CHICAGO: Goodman Theatre has announced its 2019-20 season, featuring three world premiere productions.
“I am thrilled to share our 2019/2020 Season—a dynamic lineup of plays, each written by and/or featuring a woman protagonist at its heart,” said artistic director Robert Falls in a statement. “These fresh, powerful works of art entertain and delight, challenge and shock, and fearlessly reflect the world around us.”
The season will open with the world premiere of Lucas Hnath’s Dana H. (Sept. 6-Oct. 6), a coproduction with Center Theatre Group, which recounts the true story of Hnath’s mother’s time as a chaplain of a psych ward, when she was held captive by a patient. The show is adapted by interviews with Dana Higginbotham, conducted by Steve Cosson. Les Waters will direct.
Next up will be Theresa Rebeck’s Bernhardt/Hamlet (Sept. 14-Oct. 20), a comedy about lady Sarah Bernhardt’s decision to assume the title role of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the year 1899. Donna Feore will direct.
Following will be Roe (Jan. 18-Feb. 23, 2020), by Lisa Loomer, about the complex young women behind the 1973 Roe v. Wade trial, attorney Sarah Weddington and plaintiff Norma McCorvey. Vanessa Stalling will direct.
The season will continue with the world premiere of Korde Arrington Tuttle’s Graveyard Shift (Feb. 7-March 8, 2020), a play, loosely based on the legacy of Sandra Bland, about how we navigate a world of fear. The play was developed as part of Goodman’s New Stages Festival. Danya Taymor will direct.
Next will be Molly Sweeney (March 7-April 12, 2020), by Brian Friel, about the unexpected consequences of a modern medical miracle when a doctor restores the sight of a visually impaired patient. Falls will direct.
Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (March 27-April 26, 2020) will be next. The comedy follows a new student who disrupts the social hierarchy at an exclusive boarding school in Ghana. Lili-Anne Brown will direct.
The season will continue with American Mariachi (April 25-May 31, 2020), by José Cruz González, a coproduction with the Dallas Theatre Center. The comedy is about a woman who, while caring for her ailing mother, sets out to create an all-female mariachi band after her mother’s memory is sparked by a record. Henry Godinez will direct.
The world premiere of The Outsiders (June 20-Aug. 2, 2020) will close the mainstage season. Based on the novel by S.E. Hinton and Francis Ford Coppola’s film, the musical will have a book by Adam Rapp, music and lyrics by Austin-based rock duo Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine. The musical takes audiences to 1967 Tulsa, Okla., as Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade, and their band of greasers take the stage. Liesl Tommy will direct.
Also part of the programming will be the New Stages Festival (Oct. 23-Nov. 10), featuring developmental productions and staged readings.
For the holidays will be Goodman’s annual production of A Christmas Carol (Nov. 16-Dec. 29), adapted by Tom Creamer from Charles Dickens. Larry Yando will star and Henry Wishcamper will direct.
Founded in 1925, the Goodman Theatre produces new plays, reimagined classics, and large-scale musical theatre works for Chicago-area audiences.
