Shotgun Players Announces HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH And More for 2023 Season

The Shotgun Players have announced their 2023 season of stunning and provocative theatre celebrating diversity and connection.

Founding Artistic Director Patrick Dooley explains, "Over the last few years, Bay Area theatre has been shining a light on important and long overdue discussions and programming that highlight differing needs and our underserved voices. We are all the better for it."

The unifying theme of Shotgun Players' 2023 season is love and human connection. "As the work to celebrate the mosaic of theatre voices and audiences in our community continues, we also look for ways to ground ourselves in those stories that unite us," says Dooley. "The most primal and unifying quality of the human experience is the desire to find love and understanding from another human. It transcends everything. As we emerge from this era of isolation, we find ourselves drawn to stories that reflect that same yearning for connection. It was an exciting challenge to search and secure a selection of plays that would satisfy the eclectic tastes and high expectations of our diverse and demanding community. We can't wait to welcome everyone back to hear what they have to say."

Associate Artistic Director Leigh Rondon-Davis elaborates on the season selection process, "We spent the past year finding a balance and curating an exciting season that speaks to our community in this moment. The committee found itself gravitating toward plays about relationships and love, and, as a result, each play of the season centers connection and people coming together. What does it mean to be held by others and loved for who you truly are-whether it's romantic, familial, or social? How do we find and create meaningful relationships that fill us and lift us up? Our committee selected a season that speaks to the past two years of isolation and social distancing, and invites us to look to the future-our coming back together and reimagining what that can be."

To honor the universal desire for community and connection, Shotgun Players is bringing back their post show discussions and discounted ticketing. The theatre company will host these conversations following shows throughout 2023, and they welcome audiences to share their experience of the show as well as engage with the larger themes and questions that arise from the work. They will also continue to offer a $15 Community Ticket to ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has the opportunity to enjoy live theatre.

And continuing on for this season: In order to continue to provide greater access, Shotgun Players has worked to bring as many live streaming options as possible during their show runs. They're also offering haptic tours and audio-described performances for blind and low-vision audience members, and assistive listening devices for those who'd find them useful.

2023 Mainstage Season

The Triumph of Love

Written by Pierre Carlet de Marivaux | Adapted by Stephen Wadsworth
Directed by Patrick Dooley

We open the season with a quest for love. It follows the sly seductress Leonide as she adopts the dress and prerogatives of a man, invades the retreat of a rationalist philosopher who hates love, and wins the object of her desire. Gender confusion is pivotal in the hilarious situations that ensue as the emotional stakes rise. American Theatre Magazine calls the play, "the greatest play that Shakespeare and Moliere never wrote."

Yerma

Based on the play by Federico Garcia Lorca | Translated & adapted by Melinda Lopez
Directed by Katja Rivera

Yerma is a woman who deeply loves her husband Juan, but she longs above all to have a child. Her desire for motherhood becomes an all consuming obsession that sets her against her husband, her neighbors, and the expectations of her community with tragic results. With Yerma, Melinda Lopez weaves Lorca's incredible poetry together with a visceral exploration of raw, human emotions.

Wolf Play

Written by Hansol Jung | Directed by Elizabeth Carter

What makes a family? In Wolf Play, we meet a young Korean boy who feels more connection to wolves than people: "Wolves suck at being alone. Wolves need family." The play incorporates humor, puppetry, and sharply written dialogue in this tale of people grappling with questions of identity, trust, and parenthood.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Written by John Cameron Mitchell | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Trask
Directed by Richard Mosqueda

Winner of four Tony Awards! Hedwig is an "internationally ignored song stylist", a fourth-wall smashing East German rock 'n' roll goddess on a journey toward self-empowerment and identity. This outrageous and unexpectedly hilarious story is dazzlingly performed by Hedwig in the form of a rock gig/stand-up comedy routine backed by a hard-rocking band. Rolling Stone calls it the "Best rock musical ever!"

Babes in Ho-lland

Written by Deneen Reynolds-Knott | Directed by Leigh Rondon-Davis

A world premiere! In the sunless Pittsburgh winter of 1996, two co-eds connect over a shared love for R&B girl groups but quickly discover something deeper. While attending a predominantly white college, these two Black students create their own bubble of self discovery, music, and sanctuary. The stress of love, financial hardship, and the persistent lack of privacy threaten to destroy it. A finalist for the 2020 Bay Area Playwright's Festival.

2023 Season Champagne Staged Reading Series

We give our actors just enough staging and tech to get started and then we let adrenaline do the rest! Yes, there will be scripts in hands, but there will also be bold action and riveting drama.

Trans(formada)

Written by lily gonzales | Directed by linda maria girón

Sam is queer, a little trans, and a child of Mexican immigrants living in the Texas Hill Country. They're trying to figure out how to express their gender -- to themselves and to the world. Just as Sam is building the courage to present their gender to their mother, they go to a high school party. Everyone is way too into each other and drinking way too much. Amidst the debauchery, a brave and strange set of rituals ensues.

Thirty-Six

Written by Leah Nanako-Winkler | Directed by Michelle Talgarow

Jenny and David Are different. Jenny and David swipe right on Tinder. Jenny and David go on a date. Jenny and David ask each other a set of 36 questions that are supposed to lead to love. Inspired by the Modern Love essay "To Fall In Love with Anyone, Do This" by Mandy Len Catron.

The Antelope Party

Written by Eric John Meyer | Directed by Kieran Beccia

Every week, Ben hosts a meetup group for adult fans of My Little Pony. But when an ominous neighborhood watch brigade starts patrolling the streets, fear and paranoia creep into the circle of friendship. A timely new comedy that explores the rise of a new social order and how the currents of history, normalization, and fear can sweep up even the most generous bronies.

Shotgun Players is a company of artists determined to create bold, relevant, affordable theatre that inspires and challenges audiences and artists alike to re-examine our lives, our community, and the ever-changing world around us.