So excited to share this fantastic upcoming slate of shows. We’ve got comedy, drama, World Premieres, romantic holiday craziness and magic theatrical realism that’ll blow your mind. You’ll find Christmas cookies, standup comedians and talking goats! Riveting, heartbreaking tales about coming of age, fathers and sons, sisters and friends, and second chances. We’ll ask questions about honesty, ownership, tolerance and more… but you’ll have to provide the answers. If we do our job right, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll get angry, you’ll fall in love, and you’ll ask more questions. A season about the the journeys we take, paths we abandon, the circumstances, choices, legacies, triumphs and traumas that shape our lives.
The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest. Directed by Gary Anderson.
Ezekiel is a Black teenager with a secret. Every day he finds himself haunted by ghosts, ghosts that have plagued men in Georgia for generations, ghosts of racism, homophobia, and toxic masculinity. Ghosts that show up in the other men in his life, including his emotionally distant father. But when Ezekiel discovers a trove of forbidden love letters among his late grandfather’s belongings, he has a realization: perhaps the only way to exorcise these multi-generational ghosts is to burn everything to the ground. The Magnolia Ballet Part 1 is a Southern Gothic fable that melds high drama, dance, poetry, and spectacle to explore masculinity, racism, and the love between a queer kid and his father.
A National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere
A co-production with Plowshares Theatre in Detroit
A Very Williamston Christmas by Robert Hawlmark. Directed by Tony Caselli.
An all-new holiday tradition! A professional woman running in the fast lane of the big city corporate world journeys back to her smalltown on a mission for her boss. When she runs into a handsome acquaintance from high school, she’s forced to evaluate her life and priorities. Hot cocoa, light parades, and romance collide. Hilarity ensues. This holiday movie parody will be one everyone from Michigan will recognize and enjoy.
Wild Horses by Allison Gregory. Directed by Mary Job.
That summer you scared yourself. That summer you woke up to desire. That summer you tasted freedom. You remember, and so does the storyteller of Wild Horses. She hilariously recalls stealing liquor with her best friends, escaping her bedroom in the middle of the night, feeling the boy she loves reach across her body, borrowing cars without permission, and making the pact with her best friends to break into a horse ranch and set the beautiful animals free. She remembers being thirteen, and she’s going to take the audience on the ride of her life. Allison Gregory’s savagely funny Wild Horses takes on the pathos and hubris of teenage years amidst the struggle for identity and independence.
Mrs. Harrison by Eric R. Thomas. Directed by Jasmine Rivera.
Mrs. Harrison is about two women and one story. At their 10-year college reunion, Aisha and Holly meet by chance. Is this the first time or has it just been a long time? They can’t agree. Aisha is a Black, successful playwright; she’s on the cover of the alumni magazine. Holly is a white, struggling stand-up comedian; she’s here for the free drinks. Aisha’s most successful play bears a striking resemblance to a tragic event in Holly’s life. Is it a coincidence or is it theft? As a rainstorm interrupts the outdoor reunion, they find themselves trapped inside, together. They both have a story that they’ve been telling themselves about what happened all those years ago and they’re both willing to fight for the truth in the present.
Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly. Directed by Tony Caselli.
Alice, a noted photographer, sets out to explore the topography of scars, and the women who bear them. Her journey takes her to the mysterious realm of an undiscovered folk artist, June, who is hiding herself away on a small farm in North Alabama. What begins as an artistic collaboration between the two women becomes an intimate exploration of love, grief, and longing. This bittersweet portrait explores the meaning and purpose of art and the struggle of the lost and tortured souls that seek to create it. Hilarious, heart-wrenching and full of theatrical magic, this play will make you laugh, rip your heart out, and remind you to hold the people in your life close.
A National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere
Be Here Now by Deborah Zoe Laufer. Directed by Rob Roznowski.
Bari’s always been a bit of an angry, depressed misanthrope. And losing her job teaching nihilism in New York to work at the local fulfillment center in her rural hometown has sent her into despair. She begins to find connections with the quirky people she meets at the center and a local artist with his own list of insecurities. When recurring headaches manifest bizarre, ecstatic, almost religious experiences, they change her entire view of life. She discovers they are also killing her. She must decide between a short life of indescribable joy, or a long life of mediocrity. A comedic look at what we’re willing to do for love and happiness, and to create meaning in our lives.
You can find dates and more details about our upcoming season at the theatre’s website: Williamston Theatre.
Tony Caselli 