ROMEO AND JULIET and More Announced for Jobsite Theater 2021-22 Season!

The 21/22 season is Jobsite's 23rd year of bringing the Tampa Bay region gripping, powerful experiences in an intimate environment.

The company will offer the first Florida staging of a play by one of the nation's best (and youngest) new voices, a palpable adaptation of literary classic just in time for Halloween, what is arguable Shakespeare's best-known work, an adaptation of a dystopian satire penned by the author himself, a stark parable about the rise of authoritarianism, and a richly layered comedic drama.

The first half of the season takes place in the Straz Center's Jaeb Theater, where Jobsite has been in residence since their re-opening in Oct., before moving back 'home' next door into the Shimberg Playhouse for the latter half after a two-year absence. Current plans are to re-open this fall at full capacity in both theaters while continuing to work with the Straz, Tampa General's consulting service (TPRO), and other experts to ensure they are doing everything to keep both artists and guests safe.

Five of the six 21/22 plays were to originally appear between the suspended 19/20 and 20/21 seasons. These titles were already secured, advances paid, and were far enough in production for the company to decide it would be unwise to sacrifice those investments after being shut down for the better part of a year.

A season pass is the best way to save money and provide meaningful support to Jobsite's ensemble of more than 50 regional artists. Jobsite understandably lost most of their passholders over the course of the pandemic and is hoping the community will rally to reinvigorate their base of support so that further budget and programmatic cuts can be avoided.

Dr. Ride's American Beach House

By Liza Birkenmeier

Directed by Roxanne Fay

Oct. 1 - 10, previews Sep. 29-30

Jaeb Theater, Straz Center

It's 1983 - the evening before Dr. Sally Ride's historic space flight. A group of women friends gather on a sweltering St. Louis rooftop, each caught in their own failure-to-launch. This enticing juxtaposition thrusts the women into the space of their uncharted desires where they bump against American norms of sex and power in this intimate snapshot of queer anti-heroines.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, from the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Directed by Shawn Paonessa

Oct. 22 - Nov. 14, previews Oct. 20-21

Jaeb Theater, Straz Center

On the fog-bound streets of Victorian-era London, Henry Jekyll's experiments with exotic "powders and tinctures" have brought forth his other self: Edward Hyde, a sensualist and villain free to commit the sins Jekyll is too civilized to comprehend. When the dastardly Hyde meets a woman who stirs his interest, Jekyll fears for her life and decides to end his experiments-but Hyde has other ideas. The two sides battle each other in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to determine who shall be the master and who his slave. This play presents a new and shocking version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of depravity, lust, love and horror. "Hatcher has fashioned a play that seems truer to Stevenson but hipper, sexier ... it is intense." -San Francisco Chronicle.

Romeo & Juliet

By William Shakespeare

Directed by David M. Jenkins

Jan. 14 - Feb. 6, 2021, previews Jan. 12-13

Jaeb Theater, Straz Center

20 years after establishing a Tampa Bay area tradition, Jobsite finally tackles the Bard's most famous play. It's 1985: an unprecedented epidemic and social unrest compete for the soul of our nation (sound familiar?) as Romeo and Juliet, the offspring of sworn enemies, defy their world by choosing love over hate. As relevant today as it was in 1595, this production uses the backdrop of the 1980s to explore the entrenched polarization that dominates contemporary culture and the tragic costs of intolerance and division. Jobsite's Romeo & Juliet features an 80s-influenced original score by resident composer Jeremy Douglass and high-definition video design by director David M. Jenkins. Jobsite's approach to Shakespeare has historically been powered by sociocultural influence, and this will be no exception with inspiration drawn heavily from two other pastiches set in the 1980s - Stranger Things and the graphic novel Prince of Cats.

Weekday field trip matinees for middle and high school students are available starting Jan. 17. All groups attending our field trip performances are given custom study guides and the ability to have a visit from a teaching artist both before and after your show. Additional opportunities include on site pre- or post-show tours or Q&As.

A Clockwork Orange: A Play with Music

By Anthony Burgess, adapted from his novel

Director TBA

March 4-27, previews March 2-3

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center

Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange lures audiences into a glass-edged, testosterone-filled underworld of a dystopian future. In 1962, the explosive tale of little Alex and his band of Droogs was a ground-breaking insta-classic teeming with sexuality and "a bit of the old ultra-violence." The story feels as hauntingly relevant today as when the book was published in 1962 and when Stanley Kubrick's Oscar-nominated film caused a stir in 1971. A Clockwork Orange remains an unapologetic celebration of the human condition and individual freedoms.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

By Bertolt Brecht, translated by George Tabori

Directed by David M. Jenkins

May 13 - June 5, previews May 11-12

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center

Bertolt Brecht's 1941 literary shot-across-the-bow at the Nazi takeover, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui recasts Hitler's rise to 1930's Chicago where a gangster methodically pulls the greengrocer trade into a stranglehold. Terror and bloodshed follow - can anyone stop Arturo Ui? This play "is a sly, fearsome sideshow, a deceptively humble, hugely exciting piece of work...It's Richard III meets Jimmy Cagney by way of the vaudeville circuit ... it's both rollicking and frightening" (New York Magazine). Brecht's skewering of Adolf Hitler and totalitarianism is given renewed significance in 2022 America, forcing us to look at what makes men like Ui so irresistible in the first place.

Animals Out of Paper

By Rajiv Joseph

Director TBA

May 13 - June 5, previews May 11-12

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center

Ilana, a world-renowned origami artist, is going through a divorce and her dog has run away. She hasn't answered her phone in two months. Then, her intercom buzzes. In walks Andy, a fan, a high school teacher who literally counts his blessings (he's up to 7,904.) Andy introduces Suresh, an urban teen iPod addict and origami prodigy into Ilana's life, folding the plot into complicated turns. A wise and richly layered comedy/drama from the author of Bengal Tiger at The Baghdad Zoo, Animals Out of Paper is "alternately wrenching and funny. It deals ruthlessly with the fragility of happiness, the tragedy of impulsiveness and the tenuousness of hope" (The New York Times).

A season pass is on sale now for up to 75% less than the price of single tickets. A six-show pass is $129.90 through July 19, at which time it increases to $147.60. Season passes are not subject to additional fees, come with unlimited free ticketing exchanges, plus additional tickets may be purchased at a discount. Single tickets start at $29.50 (previews start at $18) and increase by performance date based on demand and are subject to ticketing fees. A pass to the Thu. night previews is $78. To purchase a pass visit jobsitetheater.org/season-tickets or call The Straz Center Ticket Office at 813.229.7827 between 11am and 6p daily. Single tickets to all shows will go on sale in late August.

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