SKOKIE, ILL.: Northlight Theatre has announced its 2018-19 season, featuring five productions.

“From the genius of Nina Simone to the brilliant and witty Jane Austen, next season spans centuries and themes by celebrating women’s voices,” said artistic director BJ Jones in a statement.

The season will start with Curve of Departure (Sept. 13-Oct. 21), by Rachel Bonds, about a group gathering in anticipation of the funeral of a man they loved but did not like. The cast will feature Mike Nussbaum and Sean Parris. Jones will direct.

Next up will be the world premiere of Kate Hamill’s Mansfield Park (Nov. 8-Dec. 16), adapted by Jane Austen. The play, commissioned by Northlight, is about a clever young girl sent away by her overburdened parents to live at her aunt and uncle’s wealthy estate. The cast will include Kayla Carter and Heidi Kettenring, and Stuart Carden will direct.

Following will be the world premiere of The Janice (Jan. 24-March 2, 2019), by Sharyn Rothstein, about the complicated relationship between a landlord and her new tenant.

The season will continue with Christina Ham’s Nina Simone: Four Women (March 14-April 20, 2019), a collection of songs about Civil Rights history, including Nina Simone’s song “Four Women,” which was written in response to the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

The season will end with George Brant’s Into the Breeches! (May 9-June 16, 2019), about a group of women who rally to continue the Oberon Play House’s productions in 1942 while the men are off at war.

Founded in 1974, Northlight Theatre is dedicated to promoting changing perspectives by exploring the humanity of theatre and sharing it with their community and the world.