BOSTON: A world premiere and Golden Globe-winner Calista Flockhart are featured in Huntington Theatre Company’s seven show 2020-21 season.
“These are plays that I connected with immediately,” said artistic director Peter DuBois in a statement. “Humor, hope, and the search for human connection propels the season. I also wanted lots of comedy and music, because we all need a laugh, and to be whisked off our feet sometimes.”
The season will open with Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me (July 28-Aug. 23), about how the founding document impacted Schreck and four generations of women in her family. Cassie Beck will star, and Oliver Butler will direct.
Next, Calista Flockhart will star in Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband (Sept. 25-Oct. 18), a comedy about a mysterious woman who blackmails the host of a party, threatening to reveal dark secrets if she doesn’t get her way. DuBois will direct.
The season will continue with Jen Silverman’s Witch (Oct. 16-Nov. 15). A riff on a 1621 Jacobean tragicomedy, the play follows Scratch, a devil promising to make the darkest dreams of the local villagers come true in exchange for their souls, and Elizabeth Sawyer, a woman who resists. Rebecca Bradshaw will direct.
Following will be the world premiere of Common Ground Revisited (Jan. 8-Feb. 7, 2021), conceived by Melia Bensussen and Kirsten Greenidge, adapted by Greenidge, and partly based on and inspired by the book “Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families” by J. Anthony Lukas. Bensussen will direct this work that brings Boston’s history to life, taking a look at the experiences of three families with court-mandated busing.
Next up will be Mike Lew’s Teenage Dick (Feb. 19-March 21, 2021), a modern spin on Shakespeare’s Richard III about a high school student who, when campaigning for student body president, has to decide if it is better to be loved or feared. Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel will direct.
Songbird (March 12-April 4. 2021) will follow, written by Michael Kimmel, with music and lyrics by Lauren Pritchard. Dean Trip is presented with an opportunity to finally step out of his mother’s shadow and make a name for himself in the music world. Gaye Taylor Upchurch will direct.
The season will close with Madeleine George’s Hurricane Diane (May 21-June 20, 2021). Jenny Koons will direct this comedy about the return of the Greek God Dionysus who, now under the guise of a gardener named Diane, is determined to reverse climate change and restore order on Earth.
Additionally, Huntington Avenue Theatre’s summer 2020 programming will include The Simon & Garfunkel Story (June 16-28) and Lackawanna Blues (July 9-25).
Huntington Theatre Company was founded in 1982 and is the recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award.
