NEW ORLEANS: Southern Rep Theatre has announced their 2018-19 season, which will feature three world premieres, two regional premieres, and stories highlighting Louisiana artists and diverse voices.
This season’s productions will be performed at their new permanent location in the former St. Rose de Lima Church building on Bayou Road, which is part of the Rose Collaborative development project in New Orleans.
“After six years on the road, Southern Rep Theatre comes home at last to this new, breathtakingly beautiful and landmark historic building on one of New Orleans’ most storied streets,” said producing artistic director Aimée Hayes in a statement. “It is an unbelievable opportunity to at last return the hospitality we have experienced and to invite all of the community to join with us this year as we see our vision come to completion at last…A community is only as strong as its art.”
The season opens with the regional premiere of A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Sept. 19-Oct. 7) by Lucas Hnath, about Nora’s return to the house she left 15 years ago and the surprises that her family finds. Aimée Hayes will direct.
Next is the world premiere of new musical Mandatory Merriment: An Untitled Holiday Musical (Dec. 5-23) by Leslie Castay and Ian Hoch, a night of song, comedy, and holiday cocktails featuring New Orleans entertainers. Leslie Castay will direct and Alan Payne will music direct.
Following is the regional premiere of The Wolves (Jan. 9-27, 2019) by Sarah DeLappe, about the lives of nine young women on an indoor soccer team whose individual stories emerge as their fear, fury, and ferociousness come alive. Aimée Hayes will direct.
Next is the world premiere of the new play Azul (March 27-April 14, 2019) by Christina Quintana, about a New Yorker named Zelia who deals with grief and makes new discoveries about her legacy after her Cuban-born mother dies. This play is a project of the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, in partnership with the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival. Estefanía Fadul will direct.
The season concludes with Flowers for Hallie (May 2019), written by and starring Troi Bechet, a world premiere about the life and struggles of the New Orleans-born singer and civil rights leader Mahalia Jackson.
Founded in 1986, Southern Rep Theatre is the leading non-profit professional theatre in New Orleans.
