4th Wall Theatre Company Announces 2021-2022 Season

4th Wall Theatre Company has announced its return to in-person theatre for the 2021-2022 season. This landmark season is completely comprised of Houston Premiere productions and features four of the most exciting plays 4th Wall has ever assembled. 4th Wall will open its 11th anniversary season with the eight-time Tony-nominated A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 by Lucas Hnath. Next up is the hysterical 2019 Broadway smash hit THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. Following is Pulitzer Prize Finalist GLORIA by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. And closing the season is a remount of 4th Wall's prematurely closed production of the Pulitzer Prize Winner BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY by Stephen Adly Guirgis.

"We assembled a season of well-crafted stories that tackle some of our country's most pressing issues - these plays delve into women's rights and gender roles, the ongoing struggle for truth in the media, gun violence and ambition, and racism and redemption. We feel confident this 11th season lineup will be one to remember!" remarked Co-Artistic Director Philip Lehl.

4th Wall will launch its season with the Houston Premiere of A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 by Lucas Hnath. The New York Times calls this eight-time Tony-nominated piece a "smart, funny and utterly engrossing play." The story serves as both a playful sequel to Henrik Ibsen's 1879 groundbreaking masterpiece as well as a stand-alone work of modern feminist drama. We last saw Ibsen's Nora Helmer literally and figuratively slamming the door on her life. When Hnath imagines Nora's return 15 years later in PART 2, the same burning questions that Ibsen left unresolved in the 19th century are reignited. A modern perspective reminds us that Nora's arguments about freedom, love, responsibility, and gender equality are just as controversial and relevant now as ever. Alanna Dorsett will direct Houston favorites Kim Tobin-Lehl and Philip Lehl as the iconic Helmers, and the incomparable Sally Edmundson will make her 4th Wall debut as Anne Marie.

Second up at 4th Wall is the Houston Premiere of yet another recent Broadway smash hit, THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. Inspired by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal's book of the same name, this stage adaptation brings to life the endless debate of its original authors. Fingal is a fresh-out-of-Harvard fact checker for a prominent but sinking New York magazine. D'Agata is a talented writer with a transcendent essay about the suicide of a teenage boy-an essay that could save the magazine from collapse. When Fingal is assigned to fact-check D'Agata's essay, the two come head to head in a hysterical yet gripping ethical dispute over facts versus truth. Award-winning director Kim Tobin-Lehl is set to direct what The New York Times calls "terrifically engaging."

4th Wall's third production is the 2016 Pulitzer Prize Finalist GLORIA by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The New York Times calls this masterpiece "a sharp-toothed drama" and writes that MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Jacobs-Jenkins "has established himself as one of the country's most original and unsettling artists." This funny, trenchant, and powerful play follows an ambitious group of editorial assistants at a notorious Manhattan magazine, each of whom hopes for a starry life of letters and a book deal before they turn thirty. But when an ordinary humdrum workday becomes anything but, the stakes for who will get to tell their own story become higher than ever. This whip-smart satire will be directed by Houston treasure and longtime Alley Theatre artist James Black.

4th Wall will close the season by bringing back its already critically-acclaimed production of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Houston Press reporter D.L. Groover said of the spring 2020 production's short run, "What a glorious time at the theater - explosive, funny, gritty, true." This new American classic follows a retired NYC cop fighting down forces much larger than himself from within a collapsing, rent-controlled apartment. Swirling around him are a host of larger-than-life characters sure to captivate audiences. This season's reboot will reintroduce the stellar original cast and design team including performances from Byron Jacquet, Joe Palmore, Kim Tobin-Lehl, Philip Lehl, Pamela Vogel, Briana Resa, and Juan Sebastián Cruz and direction from four-time Emmy winner Bill Pruitt.

For the latest information about 4th Wall Theatre Company's upcoming season and to purchase subscriptions or single tickets, please visit the theater's website at 4thwalltheatreco.com or follow @4thwallhouston on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

4TH WALL THEATRE COMPANY'S 2021-2022 SEASON

(dates and titles subject to change)

A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 (Houston Premiere)

Written by: Lucas Hnath
Directed by: Alanna Dorsett
Featuring: Kim Tobin-Lehl, Philip Lehl, Sally Edmundson, and Raven Justine Troup
Dates: October 14 - November 6, 2021
A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT (Houston Premiere)

Written by: Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, based on the book by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal
Directed by: Kim Tobin-Lehl
Featuring: Alice Gatling and Drake Simpson
Dates: January 13 - February 5, 2022
THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

GLORIA (Houston Premiere, 2016 Pulitzer Prize Finalist)

Written by: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by: James Black
Dates: March 24 - April 16, 2022
GLORIA is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY (Houston Premiere, 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winner)

Written by: Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by: Bill Pruitt
Featuring: Byron Jacquet, Joseph "Joe P" Palmore, Kim Tobin-Lehl, Philip Lehl, Pamela Vogel, Briana Resa, and Juan Sebastián Cruz
Dates: May 12 - June 4, 2022
BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Tickets: Premium $53; Standard $32; Senior Standard $26; Under-25 Standard $17

There is a Pay-What-You-Can performance on Mondays in the last week of each run and a Closed-Caption performance at one performance during each run.

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