PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, HAND TO GOD, BREAD Premiere and More Set for WaterTower Theatre's 2017-18 Season

Joanie Schultz, Artistic Director, today announced details of the Company's 2017-2018 Season. This season marks the first for newly appointed Artistic Director Joanie Schultz, and the 22nd for WaterTower Theatre.

The 5-show subscription season includes a World Premiere by Emmy Award-Winner, and Dallas native, ReGina Taylor, the Regional Premiere of Schultz' critically-lauded production of Hand to God, and a new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

"I am thrilled to present my first season at WaterTower Theatre," said Artistic Director Joanie Schultz. "This season reflects and builds off two decades of tradition at WTT, presenting exciting contemporary plays, musicals, and new looks at classics. With my new vision at the helm, we are creatively stretching ourselves with innovative works that are each, in their own way, new to the DFW area. I'm confident that our community will be buzzing with excitement over these unique theatrical experiences that will each be so special and different at WTT."

Schultz continued, "Moreover, each production has been carefully chosen to speak to each other, creating a dynamic conversation that unfolds throughout the year. Each play we are doing this season touches on family. Our families, both by birth and by choice, are so much a part of who we are: what we fight for and against, and who we will become. And what better way to consider our own family dynamics and inheritance than to laugh, cry, and contemplate these very different and vital family stories?"

The season opens with the Regional Premiere of Pride and Prejudice (October 13 - November 5, 2017), by Kate Hamill. Pride and Prejudice, directed by Artistic Director Joanie Schultz, is not your grandma's Jane Austen as Hamill artfully pays tribute to the classic with a modern theatrical flair. The season continues with the Regional Premiere of Quiara Alegría Hudes first installment of the Water by the Spoonful trilogy, Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue (January 26 - February 18, 2018). The Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist's play spans three generations of a Puerto Rican-American family and poetically weaves the common thread of war's affect on an individual. The World Premiere of ReGina Taylor's Bread (April 13 - May 6, 2018) is next in the Canterbury Family Main Stage. Bread tells the story of an Oak Cliff family as they wade through the uncertainty of late 2016. But when the prodigal son returns home, tensions mount and we discover how thick blood really is. The season continues with The Last Five Years (June 8 - July 1, 2018) written and composed by Jason Robert Brown. Associate Artistic Director Kelsey Leigh Ervi helms Brown's stunningly intimate song-scape about love, loss, and timing. The 2017-2018 Season concludes with the Regional Premiere of Hand to God (August 3 - August 26, 2018) by Robert Askins. Joanie Schultz will re-imagine her Helen Hayes-nominated production of Hand to God, first produced at Studio Theatre in Washington D.C. This immersive, irreverent, and irresistible comedy that follows Jason and his possibly demon-possessed sock puppet Tyrone will have you holding a mirror toward human nature, with tears of laughter in your eyes.

The 5-show subscription package can be enhanced with the addition of The Great Distance Home (December 1 - 17, 2017), a theatrical holiday event that encapsulates all the feelings of the journey home, created and conceived by Associate Artistic Director Kelsey Leigh Ervi. Additionally, WaterTower Theatre will renew its investment in new and emerging art with Detour: A Festival of New Work (March 1 - 4, 2018) a festival committed to promoting works-in-progress.

Directors for Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue and Bread will be announced at a later date. All productions will be staged at the Addison Theatre Centre at 15650 Addison Road, Addison, Texas 75001.

The five-play season subscriptions range in price from $100 (Previews) to $185 (Saturday evening). The renewal deadline for current subscribers to keep their same seats is July 21st. Subscribers who renew by May 26th will be entered to win a drawing for a $500 Visa Gift Card. Subscriptions are available by calling the Box Office at 972-450-6232. Individual ticket prices for the 2017-2018 Season range in price from $25 - $42. Individual tickets go on sale in September for the first two shows of the season. The Great Distance Home and Detour: A Festival of New Work are not part of the 5-play Main Stage subscription season but are sold separately. Individual tickets to The Great Distance Home are $20. Individual ticket prices to The Detour Festival are $10. Festival passes are $40 for subscribers, and $45 for the general public.

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THE 2017-2018 SEASON:

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

October 13 - November 5, 2017

Regional Premiere

By Kate Hamill

Adapted from the novel by Jane Austen

Directed by Joanie Schultz

Sponsored, in part, by Veritex Community Bank, Pinnacle, and Mary Kay Inc.

Calling all Jane Austen fans - and everyone else who loves a sparkling comedy about the entanglements of family, love, marriage, and money. Following the runaway success of her adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, playwright Kate Hamill returns to the immortal English writer with a fresh take on Austen's most famous novel. As the story of the Bennet daughters and their formidable social-ladder climbing mother unfolds, strong-willed Lizzie charts an independent course as she negotiates very mixed feelings about the aloof and seemingly snobbish Mr. Darcy. Hamill's imaginative and irreverent version of this literary classic makes Austen's deep insights into the foibles of human nature a theatrical treat you won't forget.

