Horizon Theatre’s five-show 2015 season opens later this month with Grand Concourse, a 2014 drama by Heidi Schreck, and closes in October with the world premiere of A+ by New York playwright Sean Christopher Lewis. Here’s a closer look at what’s happening at the Inman Park playhouse.
GRAND CONCOURSE. March 27-April 26. A four-character drama about matters of faith and friendship, and secrets and lies, set in a soup kitchen. Maria Rodriguez-Sager (Waffle Palace, The Book Club Play, Theatrical Outfit’s My Children! My Africa!) has the central role of the kitchen manager. This piece premiered in November at off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons and will open in June at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. Horizon co-artistic director Jeff Adler directs.
VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE. May 15-June 28. A co-production with Aurora Theatre. This off-kilter comedy by Christopher Durang, a riff on the work of Anton Chekhov, revolves around the relationships of three single middle-aged siblings, two of whom live together. It takes place during a visit by the third, Masha. Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for best play. The comedy will move to Aurora in Lawrenceville for an Oct. 1-25 run. Aurora associate artistic director Justin Anderson directs.
AVENUE Q. June 12-July 12. This smart, risque and upbeat musical is back for a third time (following runs in 2011 and 2012). Even though it employs puppets, the Robert Lopez-Jeff-Marx-Jeff Whitty show is strictly for adults. Winner of 2004 Tony awards for best musical, score and book, and a seven-time Suzi Bass Award winner (including best musical) for its original Horizon run. Note a change in venue: Avenue Q will be performed at the Conant Performing Arts Center on the Oglethorpe University campus, the former home of Georgia Shakespeare. A junior, cleaned-up version will be staged June 3-7 in Piedmont Park. Heidi Cline McKerley returns to direct. No word yet on which performers might be back.
UPRISING. July 17-Aug. 23. World premiere. Atlanta playwright Gabrielle Fulton creates a sweeping journey of freedom and romance, laced with blues-rooted spirituals and set in the aftermath of John Brown’s 1859 raid on Harper’s Ferry. The piece was developed in Horizon’s New South Play Festival and the Alliance Theatre’s Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab. Thomas W. Jones II directs.
A+. Sept. 18-Oct. 18. New South world premiere. A freak snowstorm turns an Atlanta school into an impromptu sleepover for parents, teachers and kids in this piece based on interviews with Atlanta educators and parents. Sean Christopher Lewis — a New York-based solo performer, playwright and director — developed it through the New South Play Festival. Horizon co-artistic director Lisa Adler directs.
More than 20 types of subscription packages are available by calling Horizon at 404.584.7450 or visiting the website HERE. Single tickets (starting at $20) are available for Grand Concourse; others will be available closer to each show’s opening.
