Redhouse Arts Center Announces 2021-2022 Theatre Season

The Artistic Leadership team at Redhouse has announced Redhouse Arts Center's 2021-22 Main Stage Season which will feature the remounting of a previously cancelled show. With every production this season, Redhouse will utilize its versatile theatre space not only treat audiences to a thrilling theatre experience but allow for social distancing and a safe return back to live theater. "We are so excited to move forward and bring live theater back to our audience and community", stated Redhouse Executive Director, Samara Hannah. "As more and more people get vaccinated, we have more and more hope that we will soon be able to gather at Redhouse. But we won't do anything that is unsafe. Redhouse has maintained the highest health and safety standards and will continue to monitor, adapt and overcome the challenges of this pandemic. Masks on, fingers crossed!", she concluded. In choosing the season, one goal of the Artistic team were to choose works that left audiences with a positive and uplifting feeling while also offering diverse works that are relevant in our current social climate. Redhouse Associate Director of Artistic Programming Temar Underwood explains, "We want to strike the balance between giving people an escape from the anxiety and isolation of a pandemic and doing what theatre always does, which is truthfully reflect the light and the dark of the human experience. We've bookended the season with shows that are joyful, fun and celebratory. While in the middle we explore some of the darker truths that are relevant to each of our lives...always with an eye towards diversity and inclusion." Redhouse will offer four Main Stage shows with some productions offering an extended three week run.

Redhouse will kick off 2021-22 season with Tony Award winning musical Sister Act which will run from December 3 - December 19, 2021. The show will be directed by Redhouse Associate Director of Artistic Programming Temar Underwood. In this powerhouse musical, adapted from the 1992 film - starring Whoopi Goldberg, Deloris Van Catier, a disco-diva, has witnessed a murder. The cops put her into protective custody in the one place the bad guys won't find her. A convent! She helps the nuns find their voice as the director of the choir. In the process, she finds her own. - With powerful gospel, dance, disco, and soul music from the creative mind of Broadway legend, Alan Menkin, this moving show will have Redhouse audiences rejoicing at the triumphant return of live performances at the center. Sister Act originally ran on Broadway from April 2011 - August 2012 and was nominated for 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Redhouse's second show of the season will feature the previously much anticipated play Fences by August Wilson. The show was well into rehearsals when the Covid-19 Pandemic originally broke out forcing Redhouse to immediately halt production, eventually cancelling the show altogether. Two years later, this production will bring us full circle, as Ted Lange returns to direct, finally bringing Fences to Redhouse audiences. The new production will take place February 25 - March 6, 2022. This classic American drama, set in the 1950s, is part of August Wilson's Century Cycle, his series of ten plays that chart the African-American experience in each decade of the twentieth century. Troy Maxson was a former star of the Negro baseball leagues who now works as a garbage man. Excluded as a black man from the major leagues during his prime, Troy's bitterness takes its toll on his relationships with his wife and his son, who now wants his own chance to play ball. Fences won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1987 Tony Award for Best Play. James Earl Jones won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. In 2010 Fences won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis both won Tony Awards for their performances. In 2016 Denzel Washington directed a film version, which earned Viola Davis a Best Supporting Actress Oscar win.

Redhouse continues in 2022 with one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies...The Scottish Play, as superstitious theatre folk call it. Macbeth will be directed by Redhouse Associate Director of Artistic Programming Temar Underwood with the titular role performed by Jon Hoche, who was the voice and puppeteer behind King Kong on Broadway. Performances will take place March 25 - April 3, 2022. This well-known play follows a brave Scottish general, who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Redhouse's modern reimagining will explore the parallels between Shakepeare's story and the political and social turmoil we've experienced over the past couple of years. Macbeth has been performed worldwide for centuries with nearly 50 productions on Broadway since 1849 including 4 productions since 2000 starring Patrick Stewart, Alan Cumming, Ethan Hawke, and Kelsey Grammer as the titular character.

Redhouse will close it's 2021-22 Season with the comedy musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane. Fred Grandy will return to the Redhouse stage as Lawrence Jameson in this production directed by Brooklyn-based director Robert Ross Parker. The show will be performed June 10 - June 19, 2022."Based on the hit 1988 film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, this sophisticated, mischievous, hilarious, and jazzy musical pits two con men, that talk rich women out of their money, against one another. They first attempt to work together, only to find that this small French town isn't big enough for the two of them. They agree on a settlement: the first one to extract $50,000 from a young heiress wins, and the other must leave town. A hilarious battle of cons ensues that is sure to keep Redhouse audiences guessing, humming and laughing ending our season on a high note as we once again celebrate our return to live theater. The 1988 film was a remake of the 1964 film Bedtime Story, starring Marlon Brando. A 2019 remake titled The Hustle starred Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels originally ran on Broadway from March 2005 to September 2006 starring John Lithgow, Norbert Leo Butz, and Joanna Gleason. It was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and nods for all the leading performers with Norbert Leo Butz winning for Best Performance by a Leading Actor of a Musical. Jonathan Pryce replaced John Lithgow during the original run.

2021-2022 Season subscriptions will go on sale Monday, May 10, 2021 with single tickets going on sale August 2, 2021. Subscriptions start at $100 with single tickets prices starting at $35. All performances will be General Admission with priority seating for subscribers who will also enjoy additional benefits including discounted parking. Auditions for roles in the upcoming season will take place March 14th - 16th at Redhouse. For questions or more information on the 2021-22 season or upcoming auditions, call the Redhouse Arts Center box office at (315) 362-2785 or visit www.theredhouse.org.

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