"I feel this immense responsibility and honor as a female artist to help reclaim the classics for everyone." - Kate Hamill

ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S FUGUE

January 26 - February 18, 2018

Regional Premiere

By Quiara Alegría Hudes

Sponsored, in part, by Frost Bank

Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Quiara Alegría Hudes takes a poignant look at the way war permeates young men's lives in a play spanning three generations of the same Puerto Rican-American family. Elliot is a Marine Corps hero back from Iraq with an injured leg and a Purple Heart. His Pop was wounded in Vietnam; his flute-playing Grandpop fought in Korea. In a fugue-like form, different wars and different tales are strung together as Ginny, his mother, seeks to reconcile the disparate parts and heal emotional wounds. Hudes' spare, intense, and poetically resonant play speaks to the personal cost of war across the ages.

BREAD

April 13 - May 6, 2018

World Premiere

By ReGina Taylor

Sponsored, in part, by Whole Foods Market

Bread is nourishment. Bread is legacy. Bread is life itself. And bread is money. This world premiere by award-winning Dallas-born actress and playwright ReGina Taylor weaves a compelling family drama of hopes, fears, thwarted dreams, and dark secrets against a turbulent backdrop of racial tension and social upheaval. It is late 2016; a time of change. James and Ruth are a middle class couple from Oak Cliff, a historic south Dallas neighborhood on the verge of gentrification. They plan a bright future for their teenage son and his soon-to-be-born brother. But when James' brother Jeb returns home, buried family tensions resurface and the past casts a troubling shadow across an uncertain future. Taylor's stirring, timely story of identity and family asks: How can we prepare the next generation for what's to come?

"I'm very proud to be from Dallas, Texas. I think a place is what names you and you have to hold on to what first names you." - ReGina Taylor

THE LAST FIVE YEARS

June 8 - July 1, 2018

Written and composed by Jason Robert Brown

Directed by Kelsey Leigh Ervi

Sponsored, in part, by Slalom, and Women of WaterTower Theatre

Think about where you were five years ago. Think about who you were with. Think about that idealized image you had of yourself in five years time. Now think about where you are today. Is this where you thought you'd be? The universality of this question resonates through Jason Robert Brown's intimately observant and often funny, The Last Five Years. Through opposing intersecting chronologies, this award-winning musical follows the story of Jamie and Cathy, two 20-something artists in New York, as their relationship blossoms and sours. The beginning, the end, and everything in between is put into perspective in this touching and sympathetic tale of love, loss, and timing.

HAND TO GOD

August 3 - 26, 2018

Regional Premiere

By Robert Askins

Directed by Joanie Schultz

Sponsored, in part, by WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors

Public piety and seething lust, family dysfunction and repressed anxiety interact with explosive results in Robert Askins's darkly unsettling, foul-mouthed, and uproarious dissection of the troubled currents that roil a Christian puppet ministry in suburban Texas. With wildly imaginative flair, Askins thrusts us into an almost surreal world where hand puppets (meant to impart moral lessons) take on frightening lives of their own. As Jason grieves the loss of his father, his devilish, and possibly possessed puppet, Tyrone, is relentless in causing havoc, revealing secrets, and exposing the hypocrisy around him. With a theatrical magic that makes puppets seem as real and immediate as human actors, this immersive production will have audiences holding up a mirror to their deepest fears and imperfect natures, all with side-splitting laughter. Director Joanie Schultz's Studio Theatre production of Hand to God was nominated for six Helen Hayes Awards including Best Director.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING:

THE GREAT DISTANCE HOME

December 1 - 17, 2018

World Premiere

Created and Conceived by Kelsey Leigh Ervi

This winter, we invite audiences to come home to WaterTower Theatre. In a limited engagement, multidisciplinary theatrical event audiences will be immersed in a story of joy, love, and the warmth you feel upon returning home after a long absence. At WaterTower this holiday season, home really is where the heart is.
From the co-creator of WaterTower Theatre's "Best of Loop" winner The Spark.

DETOUR: A FESTIVAL OF NEW WORK

March 1 - 4, 2018

THE DETOUR FESTIVAL is WaterTower Theatre's renewed investment in the creation and development of new work. A 4-day Festival which will focus on public performances and readings of devised work and new plays created by local and national artists, DETOUR is sure to inspire audiences while fostering opportunities for innovative, daring, and relevant new work.

