Palm Beach Dramaworks Announces Updated 2021-2022 Season Schedule Featuring Two World Premieres and More

Palm Beach Dramaworks, which will be reopening its doors for the 2021-2022 season with a full slate of five plays at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre beginning Friday, October 15, has modified its previously announced schedule and also selected the second of its two world premieres. Bruce Graham's The Duration, which received an online reading in March as part of The Dramaworkshop's Drama(in the)works series, was so well received that it's moving on to a full, mainstage production.

By popular demand, PBD Producing Artistic Director William Hayes has also chosen an encore presentation of William Luce's The Belle of Amherst, which was originally presented online in April as a coproduction with Actors' Playhouse. Margery Lowe will return in the role of Emily Dickinson. "The feedback on this production was so extraordinary that we wanted it to have a new life in front of an audience," said Hayes. "That was the only thing missing from our online version. And we're delighted to have the opportunity to produce the world premiere of The Duration, which created a lot of excitement when we presented the reading."

The season begins on October 15 with John Cariani's Almost, Maine (2006), which is made up of nine vignettes about falling in and out of love and the desire to connect - the ideal piece to mark PBD's re-opening and the chance to reconnect with theatre and with each other. Next up, on December 10, is the world premiere of Michael McKeever's The People Downstairs, commissioned by PBD and developed by The Dramaworkshop, which explores the challenges faced by the brave individuals who hid and took care of Anne Frank and seven others during the Holocaust. That's followed on February 4, 2022 by the world premiere of Bruce Graham's The Duration, in which a young woman tries to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance. The fourth production, opening April 1, is Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel (2003), set at the turn of the 20th century, which tells the story of a 35-year-old African-American seamstress who enters into a correspondence with a man she's never met in the hope of finding love. The Belle of Amherst, William Luce's one-woman play based on the life of Emily Dickinson, opens on May 27 and closes out the season.

2021-2022 SEASON

ALMOST, MAINE

By John Cariani

Opening October 15

Love - old and new, heart-stopping and weak-kneed, unexpected and unrequited, lost and found - is in the air in the fictional, remote town of Almost, Maine. This wildly popular play takes place on a Friday night in winter, and is made up of nine mostly joyful yet poignant vignettes connected by time and place, the beauty of the aurora borealis, a touch of magic, and a spirit of hope.

THE PEOPLE DOWNSTAIRS

By Michael McKeever

Opening December 10

For two years and one month, Anne Frank and seven others hid in four small rooms concealed behind a bookcase in the building where her father worked. Her diary revealed their ordeal to the world. But what of the people who hid them, got them food, and kept them informed? This play explores the complex challenges faced by these brave individuals on their journey of rebellious morality during the horrors of the Holocaust.

THE DURATION

By Bruce Graham

Opening February 4

A young woman makes a weekly trek to a cabin in the middle of nowhere trying to unravel the mystery of why her mother, a noted historian and professor, abruptly disappeared.

INTIMATE APPAREL

By Lynn Nottage

Opening April 1

In this heartfelt and heartbreaking work set at the turn of the 20th century, Esther is a 35-year-old African-American seamstress of exquisite intimate apparel who aches to love and be loved. An unlikely opportunity arises when she enters into a correspondence with a man she's never met. The play is a lyrical exploration of loneliness and longing, sweet dreams and bitter truths, determination and resiliency.

THE BELLE OF AMHERST

By William Luce

Opening May 27

Based on the life of Emily Dickinson, this one-woman show tells the story of the independent, enigmatic, reclusive, witty poet through her letters, verse, and the playwright's rich imagination, interweaving the voices of friends, family, and acquaintances to create a vivid portrait of the artist.

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Palm Beach Dramaworks is a professional, nonprofit theatre company founded in 2000 and located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. Each season, the award-winning company produces five mainstage shows and offers a wide variety of programs for students at the theatre, in schools, and online. Committed to fostering the future of theatre, PBD has become a hub for playwrights in Florida and around the country to nurture their work through initiatives including Drama(in the)works and the annual New Year/New Plays Festival. PBD is a member of Theatre Communications Group, Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. www.palmbeachdramaworks.org

Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30PM, Friday and Saturday at 8PM, and select Sundays at 7PM. Matinee performances are on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2PM. Post-performance discussions follow Wednesday matinee and Sunday evening performances.

The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.