SYRACUSE, N.Y.: Syracuse Stage has announced its 2018-19 season, featuring six productions.
“It is a season bursting with dynamic stories and vibrant characters,” said artistic director Robert Hupp in a statement. “We want everyone to come to Syracuse Stage, which means producing theatre that speaks to people in a variety of ways.”
The season will begin with Michael Frayn’s Noises Off (Sept. 12-30), a farce about a theatre troupe staging a comedy, with flubbed lines and mishaps onstage and behind the scenes. Hupp will direct.
Next up will be the world premiere of Possessing Harriet (Oct. 17-Nov. 4), by associate artistic director Kyle Bass, about an enslaved young woman who slips away from a Syracuse hotel and the Southern family who owns her and goes to the home of an abolitionist. Tazewell Thompson will direct.
Just in time for the holidays will be Elf the Musical (Nov. 23-Jan. 6, 2019), with book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar, and lyrics by Chad Beguelin. The musical, based on the film by David Berenbaum, follows a man who was raised by elves as he journeys from the North Pole to New York City to meet his real family. The show will be co-produced with the Syracuse University Department of Drama. Brian J. Marcum will choreograph, Brian Cimmet will provide musical direction, and Donna Drake will direct.
Following will be Native Gardens (Feb. 13-March 3, 2019), by Karen Zacarías, about the clash of cultures that occurs when a Latino couple moves next door to a well-established family and their prize-winning garden. The show will be co-produced with Geva Theatre Center, and Melissa Crespo will direct.
Next will be “Cold Read: A Festival of Hot New Plays” (March 7-10, 2019).
The season will continue with Pride and Prejudice (March 20-April 7, 2019), adapted by Kate Hamill from the novel by Jane Austen, about the outspoken Elizabeth Bennet her struggle to fight the bubbling pressures from her family and society to secure a suitable marriage. Jason O’Connell will direct.
The season will conclude with Stephen Karam’s The Humans (April 24-May 12, 2019), co-produced with Geva Theatre Center, about a Pennsylvania family gathering at their daughter’s New York City apartment for a Thanksgiving dinner that reveals hidden secrets. Mark Cuddy will direct.
Syracuse Stage, founded in 1974, is dedicated to producing new plays, musicals, and new interpretations of classics.
