ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY Announces 2022-2023 Season; CARMEN JONES, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and More!

Ensemble Theatre Company has announced its 44th season. ETC will also be celebrating its ten-year anniversary of presenting extraordinary productions at The New Vic Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara. This season features a remarkable selection of plays, but starts its season with a spectacular reimagining of the operaCarmen with Carmen Jones, music by George Bizet, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, followed by Patrick Barlow's imaginative take on the timeless A Christmas Carol, then the Off-Broadway hit Selling Kabul, Lucy Kirkwood's thought-provoking The Children, and ETC will close its season with an absolutely delicious play from acclaimed playwright Theresa Rebeck, Seared.

"We are so looking forward to our upcoming season, which is a rich tapestry of music, comedy and important issues facing us today," said ETC's Artistic Director, Jonathan Fox. "We have assembled plays by some of the most noteworthy and acclaimed playwrights of our time and look forward to sharing these extraordinary experiences with our subscribers and audiences."

The 2022-23 Season begins with Carmen Jones, music by George Bizet with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Hammerstein adapted the beloved opera into a rarely-performed African-American Broadway musical. The classic story of the bewitching Carmen is set in the 1940's in a parachute factory, with all of Bizet's famous music. Jonathan Fox will be directing.Carmen Jones runs October 8-23, 2022. For the holidays, ETC presents the timeless A Christmas Carol. Patrick Barlow, writer of the Broadway and West End hit The 39 Steps, has retold Charles Dickens' beloved holiday classic. This inventively comic adaptation, under the direction of ETC favorite Jamie Torcellini, uses only five actors to bring some of Dickens' most beloved characters to life A Christmas Carol runs December 3-18, 2022. The season continues with Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury, An Off-Broadway hit, this nail-biting story centers on an Afghan man who was an interpreter for the U.S. Army and is now in hiding from the Taliban at his sister's apartment in Kabul. Tension mounts as he tries to get his wife and infant child out of the country. Selling Kabul runs February 4-19, 2023. ETC follows with Lucy Kirkwood's Broadway hit The Children. Two retired nuclear physicists, a married couple holed up in a remote cottage on the British coast, are visited by a long-ago colleague who mysteriously arrives as the world outside is dealing with a major climate disaster. In this gripping story, we are asked what one generation owes to the next. Directed by Jenny Sullivan, The Children runs April 8-23, 2023. ETC concludes this season with Jonathan Fox directing a delicious new play from acclaimed playwright Theresa Rebeck, Seared.A brilliant, hot-headed chef scores a mention in New York magazine with his signature dish of scallops, and his business partner finally sees profits within reach. The only problem,: the chef refuses to recreate masterpieces for the masses. This hilarious and insightful new play that asks us to consider where art ends and commerce begins. Seared runs June 10-25, 2023.

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Subscriptions to ETC's 2022-23 Season are now available by calling the Box Office at 805-965-5400 or online at etcsb.org. All shows will perform at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara. Five-play season ticket prices range from $105 - $340.

Single tickets will go on sale September 6, 2022 with discounts available for seniors. Student tickets are available for only $25 each, and tickets for patrons 35-and-under are just $40. Single tickets are available through the ETC box office at (805) 965-5400, or online at etcsb.org. For group sales information, please call (805) 965-5400.

The Box Office is open Tuesday-Saturday 1pm-5pm and one hour prior to all performances.

For school groups, ETC offers special student matinee performances for Carmen Jones, A Christmas Carol and Selling Kabul. These special matinees perform on the final Friday of the production's run at 10:30am. Tickets are $10, and include a post-performance talkback with the cast and director and a pre-performance study guide. For more information about ETC's exciting education programs, please visit etcsb.org or call Brian McDonald, Director of Education and Outreach, at 805.965.5400 ext. 541.

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