THE GIFTS OF THE MAGI, THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION & More Set for Theatrical Outfit's 2014-15 Season

Theatrical Outfit looks to the past, celebrates the present and embraces the future in its 38th season, spotlighting signature voices that will spark important conversations about class, education, faith, the stars and our places in the world. Our 2014-15 season features two Atlanta premieres, the debut on our stage of Decatur-bred, San Francisco-based Gunderson, the words of the award-winning South African sage Fugard and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Shanley.

"It's nearly impossible to discuss the topics that these plays embrace: religion, politics, gender and money," says Executive Artistic Director Tom Key. "But when we meet these topics as human beings in a story, then we can naturally and honestly discuss these realities in a way that is transformative. When I have a lineup like this, then I know this will be a season that matters."

· THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION. Aug. 21-Sept. 7, 2014. By Evan Smith. Two plain-as-potatoes sisters of the Roman Catholic persuasion forget all about Southern charm when a peppy Evangelical Christian comes to their door in this 2009 dramatic comedy. "If you're nice to them, they just keep coming back," one sister tells the other. "They're just like cats." Tess Malis Kincaid directs. "A remarkably entertaining 90-minute rumination on faith and the hereafter." - CurtainUp

· MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! Oct. 9-26, 2014. By Athol Fugard. A three-character thriller in which a humane black teacher in segregated South Africa tries to convince a favorite student that education, not violence, is the answer to the nation's problems. Staged in conjunction with the Africa-Atlanta Project, an initiative that fosters art, business and educational collaborations between Georgia's capital city and the African continent. Gary Yates directs. "Vacillates superbly between political parable and personal tragedy." - The Village Voice

· THE GIFTS OF THE MAGI. Dec. 4-21, 2014. By Mark St. Germain. Music by Randy Courts. Back for a third season by popular demand. This musical about a penniless husband and wife in 19th-century New York is based on two of O. Henry's timeless stories and reminds us of the love, charity and humanity that underpin every holiday season. Heidi Cline McKerley returns to direct, as do choreographer Jeff McKerley and music director S. Renee Clark. Note: Not part of the subscription season. "The show is a small gem - see it." - Atlanta InTown

· A CHRISTMAS MEMORY. Dec. 22-23, 2014. By Truman Capote. Adapted and performed by Tom Key. Our Executive Artistic Director, an Alabama native himself, goes back to his acting roots to narrate this semi-autobiographical story of a 7-year-old Alabama boy and his unique friendship with his eccentric, elderly cousin, like "a lost pair of kites hurrying toward heaven." Last seen on the Theatrical Outfit stage in 2010. Note: Not part of the subscription series. "An intimate alternative to local seasonal spectaculars." - Backstage Georgia

· SILENT SKY. Feb. 12-March 1, 2015. Regional premiere. By Lauren Gunderson. The Decatur-bred, San Francisco-based playwright makes her Outfit debut with this period romance imbued with much more depth than that descriptor usually denotes. Astonishing personal and professional discoveries await real-life American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt (1868-1921) as she challenges the male astronomers of Harvard and her era and discovers the stars in galaxies beyond our own. David Crowe directs. "Sheer magic!" - San Francisco Chronicle

· STOREFRONT CHURCH. April 9-26, 2015. By John Patrick Shanley. The final part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright's "Doubt" trilogy (2005's "Doubt: A Parable," 2006's "Defiance"). When the mortgage crisis forces a Bronx borough president to confront an unorthodox minister, the question they face is one we all do: What's the relationship between spiritual experience and social action? "I doubt here's a better play about the consequences of the economic divide," says Key. Director TBA. "Some of Mr. Shanley's sharpest comic writing in years." - The New York Times

SHOWTIMES: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS: Packages for the 2014-15 season are $80-$150 and are available now. Please note that subscribers save 20 percent to 25 percent on tickets over the course of the season. To subscribe today, please call Ticket Alternative at 1.877.25.8829. Or subscribe online here. Our box office is at 678.528.1500. Note: "The Gifts of the Magi" and "A Christmas Memory" are not part of the subscription package. Those tickets will be sold separately.

SINGLE TICKETS: Will go on sale July 1.

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