The Wayward Artist Announces Season Six; AVENUE Q, YELLOW FACE, and More

After its first five years of success in bringing "wayward" theatre to Orange County audiences, The Wayward Artist announces its most ambitious season yet. In Season Six, The Wayward Artist will bring nine different shows to its stage, including six main stage shows and three shows from Wayward Voices, the company's unique program designed to amplify, enhance, and empower BIPOC voices in theatre. Look out for a separate announcement about the new season of shows from Wayward Voices soon.

"In our sixth season, we are making bold choices!" said Craig Tyrl, Artistic Director, and Founder of The Wayward Artist. "We are showcasing the Asian American, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and female experience in our season."

JU1CE: One Acts by OC Playwrights

At the end of January, the season kicks off with JU1CE: One Acts, which is a collaborative effort between The Wayward Artist and Orange County Playwrights Alliance. This magical evening of eight short plays explores communication and its challenges past, present, and future. The featured plays were all written by Orange County playwrights. Starring many Wayward Artist resident artists, this cohesive and elevated night of theater is not to be missed. Directed by Anna Miles and Craig Tyrl, JU1CE: One Acts runs for four performances from January 27th - January 29th.

In the Green by Grace McLean

In the Green is a unique musical event featuring an all-woman cast and crew with live musicians. In The Green tells the sonically sophisticated saga of two exceptional women broken by the world and their journey of healing that changed history. As a young girl, medieval saint, healer, visionary, exorcist, and composer, Hildegard von Bingen was locked in a cloister's cell after demonstrating a preternatural sensitivity to the world around her. Sequestered with Hildegard is Jutta, a woman who has spent her life secluded to recover a whole self after deepest trauma. Under Jutta's guidance, Hildegard attempts to reassemble her own fragmented self while her mentor proselytizes a rejection of brokenness. Directed by Anna Miles with Musical Direction by Diane King Vann, In the Green plays from April 14 - April 30th.

Avenue Q with lyrics by Jeff Marx & Robert Lopez, book by Jeff Whitty

Winner of the Tony "Triple Crown" for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, Avenue Q is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart. The laugh-out-loud musical tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton, who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. Filled with gut-busting humor and a delightfully catchy score, not to mention puppets, Avenue Q is a truly unique show that has quickly become a favorite for audiences everywhere. Although the show addresses humorous adult issues, it is similar to a beloved children's show; a place where puppets are friends, monsters are good and life lessons are learned. Directed by Wyn Moreno with Musical Direction by Andrea Decker and Choreography by Sarah Ripper, Avenue Q plays from July 7 - July 23rd.

Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang

The lines between truth and fiction blur with hilarious and moving results in Yellow Face, Davide Henry Hwang's unreliable memoir. Asian-American playwright DHH, fresh off his Tony Award win for M. Butterfly, leads a protest against the casting of Jonathan Pryce as the Eurasian pimp in the original Broadway production of Miss Saigon, condemning the practice as "yellowface." His position soon comes back to haunt him when he mistakes a Caucasian actor, Marcus G. Dahlman, for mixed-race, and casts him in the lead Asian role of his own Broadway-bound comedy, Face Value. When DHH discovers the truth of Marcus' ethnicity, he tries to conceal his blunder to protect his reputation as an Asian-American role model, by passing the actor off as a "Siberian Jew." As he clings to his old multicultural rhetoric, this new racist witch hunt forces DHH to confront the complex and ever-changing role that "face" plays in American life today. Directed by Aung Khine Min, Yellow Face performances run from September 22nd to October 1st.

Rotterdam by John Brittain

It's New Year's Eve in Rotterdam, and Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents and tell them she's gay. But before she can hit send, her girlfriend reveals that he has always identified as a man and now wants to start living as one. Rotterdam is a play that is specifically of its time and yet speaks to the issues of our current moment. At its heart it is a play about characters coming to terms with themselves and each other, and centers on identity. Often it presents its themes lightly, comedically and in theatrically interesting ways. In 2016 it won an Oliver award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Directed by Craig Tyrl, Rotterdam plays November 10 - November 19th.

Pirates vs. Leprechauns by Craig Holland

Supported by a California Arts Council Youth Grant, this family friendly show for young people is this year's holiday event. When a feisty band of pirates runs into a group of lucky leprechauns on a magical island, they discover they're both hunting for the same prize: Greenbeard's treasure. After fighting and competing with each other, they realize they can do better by working together. When they finally find the treasure, it isn't what they expected. Directed by Sydney Fitzgerald, Pirates vs. Leprechauns runs from December 8th to December 17th.

Tickets for JU1CE: One Acts; Solo, Duo, Trio from Wayward Voices; and In The Green are available for purchase now. Other shows will go on sale soon. The Wayward Artist shows frequently sell out, so don't delay.

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