Theatrical Outfit’s five-show 2015-16 season – dubbed the Season of Courage — will feature three musicals, one world premiere and a regional premiere. The titles: Memphis; R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe; A Little Princess; Moxie; and The Light in the Piazza.
The season, announced Saturday at the opening night of Silent Sky, begins Sept. 10 and runs through May 15, 2016. Here’s a rundown:
MEMPHIS. Sept. 10-20. A co-production with Aurora Theatre performed at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Winner of the 2010 Tony Award for best musical, book and score. Memphis is inspired by the underground clubs of the 1950s and follows the forbidden love story of a white disc jockey who falls for everything he shouldn’t, including R&B and an African-American singer chasing stardom. The score is by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan.
R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER: THE HISTORY (AND MYSTERY) OF THE UNIVERSE. Oct. 1-25. A regional premiere written by D.W. Jacobs. Outfit artistic director (and actor of some renown) Tom Key plays Fuller, the 20th-century engineer, environmentalist, futurist, poet and visionary who invented the geodesic dome. This one-man show combines multimedia, poetry and humor as Bucky wonders whether humankind can sustain itself on Earth and whether we have the courage to reinvent ourselves. At the Outfit’s usual home, the Balzer Theater at Herren’s.
A LITTLE PRINCESS. Dec. 3-27. A musical based on the classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It tells the story of privileged Sara Crewe, the daughter of an adventurer in Africa. When her life crumbles in the face of bad news, she relies on her imagination and courage to deal with the adversity. At the Balzer Theater.
MOXIE. Jan. 28-Feb. 21, 2016. A world premiere by Atlanta playwrights Lane Carlock and Brian Kurlander and developed in part through the Alliance Theatre’s Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, an incubator for new work by metro artists. The story: An American Marine in Afghanistan connects with his son by crafting a handmade book. As the unfinished Book of Moxie travels to Paris, India and inner-city America, its words enchant all who engage with it. At the Balzer Theater.
THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. April 14-May 15, 2016. A 2005 Tony Award winner for best score, written by Adam Guettel (the grandson of Richard Rodgers). It’s 1953, and Margaret Johnson of North Carolina is vacationing in Italy with her daughter, Clara. When a passionate Italian romances Clara, Margaret agonizes over whether to reveal a family secret.
Subscription packages for the season, ranging from $90 to $195, are available HERE or by calling the daytime box office at 678.528.1500.
In the meantime, Theatrical Outfit continues its current season with Silent Sky, the story of 19th-century American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, by Decatur-born, San Francisco-based Lauren Gunderson. The starry drama, which sold out its first weekend, has been extended to March 8.
Following that is Storefront Church by John Patrick Shanley (Doubt), a morality tale that explores the often thorny relationship between spiritual experience and social action. Key headlines a cast of six.
