LOWELL, MASS.: Merrimack Repertory Theatre has announced six of the seven plays for its 2020-21 season, including one of the plays originally scheduled for the current season. The lineup will start a month later than usual.
“Across the world, people are suffering mightily,” said Courtney Sale, the new Nancy L. Donahue artistic director, in a statement. “This time offers us a way to deepen our understanding of what is most important. We are honored to share this next season with our audience; stories that illuminate generous connection, celebrate possibility, and further our shared humanity.”
The season will start with the world premiere of The Lowell Offering (Oct. 14- Nov. 8), by Andy Bayiates and Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, which was originally scheduled for the spring of 2020. This historical drama follows a group of factory workers in 1840 in Lowell, Mass., who publish the world’s first magazine written solely by women. Jess Hutchinson will direct.
Next will be a holiday show (Nov. 25-Dec. 20), which will be announced at a later date.
Following will be Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End (Jan. 6-24, 2021), by Allison Engel and Margaret Engel, about the humorist who championed the everyday lives of American housewives. Terry Berliner will direct.
The season will continue with Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery (Feb. 10-28, 2021), a madcap mystery that features three actors playing 40 characters working to save the life of the Baskerville family heir from a demonic hound. Sale will direct.
Next up will be Allison Gregory’s Wild Horses (March 17-April 4, 2021), about a woman’s recollection of an impressionable summer from her youth. Sale will direct.
Following will be the world premiere of Lauren Yee’s Young Americans (April 21-May 9, 2021), a co-production with Portland Center Stage, about an immigrant family embarking on a cross-country road trip.
The season will close out with Every Brilliant Thing (May 19-June 7, 2021), by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, about a young boy who writes a list of all the things that make life worth living for his mother suffering from chronic depression.
Founded in 1979, Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents new plays and invites community members to be part of the creative process through its audience engagement program the Cohort Club.
