WATERTOWN, MASS.: New Repertory Theatre has announced its 2016–17 season, featuring seven productions ranging from classic musicals to contemporary dramas.
“As we embark on another exciting season at New Repertory Theatre, we contemplate a line from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest: ‘What’s past is prologue; what to come, in yours and my discharge,'” said artistic director Jim Petosa in a statement. “To that end, we’ve chosen shows that connect our past with our present, examining events and people that have the power to transcend, harmonizing with our mission to present plays that speak powerfully to the essential ideas of our time.”
The season will start with Richard Nelson’s Regular Singing (Sept. 3–25), about a family gathering to celebrate the life of an ailing relative on the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. The cast will feature Joel Colodner, Laura Latrielle, Karen MacDonald, Paul Melendy, Bill Mootos, and Sarah Newhouse. Weylin Symes will direct.
Next up will be CP Taylor’s Good (Oct. 8–30), about a professor in 1930s Germany, who writes a novel about compassionate euthanasia, which draws the attention of the Nazi Party. The cast will feature Michael Kaye and Tim Spears, and Jim Petosa will direct.
The next show will be Fiddler on the Roof (Dec.2–24), with a book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, about a father of five daughters who struggles to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions. Austin Pendleton, who originated the role of Motel the Tailor on Broadway, will direct.
Next will be George Stevens Jr.’s Thurgood (Jan. 7–Feb. 5, 2017), about Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, and his impressive career as a lawyer arguing such landmark cases as Brown v. Board of Education. Johnny Lee Davenport will star.
The season continues with Brecht on Brecht (Feb. 4–March 5, 2017), a revue of the dramatist’s work featuring songs and scenes from Kurt Weill, Hanns Eisler, and Brecht’s most famous collaborations. George Tabori will arrange from various translations, and Petosa will direct.
Next will be William Gibson’s Golda’s Balcony (March 25–April 16, 2017), about Golda Meir. The show follows Meir’s humble beginnings as a Wisconsin school teacher to her meteoric rise through Israel’s early political system, becoming one of the world’s first elected female heads of state and one of the most influential women in Jewish history. The cast will feature Bobbie Steinbach, and Judy Braha will direct.
The season will conclude with the Boston premiere of Lydia R. Diamond’s The Gift Horse (April 22–May 14, 2017), about a successful teacher and artist whose quick and easy wit masks a painful childhood. Petosa will direct.
New Repertory Theatre has produced contemporary and classic dramas, comedies, and musicals to its two performance spaces in Boston for more than 30 years.
