SOLANA BEACH, CALIF.: North Coast Repertory Theatre has announced its 2021-22 season, featuring a seven-play series as the company celebrates its 40th season.
“We believe that our upcoming season will appeal to both our loyal subscribers and a broad spectrum of theatre lovers throughout the country,” said artistic director David Ellenstein in a statement.
The season will open with Dancing Lessons (Sept. 8-Oct. 3), by Mark St. Germain, about a Broadway dancer and a science professor who forge an unexpected friendship as they each cope with physical and emotional challenges. Richard Baird will direct.
Next up will be Richard Strand’s Ben Butler (Oct. 20-Nov. 14). Ellenstein will direct this play, inspired by a real event during the Civil War, which follows Gen. Benjamin Butler, who is faced with a moral dilemma that could alter the course of U.S. history.
Following will be Desperate Measures (Jan. 12-Feb. 6, 2022), with music by David Friedman and lyrics by Peter Kellogg. Christopher Williams will direct this musical romp through the Wild West, based loosely on Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure.
The season will continue with Harold Pinter’s Tony-winning play The Homecoming (March 2-27, 2022). Ellenstein will direct this play, in which a long-absent son returns home with his new wife, disrupting the all-male household’s toxic pattern and reliance on one-upmanship.
Next will be Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits (April 20-May 15, 2022), created and written by Gerard Alessandrini. William Selby will direct this satirical tribute to numerous Broadway musicals, including Chicago, Phantom of the Opera, and Fiddler on the Roof, among others.
Bruce Graham’s The Outgoing Tide (June 8-July 3, 2022) will follow, centering a family drama examining personal choice and love as one man devises a plan to battle an aging mind and uncertain future while his family has other ideas in mind. Nike Doukas will direct.
The season will conclude with the world premiere of The Remarkable Mister Holmes (July 20-Aug. 14, 2022), with music by Daniel Lincoln, lyrics by Omri Schein, and book by Schein and David Ellenstein. Ellenstein will also direct this musical homage to Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective as Sherlock Holmes and his new assistant take on a string of baffling crimes.
In addition to the subscription season, North Coast Rep will be offering Always… Patsy Cline (Dec. 8-Jan. 2, 2022), created and originally directed by Ted Swindley, and An Iliad (March 31-April 10, 2022), by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, based on Homer’s The Iliad, and translated by Robert Fagles. Both productions will be return engagements.
Founded in 1982, North Coast Repertory Theatre is dedicated to intimate theatre that speaks to the imagination and supports the diversity of society.
