ADDISON, TEXAS: WaterTower Theatre has announced its 2018-19 season, featuring five productions.
“One of the things I love about WaterTower Theatre is that it is a place where we come together,” said artistic director Joanie Schultz in a statement. “We come to the theatre to unite as artists and audiences in events that create unique and inspiring experiences, taking us out of our everyday lives and into the realm of imagination. Our next season is about exactly that: coming together. Be it in celebration, hope, faith, love, perseverance, or risk, the stories of this season are of people reaching out and trying to overcome divides between each other.”
The season will kick off with Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (Oct. 12-Nov. 4), adapted and directed by Schultz, about a couple whose marriage is tested when a secret debt is uncovered.
Next up will be Guadalupe in the Guest Room (Feb. 22-March 17, 2019), by Tony Meneses, about a mother living with her son-in-law while working to translate the children’s books written by her deceased daughter. Christie Vela will direct.
Following will be Chelsea Marcantel’s Everything Is Wonderful (April 19-May 12, 2019), about a woman excommunicated from her Amish family, who returns home following a tragic car accident that killed her two brothers. Kelsey Leigh Ervi will direct.
The season will continue with The Ballad of Little Jo (June 7-30, 2019), with music by Mike Reid, lyrics by Sarah Schlesinger, and book by Reid, Schlesinger, and John Dias. Based on the film by Maggie Greenwald, the musical follows a young woman who disguises herself as a man to stake her claim on the American Dream and provide a better life for her son. Vonda K. Bowling will provide music direction, and Schultz will direct.
The season will conclude with the world premiere of Origin Story (Aug. 2-25, 2019), by Nathan Alan Davis, about a young woman experiencing a quarter-life crisis while working two jobs to pay down debt. Tiffany Nichole Greene will direct.
Besides the five shows in its subscription season, WaterTower will also mount its annual Detour: A Festival of New Work (Jan 17-20, 2019), featuring new-play readings.
WaterTower will also produce two “season extras.” One is a remount of its original holiday show The Great Distance Home (Nov. 23-Dec. 16, 2019), conceived and directed by Ervi, and created in collaboration with Kelsey Milbourn, Carissa Olsen, Christopher Llewyn Ramirez, Mitchell Stephens, and Garret Storms. The play follows a boy’s journey to self discovery as he sets out in search of a home.
The other extra offering will be Rohina Malik’s Unveiled: A One Woman Play (June 12-30, 2019). Malik will portray five Muslim women from around the world, who share their stories about faith, culture, and prejudices.
Founded in 1996, WaterTower Theatre develops new works and produces classic and contemporary plays.
