HOUSTON: Alley Theatre has announced its 2016–17 season, featuring eight productions.
The season will start with Hand to God (Aug. 19–Sept. 18), by Robert Askins, about a teenager who creates a foul-mouthed puppet in a Christian puppet ministry to help him cope with the loss of his father. Mark Shanahan will direct.
Next up will be Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oct. 7–Nov. 5), directed by artistic director Gregory Boyd. The theatre will host community and school performances, readings, and an evening of songs and sonnets alongside the production to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
Just in time for the holidays will be A Christmas Carol—A Ghost Story of Christmas (Nov. 17–Dec. 27), adapted by Michael Wilson from Charles Dickens. James Black will direct.
The holiday season will continue with David Sedaris’s The Santaland Diaries (Dec. 1–31), adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello, about a grumpy elf assisting Santa at Macy’s. David Cromer will direct.
Following will be Dry Powder (Jan. 20–Feb. 12, 2017), by Sarah Burgess, about the price of success in the aftermath of employee layoffs at a private equity firm.
Next up will be the world premiere of NSangou Njikam’s Syncing Ink (Feb. 3–March 5, 2017), a coproduction with the Flea Theater, about a man who wants to learn how to rap to win the attention of women. The play was developed at the inaugural Alley All New Festival in 2016. Niegel Smith will direct.
The season will continue with Jack Thorne’s Let the Right One In (Feb. 24–March 19, 2017), based on the novel and screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvist, a supernatural thriller about two young misfits who find friendship and love when tragedy strikes their neighborhood. The production will be presented by the National Theatre of Scotland by arrangement with Marla Rubin Productions Ltd and Bill Kenwright. John Tiffany will direct.
Next will be Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge (April 7–30, 2017), about a longshoreman working in Brooklyn in the 1950s who smuggles in his wife’s cousins from Italy. When one of the cousins has a love affair with his beloved niece, family secrets and acts of betrayal ensue.
Following will be An Act of God (May 5–June 4, 2017), by David Javerbaum, a play in which the Almighty and His devoted angels answer some of the deepest questions that plague mankind.
Next will be Freaky Friday (June 2–July 2, 2017), with book by Bridget Carpenter, and music and lyrics by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, and based on the Walt Disney film by Mary Rodgers. The story is about an angsty teenager who swaps bodies with her overworked mother. The show will be a coproduction with La Jolla Playhouse and Cleveland Play House, and Christopher Ashley will direct.
Next up will be Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web (July 12–Aug.14), about a woman who spins fictional tales and learns that the truth can be more exciting than fables after a murder takes place in her town.
The season will conclude with A Night With Janis Joplin (Aug. 19–Sept. 18), written and directed by Randy Johnson, a musical celebrating the career of the singer and her greatest musical influences.
The Alley Theatre, founded in 1968, has a resident company of actors and produces new plays, reinvigorated classic works, and contemporary plays.
