PHILADELPHIA: Arden Theatre Company has announced its 2017-18 season, which will feature five productions.
“We are thrilled that our 30th anniversary season includes some of our most treasured artists,” said producing artistic director Terrence J. Nolen in a statement. “We’ve premiered eight plays by Michael Hollinger throughout our history, and next season we will produce our first Michael Hollinger musical, TouchTones, which is written with composer Robert Maggio.”
The season will begin with a production that will be announced at a later date (Sept. 21-Oct. 22).
Next up will be the world premiere of TouchTones (Oct. 19-Dec. 3), with story by Hollinger and Maggio, book and lyrics by Hollinger, and music by Maggio. The musical takes place at the cusp of a new millennium in 1999, in a world where technology promises fantasy, intimacy, and anonymity. Emmanuelle Delpech will direct.
Following will be Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (Jan. 11-Feb. 25, 2018), about a marriage challenging 19th-century norms that begins to unravel as secrets begin to surface. Nolen will direct.
The season will continue with Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (March 1-April 8, 2018), adapted by Lydia R. Diamond, about a young black girl growing up in the 1940s who wants to be loved. Raelle Myrick-Hodges will direct.
The season will conclude with a production that will be announced at a later date (May 17-June 17, 2018).
Arden Theatre Company, founded in 1988, brings educational productions and programs to the artists, audiences, and students of the greater Philadelphia region.
