Riverside Theatre Announces 2022-2023 Season Featuring a World Premiere & More

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City's resident professional theatre, has announced their 2022-2023 season. This will be the not-for-profit organization's 42nd season, and the first full season of plays in the newly opened 150-seat theatre at 119 E. College Street.

Says Producing Artistic Director Adam Knight, "Riverside's season will feature a mix of premieres and contemporary and modern classics, showcasing the flexible 150-seat blackbox venue. Riverside's strength lies in the artists that choose to work on our stage and call Riverside an artistic home. Their presence makes an ambitious season such as this one possible."

Chipmunk'd, a world premiere by Megan Gogerty, Sept 9 - Oct 2

The season will begin in September with a world premiere solo show from Iowa City playwright Megan Gogerty, Chipmunk'd. A comedy about love, sex, and existential dread, Chipmunk'd is the play for when you don't know whether to laugh or cry. Directed by Saffron Henke, who previously directed Gogerty's Feast. and Lady Macbeth and Her Pal Megan.

The Weir by Conor McPherson, Oct 14th - Oct 30th

Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Play, Conor McPherson's acclaimed drama imagines a blustery night at a small rural bar in Ireland. Amidst Guinness and whiskey, tall tales give way to something deeper within the haunts of the soul. Directed by Adam Knight, just in time for Halloween.

The Flick by Annie Baker, Nov 25th - Dec 11th

Three young, underpaid employees tend to one of the last 35 mm projectors in a rundown arthouse cinema. Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Flick pays tribute to the power of movies, while painting a hilarious and heartbreaking portrait of the distances that pervade modern life. Directed by Angie Toomsen, who previously directed Comedy of Errors and Men on Boats.

A Walk in the Woods by Lee Blessing, Jan 26th - Feb 12th

We'll welcome in 2023 with a revival of Lee Blessing's A Walk in the Woods. Two superpower arms negotiators in the 1980s go on a series of nature walks as they try to solve nuclear proliferation - and prevent the next great conflict. A story of the past, now eerily prescient. Blessing received his MFA from the University of Iowa; while at UofI, his play The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid was performed at the Kennedy Center and on NBC - in a production featuring Riverside co-founder Ron Clark, who will direct A Walk in the Woods. Clark also directed Blessing's play Eleemosynary in Riverside's 6th season.

Fefu and Her Friends by María Irena Fornés, Mar 10th - Apr 2nd

The capstone of our spring season will be Fefu and her Friends by renowned playwright María Irene Fornés. Fefu is one of the seminal plays of the 20th century, an experimental work that explores feminism and sexuality through the intimate lives of eight New England women in the 1930s. Taking full advantage of the flexibility that Riverside's new home can provide, this play will transport the audience to several different "rooms" where the action of this intimate play takes place. Directed by Juliana Kleist-Mendez.

An additional full production and more events will round out the 2022-23 season, and will be announced soon. Cast and full creative teams for the above productions will be announced in the coming months.

Season memberships are now available for purchase on Riverside's website or by calling the box office at 319-259-7099. Memberships are $80 for individuals and $130 for households. Benefits include discounted tickets and concessions at all Riverside live events, as well as early access to tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

All membership sales for the 2022-23 season will be matched up to $50,000 by a generous gift from a local charitable family foundation. "This challenge gift is intended to double the impact of each membership sold for the upcoming season," says Knight. "This gift is a game changer for our organization, allowing us to keep expanding the stories Riverside is able to tell and the reach those stories can have."

Information about the season and memberships can be found at www.riversidetheatre.org/season-2022-2023/.

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