AUSTIN: Austin Playhouse has announced that its 21st season will start with completely virtual programming for the first three months. After that, the company will assess when it is safe to return to in-person performances and may potentially continue to produce exclusively virtual programming.
The season will begin with a streamed reading of Age of Arousal (Sept. 27), by Linda Griffiths, an irreverent take on the suffragist movement to celebrate the centennial of the 19th amendment.
Next up will be Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins (Oct. 16-18), by Margaret Engel and Allison Engel, a solo play based on the writing of the late journalist from Texas who got her start at the Minneapolis Tribune. Cyndi Williams will star.
Following will be The Mysterious Affair at Styles (November), by Agatha Christie, which follows Hercule Poirot as he solves a murder mystery at Styles Court.
This first section of Austin Playhouse’s season will conclude with the holiday classic Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (December), an abridged version performed by actress, storyteller, and author Bernadette Nason, who will perform more than 30 characters in one hour.
Austin Playhouse has also announced Postcards from Austin, a three-part project that includes plays from a variety of perspectives in Austin’s artistic community, in-depth interviews with the artists, and documentary-style conversations with people around Austin. The project will start in November.
Founded in 2000, Austin Playhouse presents mainstage productions, theatre for youth shows, and a new-play festival on the campus of Austin Community College.