TICK, TICK...BOOM! And More Announced for International City Theatre 2023 Five-Play Season

International City Theatre has announced an "Embracing the Future" season of music, comedy, drama and thrills for 2023.

"Each of the five plays in the 2023 season is about moving on from the past or the present in some way," says artistic director caryn desai [sic]. "It's the message we all need right now. Hope for the future. No regrets. Looking forward instead of back. Joining together to forge a better course."

Kicking off the season in February is tick, tick...BOOM!, the acclaimed pop/rock musical by Jonathan Larson about the courage it takes to follow your dreams. Exhilarating, funny and moving, this semi-autobiographical work about an aspiring composer trying to write the great American musical before time passes him by offers a revealing look at the man who would go on to posthumously receive three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for his groundbreaking musical, Rent. (Feb. 17 through March 5; previews on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16.)

The West Coast premiere of Under the Skin by Michael Hollinger (Opus, Ghost-Writer) is set to open next. Lou needs a kidney. Yesterday. His daughter Raina's got one to spare, but she's also got issues. (Plenty of these.) Like, how come the sonofabitch had sex with so many women who weren't her mother? Time leaps backward, forward and sideways. Secrets get aired and truths revealed in this lively, unpredictable comedy that asks what we owe our parents and our children. (April 28 through May 14; previews on April 26 and April 27.)

"We Can Do It!" So said Rosie the Riveter, and so say the women of Long Beach in Into the Breeches!, a vibrant new comedy by George Brant. It's 1942, and the leading men of the local theater company in Long Beach, CA are fighting overseas. With "The Show Must Go On!" as their battle cry, a band of passionate, yet inexperienced, performers rally together to produce the theater's season opener: an all-female version of Shakespeare's ambitious Henry IV and Henry V. Will their production be a victory on the home front, or a target for rotten tomatoes? A hilarious and moving story about what happens when we're all in it together. (June 9 through June 25; previews on June 7 and June 8.)

In August, ICT will present the world premiere of a story of healing, hope and compassion by Los Angeles playwright Wendy Graf (All American Girl, No Word in Guyanese for Me, Closely Related Keys). The Gold Medallion winner of the Moss Hart & Kitty Carlisle Hart New Play Initiative, Exit Wounds looks behind the "ripped from the headlines" sensationalist story of a horrific tragedy to explore its effect on three generations of the perpetrator's family. How do you find redemption when someone you love has committed a terrible crime? Can the families of the evildoers ever live a normal life again, or are they forever defined by the actions of one member? (Aug. 25 through Sept. 10; previews on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24.)

Finally, just in time for Halloween, ICT favorite Jamie Torcellini will direct Deathtrap, the Tony-nominated, gasp-inducing comedy thriller by Ira Levin. Sidney Bruhl is a playwright desperately in need of a hit. Just in time, a former student sends him the manuscript of his first play, a murder mystery called Deathtrap. Sidney smells a hit... but he's never been that fond of sharing credit. "Two-thirds a thriller and one-third a devilishly clever comedy... Suspend your disbelief and be delighted. Scream a little, it's good for you." - Cue magazine. (Oct. 20 through Nov. 5; previews on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19.)

Recognized by Long Beach as the City's resident professional theater company, International City Theatre is the recipient of over 400 awards, including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's prestigious Margaret Harford Award for "Sustained Excellence" and the LADCC's 2016 Polly Warfield Award for an "Excellent Season." In addition to its professional theater productions, ICT offers six community and educational outreach programs each year. The company's commitment to the community also includes ongoing collaborations with Long Beach's African American community and other groups and organizations. Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe called ICT "a cultural treasure."

All performances take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

For more information about ICT's 2023 season and to purchase subscriptions or single tickets, call (562) 436-4610 or visit www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.