta and Beverly, are trying to bury their father-without killing each other first. When a family secret is revealed at the church altar, things go from bad to bonkers. With fast-paced jokes that will have audiences rolling in the aisles-and Dad turning over in his grave-this dysfunctional family comedy is even more satisfying than its namesake. The New York Stage Review wrote, "The church bells are chiming. Heed the call and go straight to Chicken & Biscuits." April 19, 2023-May 14, 2023.

The New York Times Critics' Pick Violet, by Brian Crawley and Jeanine Tesori (composer of Fun Home), closes out the 2022/23 subscription season from June 7-July 2, 2023. When Violet hops onto a Greyhound bus traveling across Arkansas towards a miracle in Tulsa, it turns into the journey of a lifetime. Winner of Lucille Lortel, Obie and Drama Critics' Circle Awards, The New York Times called the show "a terrific, heart-stirring musical with tangy flavors of country, gospel, blues and honky-tonk rock."

Also in June, the state's flagship celebration of bold new plays will take the stage with the 2023 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 go on sale in summer 2022. Subscription options include seven-play packages starting at $105, 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.

For those looking for a deal, the theatre is launching a brand-new stand-by "Lucky Tix" subscription series. With no assigned seats, Lucky Tix patrons arrive at the theatre and are seated at curtain in the best available location.

Add-on options available exclusively for T2 subscribers include reserved parking on all show dates at the Spring Street Parking Deck ($40).

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. 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% at The Commons Bar/ Cafe, located at TheatreSquared.
TheatreSquared will also tour more than 80 schools in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma in the 2022/23 season, featuring performances of The Shakespeare Show, a curriculum-integrated performance available for free to any school who requests it. Arkansas teachers who are interested in hosting this performance at their junior high or high school should contact Chad Dike, director of education, at (479) 445-6333.

Subscriptions are on sale now and can be reserved by calling TheatreSquared (479) 777-7477 or by visiting theatre2.org/subscribe. Single tickets will go on sale July 1 and will range from $18-$54. At every performance, $1 tickets are available to SNAP benefit recipients as well as $10 tickets for youth, and free tickets for clients of more than 30 local community service organizations.

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