Over the past year, we’ve watched the Arkansas Repertory Theatre work its way back into the spotlight after suspending operations in 2018. Now, with a new executive director on hand and an abridged 2019 season wrapping up in December, The Rep is ready to hit the ground running in 2020.
The theater announced three shows will take the stage next spring, bringing The Rep back to its traditional, full, fall-to-spring schedule for 2020-2021. This mini-season is also the first to be curated by Will Trice, Little Rock native and now-executive director.
Read on: Meet Will Trice
“The season is a trio of productions I think audiences are going to love,” Trice said. “We’ve got a Tony Award-winning icon in a tour-de-force performance; a visionary adaptation of a contemporary, best-selling novel; and undoubtedly the most fun of the classic musicals.
“These are three very different stories, each told in a very different way. But they are all uplifting, entertaining and can only be experienced live at The Rep. I can’t wait to share this season with my hometown.”
Without further ado, here’s the 2020 Arkansas Repertory Theatre spring season:
“Ann”
Jan. 29 – Feb. 16
Two indomitable women. One inspiring, hilarious night.
Tony Award winner Elizabeth Ashley is the legendary Ann Richards in “Ann,” a no-holds-barred look at the brassy, blue governor who changed the face of Texas politics.
A woman who always had the right one-liners loaded and ready to fire, “Ann” is brought to vivid life in a tour-de-force performance by Tony Award-winner and Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominee Elizabeth Ashley (“Barefoot in the Park” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway, “Evening Shade,” Netflix’s current hit “Russian Doll”) and directed by Drama Desk Award-winner Michael Wilson (Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man” and “The Trip to Bountiful” on Broadway).
Come sit a spell for this “frank, funny and warm” (New York Times) story of an impassioned woman who enriched the lives of her followers, friends and family … with all the charm, charisma, and persuasion that makes a politician good at her job.
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”
April 1-19
Based on the novel by Mark Haddon
Experience a new perspective.
Fifteen-year-old Christopher has an extraordinary brain. He is exceptional at mathematics, but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched and he distrusts strangers. And now he is on a mission – an investigative adventure that will upturn the world of his family and community forever.
Based on the award-winning novel that has sold more than 5.5 million copies world-wide, “Curious Incident” is the winner of seven Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards, including Best Play. Hailed by The London Times as “a phenomenal combination of storytelling and spectacle,” it is a breathtaking theatrical experience with visionary design that will fill you with hope and put you inside the brilliant mind of a boy who sees the world as most of us can only imagine.
“Bye Bye Birdie”
July 8-26
Put on a happy face, kids, ’cause you’ve got a lot of livin’ to do.
It’s 1958 in Sweet Apple, Ohio, and the telephones are ringing off the hook. Hip-swinging, rock-and-roll heartthrob Conrad Birdie is coming to town to plant one last kiss on his number-one fan, broadcast live on the Ed Sullivan Show. Star-struck fathers, jealous boyfriends, struggling managers and frustrated better-halves, are all caught up in a whirlwind of poodle skirts and letterman jackets, and the cameras haven’t even started rolling.
Experience this beloved classic through a fresh, new production directed by Jeff Award-winner and Olivier Award-nominee David H. Bell (“Hot Mikado,” the closing ceremonies of the Atlanta Olympics). Good, old-fashioned teenage rebellion never sounded this catchy.
Individual ticket sales open four weeks before each show opens, but season subscriptions are on sale now. Call the box office at (501) 378-0405 for details.
Get more information about the upcoming season at The Rep’s website and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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