AN ACT OF GOD, HIR, AN OCTOROON and More Set for Stage West's 39th Season

Stage West has announced the lineup for its 39th season!

The new season will offer six plays plus a season extra, and patrons purchasing season tickets before October 1 will be offered a discount on the season extra. It's an exciting mix of shows, featuring fresh takes on classics, can't-miss regional premieres, and a world premiere.

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Here it is:

Life Sucks., by Aaron Posner, sort of adapted from Chekhov's Uncle Vanya Regional premiere

October 12 - November 12

Directed by Emily Scott Banks

Life is, like, really hard. It's tough being the gorgeous woman desired by all but understood by none. Or the homely girl with a heart of gold. Or the middle-aged man insightful enough to see the cavernous depth of his own failings. A quirky and deeply human new installment in the Chekhov cycle from the playwright of Stupid F*cking Bird - full of all the delight and charm that love and longing can inspire.

Season Extra:

An Act of God, by David Javerbaum Regional premiere

November 30 - December 31

Directed by Harry Parker, and starring B.J. Cleveland

Direct from the pearly gates, and flanked by His ever-faithful and devoted archangels, the Almighty Himself is back to set the record straight and answer the deepest questions plaguing humanity since Creation. In this hilarious, no holds barred, irreverent, and critically acclaimed new play, God takes the stage to deliver a new and improved set of Commandments that are sure to have audiences rolling in their seats with side-splitting glee while providing angel-food for thought.

Like a Billion Likes, by Erik Forrest Jackson World premiere

January 18 - February 4

Directed by TBD

Misty Riggs is a nobody. No, really, she is - that's an undisputed fact. But just as she's starting sophomore year, she gets the notion she should try to stand out somehow before it's too late. Misty's gambit, however, only cements her loserdom, and after one blow too many, she makes a final, desperate bid for glory - the terrible culmination of her burning desire to be recognized for something, anything, no matter how she achieves it.

Winner of the 2016 Southwest Playwriting Competition

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City, by Halley Feiffer

March 8 - April 1 Regional premiere

Directed by Lee Trull

A slouchy, foul-mouthed young comedian and an overwhelmed middle-aged man embroiled in a nasty divorce are unexpectedly brought together when their cancer-stricken mothers become roommates in the hospital. Tensions rise and gauntlets are thrown, but appearances may be deceiving. Through confessions, fights, and uproariously inappropriate jokes, these two unwittingly invest in each other and help to pick up the pieces of their broken lives. A boisterously brazen story of the strength it takes to learn to laugh through pain.

Hir, by Taylor Mac Regional premiere

May 17 - June 17

Directed by TBD

After returning from the wars, Isaac arrives at his childhood home to discover that the house and family he knew have been upended. His once-timid mother is on a whirlwind crusade to subvert the patriarchy, his sister is now his genderqueer brother who refers to hirself in gender-neutral pronouns. Meanwhile, his stroke-ridden father slumps on the couch in a muumuu and clown makeup. As Isaac attempts to reclaim structure in a household that refuses to be tamed, the family is forced to confront what it is to live in a new world when one is stuck in the past.

Don't Dress for Dinner, by Marc Camoletti, adapted by Robin Hawdon

July 12 - August 12

Directed by Christie Vela

Hilarity and hijinks ensue when Bernard invites his mistress over for a weekend romp while his wife Jacqueline is meant to be away. But when Jacqueline discovers Bernard's friend Robert is also coming over, she decides to stay. Robert is supposed to be Bernard's alibi for the weekend, but he is also Jacqueline's secret lover. By the time the mistress and the cook show up, trysts and sweet-nothings are postponed as mar?ital treachery, mistaken identities, and madcap chaos take hold in an evening of adulterous mirth.

An Octoroon, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Regional premiere

August 30 - September 30

Directed by Akin Babatundé

The Terrebonne plantation is in upheaval - the Master has died. ?His naïve young nephew tries to hold things together, but the evil neighbor is out to buy the land. Meanwhile, the slaves chat and gossip, and the beautiful, young ward of the estate has a secret that will change everything. Based on a controversial classic, this Obie Award winning play is part period satire and part meta-theatrical middle finger - it's a provocative and moving challenge to the racial climate of ?"the land of the free?"? in both the antebellum South and today.

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Season tickets will go on sale June 22, and range in price from $135 to $175 with discounts for students, seniors, and teachers. Subscribers purchasing season passes prior to October 1 may purchase up to 2 tickets for An Act of God at $25 apiece.

For more information, call Stage West at (817) 784-9378. Tickets will be available soon online at www.stagewest.org/season-tickets.

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