Temple Theaters Announces 2022-23 Season

Temple Theaters has announced their 55th Season for the 2022-2023 Academic Year!

The season opens with John Proctor IS THE VILLAIN by a contemporary play by Kilroy-recognized playwright Kimberly Bellflower that delves into modern day questions surrounding themes of The Crucible. This is followed by DANCE NATION by Clare Barron which plays on the overwhelming energy of a team of unrelenting young dance competitors.

The first musical of the season will be the much beloved and critically acclaimed musical ONCE ON THIS ISLAND by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, which will be presented in a smaller black box space to really bring the audience into the world of young Ti Moune as she follows her heart.

Then follows the 33rd collaboration with Philly Young Playwrights, the NEW VOICES FESTIVAL which will perform in person for the first time since 2019 in their original location, Tomlinson Hall. Also in the Fall, Directing MFA students will present a series of shorts by Anton Chekhov, exploring the humor and pathos of one of the fathers of modern theater through his bite-sized works.

In the spring, director Marcus Giamatti will direct Ike Holter's EXIT STRATEGY, a bitingly humorous look behind the veil of a public school in Chicago, slated for closure. This will be followed by the Sondheim classic INTO THE WOODS directed by Brandon McShaffrey that shows what happens in the ever after when fairy tale characters' lives grow to be, perhaps, a bit less happy than they might have foreseen.

The spring will continue with a French 17th century farce of misdirections, misunderstandings, and imposters, the Moliere play TARTUFFE. The final show of the season will be EVERYBODY by the dynamic Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Cat Ramirez. This modern retelling of the 15th century morality play Everyman, follows a protagonist (chosen nightly by lottery) toward catharsis surrounding their life.

Stay tuned for more information about each of these plays -- in the meantime, we are happy to be able to give you a full schedule (below):

Sept. 8 - 18, 2022 - John Proctor IS THE VILLAIN by Kimberly Bellflower
Directed by Lindsay Goss
The subject matter hits home hard when a small town high school class explores the American classic: The Crucible. The line between witch and heroine, hero and villain blurs in this post-Me Too examination of power, love, and sex education.

Sept. 22 - Oct 2, 2022 - DANCE NATION by Clare Barron
Directed by Suli Holum
Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. And if their new routine is good enough, they'll claw their way to the top at Nationals in Tampa Bay. A play about ambition, growing up, and how to find our souls in the heat of it all.

Oct. 13 - 22, 2022 - ONCE ON THIS ISLAND by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty
Directed by Amina Robinson
Choreography by Devon Fields
Music Direction by Garrick Vaughan
One of the most beloved musicals in Broadway history: Once on This Island tells the epic story of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl who, guided by the island gods, sets out on a remarkable journey to follow her heart and find her place in the world.

Nov. 10 - 17, 2022 - NEW VOICES: Philadelphia Young Playwrights
Our 32nd annual collaboration with the legendary Philly institution that takes the very best plays from young people in our Philly community and gives them the chance to shine with Temple actors and professional directors.

Nov. 30 - Dec. 4, 2022 - CHEKHOV Directing Projects
If you ask famous 19th century Playwright Anton Chekhov about his works, he would say they were all comedies. His one-acts are perhaps the most illustrative of Dr. Chekhov's brand of quirky humor, filled with the all-too-human foibles of characters in all their confused and maddening glory.

Jan. 26 - Feb. 5, 2023 - EXIT STRATEGY by Ike Holter
Directed by Marcus Giamatti
The teachers of Tumbldn High School don't live in an inspirational teacher movie. When the school is slated for closure Ricky, the vice principal, has a plan. But does he actually have any idea what he's doing? Spiked with humor and brimming with fury, Exit Strategy is an exhilarating call to arms about what we owe each other.

Feb. 23 - Mar. 2, 2023 - INTO THE WOODS by Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine
Directed by Brandon McShaffrey
In this Tony Award-winning musical Sondheim classic, a Baker and his wife, Cinderella, Jack, Little Red Riding Hood, and even the Witch all wish for something, but they must learn the responsibility that comes with getting what you want.

Mar. 17 - 26, 2023 - TARTUFFE by Moliere
Orgon is the man who has everything. Money, power, a beautiful home and family. But, when he invites the irresistible Tartuffe into his seemingly perfect household, he unleashes a whirlwind of deception and seduction that threatens everything. Can his family outwit this charismatic trickster? Are Tartuffe's wild claims truth or fiction?

Apr. 20 - 29, 2023 - EVERYBODY by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Cat Ramirez
This modern riff on the fifteenth-century morality play Everyman follows the protagonist (chosen from amongst the cast by lottery at each performance) as they journey through life's greatest mystery-the meaning of living.

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