4th Wall Theatre Company Announces THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT and More for 10th Season

4th Wall Theatre Company, Houston's home for extraordinary performances up close, has announced its 10th anniversary season. In the midst of current COVID-19 cancellations, 4th Wall's Artistic Directors Kim Tobin-Lehl and Philip Lehl look excitedly towards the future when audiences can again enjoy the unique storytelling experience only live theatre can provide. 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 2020-2021 season with a remount of its prematurely closed production of the Pulitzer Prize Winner BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY by Stephen Adly Guirgis. 4th Wall follows this powerhouse production with three more Houston Premieres. Next up is Pulitzer Prize Finalist GLORIA by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Following is the 2019 most-produced play in America and eight-time Tony-nominated A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 by Lucas Hnath. And closing the season is the hysterical 2019 Broadway smash hit THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell.

When asked about the season, Tobin-Lehl said, "In our tenth season we wanted to present well-crafted and timely stories that honed in on our theatre's truthful aesthetic of acting. We also picked plays that tackle some of our country's most pressing issues - these plays delve into racism and redemption, gun violence and ambition, women's rights and gender roles, and the ongoing struggle for truth in the media. We feel confident this 10th season lineup will be one to remember!"

4th Wall will launch its 10th season by bringing back its already critically-acclaimed production of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY by Stephen Adly Guirgis. This production will reintroduce the stellar original cast and design team. And audiences who remember 4th Wall's sold-out, award-winning production of JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN will find much to love in another of Guirgis's more recent works. 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. BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY will feature Byron Jacquet, Joe Palmore, Kim Tobin-Lehl, Philip Lehl, Pamela Vogel, Briana Resa, and Juan Sebastián Cruz. Four-time Emmy winner Bill Pruitt will direct this knockout ensemble.

"...an amazing script, a stellar cast, and a show produced with technical prowess. BETWEEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY is easily the best show running live in Houston right now, and would be even if the larger houses had remained open." - Brett Cullum, Broadway World (3/14/20)

Second up at 4th Wall is the 2016 Pulitzer Prize Finalist GLORIA by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. 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 James Black, a treasured Houston artist, recent interim Alley Theatre Artistic Director, and longtime Alley resident actor and director.

4th Wall's third Houston Premiere of the season is A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 by Lucas Hnath. The story serves as both a playful sequel to Henrik Ibsen's 1879 groundbreaking masterpiece as well as a standalone piece 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 couple, Nora and Torvald Helmer.

To close its 10th season, 4th Wall will produce 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's 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."

In addition to its four full productions, 4th Wall looks forward to reimagining its annual Gala in October, inviting audiences to participate in a Women's Reading Festival focusing on new works in November, and offering the second year of its Summer Shakespeare Intensive for high school actors and Juilliard Drama students. 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.

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