Arizona Theatre Company Announces 56th Season Lineup Under the Helm of a New Artistic Director and Venue
Arizona Theatre Company’s 56th season features a grand slam lineup of productions under the direction of new Kasser Family Artistic Director Matt August. As Arizona’s Official State Theatre, ATC’s new home in metro Phoenix will be at Tempe Center for the Arts. Tucson productions will remain at the Temple of Music and Art. Subscriptions, including five-play packages and flex passes that allow patrons to choose the shows that fit their schedules, will be available starting now, for purchase via ATC’s website, ATC.org, or by calling the box office at 833-ATC-SEAT (833-282-7328). Single tickets will go on sale in August 2023.
“I am thrilled for audiences to experience the exciting lineup of shows we have in store for our monumental upcoming season,” August says. “Since starting my role at Arizona Theatre Company in January, I have been working diligently to bring top-tier shows with Tony Award winners or nominees, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and a script that has been adapted into a blockbuster film. Theatre lovers from Arizona and beyond will continue to see the best of the world on our stages.”
The 2023/2024 season will open with the classic American romantic comedy Barefoot in the Park by the godfather of funny, Neil Simon, which is among the top 10 longest-running non-musical plays in Broadway history. In a case of opposites attract – Paul is a successful lawyer known for his conservative and practical nature and Corie is a sexy adventure seeker – they quickly face newlywed challenges that can try the best of marriages.
Next up, audiences can enjoy a holiday musical extravaganza as ATC presents Scrooge: The Musical, created by Oscar- and Grammy-winning and Tony-nominated composer Leslie Bricusse. This enchanting show based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is filled with memorable and impressive songs the likes of which Bricusse wrote for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Set to be an annual ATC tradition, Scrooge is perfect for the whole family.
The first two plays of 2024 focus on strong women and their resilience, passion, and impactful influence on those around them. Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lynn Nottage’s play Intimate Apparel tells of a turn-of-the-last-century African American seamstress who finds great business success making undergarments for socialites and women of the night alike. Her business, innovative skills, and utter discretion are much in demand, but at 35, her personal life has taken a backseat. Intimate Apparel explores her forbidden relationships with an Orthodox Jewish fabric vendor, her privileged and struggling clientele, and a long-distance suitor who will profoundly change her life.
Master Class, the Tony-winning play by Terrence McNally, tells the story of the uncompromising opera diva Maria Callas as she delivers a life-altering master class to students at an elite opera training program. During the class, she encounters three vastly different students who are by turn hilariously crushed, soulfully uplifted, and profoundly inspired by her singular artistry. Based on a series of real-life classes Callas delivered at Juilliard, Master Class inspires us, transports us, and transforms us by carving a window into the soul of one of the most complicated and celebrated artists of the 20th century who pushed the boundaries of artistic sacrifice and quality.
Finally, Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer-finalist and Tony-nominated play True West – a Cain vs. Abel story of brotherly love and intense rivalry set against the Hollywood Dream – brings a hilarious, twisted story as two very different siblings taunt and dare each other to walk in the other’s shoes in a town that ain’t big enough for the both of them…