SpeakEasy Stage Company Announces 2022-2023 Season
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Press Release:
The riveting drama HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING - by Will Arbery (Sep. 9 – Oct. 8, 2022)
The profound comedy ENGLISH - by Sanaz Toossi (Oct. 21 – Nov. 19, 2022)
The Pulitzer Prize-winner FAIRVIEW - by Jackie Sibblies Drury (Feb. 17 – March 18, 2023)
The wildly imaginative WILD GOOSE DREAMS - by Hansol Jung (March 24 – April 22, 2023)
The joyous musical comedy THE PROM - by Bob Martin, Chad Beguelin, & Matthew Sklar (May 5 – June 3, 2023)
These shows will make-up SpeakEasy Stage Company’s 32nd Season, the company’s Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault announced today.
“Once again I am excited to offer Boston audiences a bold and entertaining slate of the very best contemporary plays and musicals,” said Daigneault, in announcing the new SpeakEasy line-up.
“Each of these shows is uniquely theatrical and celebrates the importance of sharing our stories to better appreciate our common humanity.”
“I also want to affirm that the safety of our patrons, artists, and staff is and will remain our primary goal for as long as the COVID-19 pandemic is a concern,” Daigneault added.
“We will continue to monitor and evaluate our COVID policies over the summer and throughout the season to ensure that you are as safe as possible during your visit to our theatre.”
Subscriptions are now on sale and can be purchased by calling BostonTheatreScene Audience Services at 617-933-8600, going online to www.SpeakEasyStage.com, or walking up to the Calderwood Pavilion box office at 527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End.
More information about each of SpeakEasy’s 2022-2023 productions can be found on the following pages or at www.SpeakEasyStage.com. _________________________________________________________
HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING
By Will Arbery
Directed by Marianna Bassham
New England Premiere! September 9 – October 8, 2022
Roberts Studio Theatre
“A perfect production that left me with my heart in my mouth!” —Time Out New York
Winner! 2020 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play!
One week after the Charlottesville riots in 2017, four young conservatives gather in a Wyoming backyard to gossip and reminisce.
They’ve assembled to honor Gina, their mentor and the newly inaugurated president of a far-right Catholic university.
But as their celebration carries deep into the night, the reunion explodes into vicious insults, political accusations, and stunning revelations.
Hailed as “a work of singular distinction, for which the word ‘remarkable’ is, if anything, an understatement” by The Wall Street Journal, Heroes of the Fourth Turning is a daring look at the heart of a country at war with itself. _________________________________________________________
ENGLISH
By Sanaz Toossi
Boston Premiere!
October 21 – November 19, 2022
Roberts Studio Theatre
“Both contemplative and comic, English nails every opportunity for big laughs!” —The New York Times
Winner! 2022 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play!
"English Only."
That's the mantra of Marjan, an English teacher in Karaj, Iran struggling to prepare her four students to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
The exam has life-changing implications for each classmate, but between the word games and show-and-tell sessions, one student seems set on derailing the lesson plan.
With wit, wisdom, and compassion, award-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi's new comedy uses language as a lens to explore identity, heritage, and community. _________________________________________________________
FAIRVIEW
By Jackie Sibblies Drury
Directed by Pascale Florestal
New England Premiere!
February 17 – March 18, 2023
Roberts Studio Theatre
“A scathingly funny satire… Fairview compels audiences to think and laugh and think some more.”
—The Washington Post
Winner! 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama!
Grandma’s birthday at the Frazier household has all the makings of your standard family comedy: drinking, squabbles, hijinks with the silverware; and that’s before Tyrone has even arrived!
But in Fairview, there’s nothing that playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury leaves unchallenged – character, genre, even the audience experience.
Expect the unexpected from this bold new drama that will leave you thinking about race, power, and maybe theatre itself, in a whole new light. _________________________________________________________
WILD GOOSE DREAMS
By Hansol Jung
Directed by Seonjae Kim
New England Premiere!
March 24 – April 22, 2023
Roberts Studio Theatre
"Highly imaginative, funny and sad, and a thoroughly enjoyable night at the theatre” – Broadway World
In an age where technology offers easy connection, Nanhee and Minsung are alone in Seoul, South Korea.
Nanhee is a North Korean defector with no way to contact her family; Minsung is a gireogi appa or “goose father”, working in Seoul to send money to his family in Texas.
But after a chance encounter on the internet, the pair strike up an unlikely romance and discover a quiet intimacy within the noise of the 21st century.
Filled with poetic dialogue and powered by boundless imagination, Wild Goose Dreams is a charming love story for the modern age. _________________________________________________________
THE PROM
Book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Based on an original concept by Jack Viertel
Directed by Paul Daigneault
May 5 – June 3, 2023
Roberts Studio Theatre
“A smart, big-hearted musical. I seldom stopped laughing” – New York Magazine
Winner! 2019 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical!
Emma didn’t want to be a newspaper headline or the face of a movement; she just wanted to take her girlfriend Alyssa to their high school prom.
But just when it seems like she might persuade the hesitant PTA, four bumbling Broadway has-beens in search of relevance barge into Edgewater, Indiana to put a spotlight on the issue -- and themselves.
As the worlds of Broadway and Main Street hilariously collide, the courage of one girl reminds us all of the power of love to bring us together.
With non-stop laughs and show-stopping dance numbers, The Prom is a feel-good musical with a message that is even more relevant today.
_________________________________________________________
Subscription Information
Subscriptions for SpeakEasy Stage Company’s 2022-2023 Season are now on sale.
To purchase or for more information, call 617-933-8600 or go online to our website.
Patrons with subscription questions may also call Jim Torres or Rachel Sturm at 617-482-3279 or write JimTorres@SpeakEasyStage.com or RachelSturm@SpeakEasyStage.com .
Tickets to individual shows in SpeakEasy’s 2022 –2023 Season will go on sale on a rolling basis over the course of the season.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY
SpeakEasy Stage Company is a non-profit theatre company located in the South End of Boston and is led by award-winning Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault. SpeakEasy was named the Pavilion Resident Theater for the Boston Center for the Arts in 2007 and produces 28 weeks of new plays and musicals each season at the Nancy and Ed Roberts Studio Theater in the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.
SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY
539 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116
617-482-3279 phone
617-482-3280 fax
