Austin Playhouse's 16th season opens this September with two classics: Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and the beloved romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story. They're joined by four regional premieres, including Austin Playwright C. Denby Swanson's The Norwegians, the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced, a moving, jazz-infused play about baseball legend Satchel Paige, and a hilarious spoof on Victorian adventurers, The Explorers Club. They'll conclude their 2015-2016 season with Sondheim's most romantic musical, A Little Night Music. Austin Playhouse will also be partnering up with Austin Community College's drama department to associate produce a Theatre for Youth Production in the fall.
Five-Play Subscription Series
The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard
September 18 - October 11, 2015
Stoppard combines his characteristically brilliant wordplay and wit with flashes of insight that
illuminate the nature and the mystery of love, creating a play that challenges the mind while searching out the innermost secrets of the heart.
The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry
November 20 - December 20, 2015
When Tracy Lord is planning her second wedding, she expects nothing short of perfection. But her plans are thrown into chaos when her ex-husband and a dashing tabloid reporter show up just before the big day. This classic American comedy is filled with verbal jousts, outrageous flirting, and too much champagne!
Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan
February 12 - March 6, 2016
Satchel Paige is the king of baseball: a charismatic, superstar pitcher. But as Jackie Robinson wraps his first historic season in the majors, Paige finds his own fame eclipsed. This jazz-infused drama paints a vivid picture of America on the brink of great change.
The Explorers Club by Nell Benjamin
April 1 - May 1, 2016
London, 1879. The prestigious Explorers Club is in crisis: their acting president wants to admit a woman, and their bartender is terrible. True, this female candidate is brilliant, beautiful, and has discovered a legendary Lost City, but the decision to let in a woman could shake the very foundation of the British Empire, and how do you make such a decision without a decent drink?
A Little Night Music with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler
May 27 - June 26, 2016
Enchanting and wildly romantic, a weekend country house in turn of the century Sweden, brings together surprising liaisons, long simmering passions and a taste of love's endless possibilities.
Special Off-Season Productions
The Norwegians by C. Denby Swanson
October 23 - November 7, 2015
A delightfully dark comedy about women scorned in Minnesota and the really, really nice gangsters--Norwegian hit men--they hire to whack their ex-boyfriends. We're thrilled to present the Austin premiere of this new play by award-winning local playwright C. Denby Swanson!
Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar
January 8 - 31, 2016
Regional Premiere of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize award-winning play! When a successful Pakistani-American lawyer and his artist wife host an intimate dinner party, what starts out as friendly conversation soon escalates into something far more damaging.
Austin Playhouse
Austin Playhouse is a professional theatre currently performing its 16th season. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Don Toner and Artistic Director Lara Toner Haddock, Austin Playhouse has grown from a three-play season on the campus of Concordia University, to a year-round operation producing an average of eight plays a year. Austin Playhouse is currently performing at the Austin Community College Highland campus. The theatre has recently been renovated to include an expanded lobby, rehearsal hall, and restroom facilities.
Videos