STORRS, CONN.: Connecticut Repertory Theatre has announced its 2018-19 season, which will feature two musicals and four plays.
“We face questions today as individuals and as a nation that often revise our understanding of the past and threaten to erode our progress forward as a people,” said artistic director Michael Bradford. “We invite you to a season of theatre that we hope provides thought, dialogue, and ultimately hope.”
The mainstage season will open with The Grapes of Wrath (Oct. 4-14) by Frank Galati, about a family that flees their farm during the Dust Bowl in search of a better life. Gary English will direct.
Next will be A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration (Nov. 29-Dec. 9) by Paula Vogel, about life during the holidays in the Civil War, featuring an escaped slave who leads her daughter towards freedom, a young Confederate who hopes to be a soldier, and Mary Todd Lincoln, who tries to find the perfect gift for her husband. Elizabeth Van Dyke will direct.
Following will be The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Feb. 28-March 10, 2019) by Rupert Holmes, an interactive musical where the audience plays a role in choosing the show’s ending. It is based on Charles Dickens’ unfinished murder mystery novel about the murder of the young Edwin Drood. Paul Mullins will direct.
Closing out the mainstage season will be a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV (April 25-May 5). Madeline Sayet will direct parts one and two of the classic coming of age story.
Connecticut Rep will also present smaller-scaled works in its Studio Theatre, through its Studio Workshop series. The first Studio Workshop show will be the regional premiere of Good Children (Oct. 25-Nov. 4) by Tracy Thorne. It is about a young boy in a dystopian world whose mother is traumatized and who longs to overcome his constant fear of losing his loved ones. Michael Bradford will direct.
The second and last Studio Workshop show of the season will be If We Were Birds (March 28-April 7, 2019) by Erin Shields. It is about Philomena, a victim of sexual assault in post-war ancient Greece, who speaks up alongside other female survivors. Helene Kvale will direct.
Founded in 1949, Connecticut Repertory Theatre is the professional producing arm of the University of Connecticut’s Department of Dramatic Arts, where visiting professional artists, faculty members, and advanced students collaborate year-round.
