SARASOTA, FLA.: Asolo Repertory Theatre has announced its 2017-18 season, featuring Shakespeare, musicals, and new plays.
“At this time, when the world needs a sense of cohesion and shared values, Asolo Rep is deeply committed to telling the stories that make people feel that they need to come to the theatre—the stories that we must hear again and again, and also experience in new ways,” said producing artistic director Michael Donald Edwards in a statement.
The season will kick off with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (Sept. 26-Nov. 19), presented with the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, which will tour schools and community venues. James Dean Palmer will direct.
Next up will be the musical Evita (Nov. 18-Dec. 30), with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical follows Argentine political leader Eva Perón’s rise to power. Josh Rhodes will choreograph and direct.
Following will be Shakespeare in Love (Jan. 13-March 28, 2018), adapted by Lee Hall from Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard’s screenplay, a romantic comedy that follows a young Shakespeare as he falls in love with his greatest admirer. Rachel Rockwell will direct.
Following will be Carey Crim’s The Morning After Grace (Jan. 19-March 4, 2018), about two strangers who have a one night stand after meeting at a funeral. Peter Amster will direct.
The season will continue with Ionesco’s Rhinoceros (Feb. 9-April 14, 2018), a farce about a simple man whose ordinary life is interrupted by a rhinoceros charging through town. Frank Galati will direct.
Next up will be Lisa Loomer’s Roe (March 14-April 14), about the lawyer and the plaintiff of the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade. Lavina Jadhwani will direct.
The season will also include Gloria (April 6-29, 2018), by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, about a group of twentysomething editorial assistants at a magazine in New York who will do anything to rise to the top. Greg Leaming will direct.
Following will be the musical Ragtime (May 4-27, 2018), with book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. The musical, which will be presented in collaboration with Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre, follows the lives of three very different people in New York City in the early 20th century. Peter Rothstein will direct.
The summer programming will also include a family production (June 8-30), which will be announced at a later date.
The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training season will begin with Sophocles’s Oedipus (Nov. 1-19), about a flawed hero who discovers the burden of power. Leaming will direct.
Next up will be Stephen Adly Guirgis’s The Motherf***er With the Hat (Jan. 3-21, 2018), about a man who promises to get sober after he is released from prison, but loses control when he learns his girlfriend has been cheating on him.
Following will be The Rehearsal (Feb. 21-March 11, 2018), by Jean Anouilh, about a group of wealthy socialites who gather to present a production of a Marivaux play with the help of the household’s nanny.
The season will conclude with Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (April 18-May 6, 2018), which will be performed in the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
Founded in 1960, Asolo Repertory Theatre brings current and challenging topics to the Sarasota community. The theatre’s conservatory program is a three-year MFA program, offering students the opportunity to perform in professional productions while training.
