The American Repertory Theater has revealed the seven titles comprising its 2019–2020 subscription season, including two world premieres, a recent Off-Broadway hit, and a British sensation.
The season will kick off August 21 with Six, the new musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. The U.K.-born show, also slated to cross the pond to play Chicago, puts the six wives of Henry VIII in the spotlight, transporting them from Tudor royalty to pop superstardom. The London production, directed by Moss and Jaime Armitage, was recently up for five Olivier Awards including Best New Musical. Performances will run through September 27.
Meanwhile, Black Light will follow in the A.R.T.’s club space Oberon September 19–29. The piece, created by Daniel Alexander Jones (who stars as alter ego Jomama Jones), explores the Black American Freedom movement through an Afroysticism, mythologic, and disco-inspired lens. Jones penned original musical for the show, which premiered at the Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival before a 2018 Off-Broadway bow, alongside Laura Dean Anderson, Bobby Halvorson, Dylan Meek, and Josh Quat.
Next, composer Dave Malloy and director Rachel Chavkin will reunite after collaborating on Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 to present the world premiere of their Moby-Dick musical, based on the Herman Melville novel. Performances will run December 3–January 12, 2020.
Following a recent Off-Broadway bow and upcoming McCarter Theatre Center engagement, Emily Mann’s Gloria: A Life will play the Loeb January 24–February 22. A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus helms the play, which first explores the life and legacy of Gloria Steinem before opening up the stage to an audience-driven dialogue.
READ: Why the Off-Broadway Gloria Steinem Bioplay Isn't What You'd Expect
The world premiere of Ocean Filibuster, created by Obie-winning theatre collective PearlDamour, is set to play March 7–27. Penned by Lisa D’Amour, directed by Katie Pearl, and featuring music by Sxip Shirey, the show personifies the Ocean as a Senate chamber debates the future of the titanic ecosystem.
In the spring, Oberon will host Whitney White’s Macbeth in Stride, running April 23–May 10. The concert-play hybrid explores Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth with the help of music from Tina Turner, The Doors, and more. Performances will run April 23–May 10.
Rounding out the season is a new production of Peter Stone and Sherman Edward’s musical 1776, directed by Paulus, set for May 22–June 28.
For more information, visit AmericanRepertoryTheater.org.