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SUBSCRIPTION SERIES:

WaterTower Theatre offers a host of subscription options, in addition to the standard Five-play, full series subscription (Pride and Prejudice, Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue, Bread, The Last Five Years, Hand to God) which offers the best seating and greatest discounts over individual tickets. Subscribers will be able to order tickets to the Holiday Extra, (The Great Distance Home) and festival passes for Detour when they renew their subscription or order a new subscription. Continuing again next season are the following series designed to enhance the theatre-goers experience:

ENHANCED THEATRE EXPERIENCE SERIES:

Conversation with the Artists:

A five-play series on all Wednesday nights and Sunday matinees that includes a post-show discussion with the actors, artists, or expert panelists.

The Flex Pass:

A pack of three (3) or more tickets good for any show in our 2017-2018 Season. The Flex Pass allows you to lock a lower ticket price- a savings of $3 off the regular price ticket -while still giving you the flexibility to see only the shows you want to see. Flex Passes go on sale September, 2017.

Design Your Own Series:

This series provides flexibility to WaterTower Theatre subscribers. Patrons can choose their own plays and dates, creating a series specifically designed for their needs. Design Your Own subscriptions go on sale September, 2017.

Senior/Student Subscription Series:

A Senior/Student subscription series will be offered, including a special student Design Your Own Series.

Hero's Subscription:

Firefighters, police officers, EMTs, veterans and members of the armed forces and their immediate families will be offered a special subscription of 50% off any five-play subscription package (excluding DYO, special affinity programs, and special miniseries)

Current subscribers are able to renew their season subscriptions by mail, fax (972.450.6244), or by calling the Box Office at 972.450.6232. Online ordering for new subscriptions will be available in June.

New subscriptions are on sale now. However, seating will not be assigned until late July.

Joanie Schultz was recently appointed as Artistic Director of WaterTower Theatre, and has been serving in the position since January 1st, 2017. Before joining WaterTower Theatre, Joanie served as Associate Artistic Producer at Victory Gardens Theater, as part of the Leadership U One-on-One Fellowship funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation administered through TCG, the national non-profit regional theatre service organization. She is also a freelance director, with recent productions at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Studio Theatre (Washington D.C.), The Cleveland Play House, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Victory Gardens Theater. She was a Drama League Fellow, The Goodman Theatre Michael Maggio Director Fellow, the SDSF Denham Fellow, and Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab participant. She is an ensemble member at Steep Theatre, Artistic Associate at Victory Gardens Theater, and artistic cabinet member at Studio Theatre in Washington, DC. Joanie has also served on faculty at Columbia College and University of Chicago. She received her B.A. in Theatre/Directing at Columbia College and her M.F.A. in Theatre Directing from Northwestern University.

Founded in 1996, WaterTower Theatre (WTT) is one of Texas' leading professional theatre companies and one of the flagship arts institutions in North Texas, having played an important role as a leader in developing new talent and encouraging the growth of the DFW artistic community through its commitment to hiring local artists. Led by Artistic Director Joanie Schultz and Managing Director Gregory Patterson, it is consistently recognized for its artistic excellence by the Dallas Theatre League, DFW Theatre Critics Forum, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, D Magazine, and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others. WaterTower Theatre has a subscription base of more than 2,000 subscribers and serves an audience of over 22,000 patrons annually.

WTT Alumni currently working on Broadway/Internationally include Akron Watson (The Color Purple), Brian Gonzales (One Man, Two Guvnors and Disney's Aladdin), Major Attaway (the new Genie in Disney's Aladdin), Cedric Neal (West End, Motown), Anthony Fortino (First National Tour, Fun Home), John Campione (First National Tour, The Bridges of Madison County), Traci Lee (First National Tour, Beautiful), Clinton Greenspan and Jeremy Davis (First National Tour, Disney's Aladdin), and in many regional theatres across the country. Respected local actors such as Denise Lee, Liz Mikel, Gary Lynn Floyd, Zak Reynolds, Kyle Igneczi, Diana Sheehan, Pam Dougherty, and Emily Scott Banks credit WTT for nurturing their professional careers.

WaterTower Theatre is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization as designate by the IRS. Like all arts organizations, WaterTower Theatre relies on both ticket income and donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, organization and government to produce world-class live professional theatre and offer community outreach and arts education programs. WaterTower Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of The Town of Addison, TACA, Texas Commission on the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Shubert Foundation. WaterTower Theatre is supported, in part, through the generosity of corporate, foundation and individual donors such as Atmos Energy, The Canterbury Family, Don and Barbara Daseke, Ben Fischer and Laree Hulshoff, FastSigns Carrollton, Paul and Norma Shultz, Frost Bank, Liberty Capital Bank, Mary Kay Inc., Janiece and Jimmy Niemann, The Nissan Foundation, Pinnacle, Slalom, Table 13, The Civic League, The President's Circle, the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors, The Corporate Council, and Women of WaterTower Theatre.

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