Philadelphia Premiere of THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT & More Announced for Lantern Theater Company 2022/23 Season

Lantern Theater Company has announced its upcoming 2022/23 season, a return of live performance that will include an ambitious and eclectic mix of classic and contemporary work for the stage. The four plays that comprise the company's mainstage season include Tom Stoppard's Tony Award-winning comic masterpiece Travesties, directed by Charles McMahon; the Philadelphia premiere of Marco Ramirez's riveting drama, The Royale, directed by Zuhairah McGill; the hilarious comedy The Lifespan of a Fact by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell, directed by Jennie Eisenhower; and William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, also directed by McMahon. The Lantern will also stage its original adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a new Philadelphia holiday tradition co-created by local theater artists Anthony Lawton, Christopher Colucci, and Thom Weaver.

"The past two years have been a test of our collective human spirit, driving us apart and depriving us all of the simple everyday interactions that are indispensable food for the soul," said Lantern Artistic Director Charles McMahon. "Theater is the ultimate communal art form. The building blocks of our stories are those simple encounters that we all recognize as spontaneous authentic moments between people who need each other to achieve our goals. If we could get what we need on our own, there would be no drama. We are all imperfect, weaker than we would like to admit, and generally rather foolish in the grand scheme of things. The biggest triumphs one sees from the great characters in the theater are almost always over their own folly. When I go to a great play - a play that I am likely to remember for years to come - I am always reminded of that folly. If there is a common theme among the wonderful plays that we have lined up for the 2022/23 season, it is the action of ambition in the relentless face of human folly. Sometimes the results are devastating, more often they are funny. But we soldier on, seeking truth amid confusion, light in the darkness, and a sense of dignity among the many humiliations of fate and history. We are honored to bring you these four great new productions and hope audiences find them as moving and engaging as we do."

Season subscriptions and flex packages start at $104 and are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. Single tickets for Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol go on sale July 5, 2022; single tickets for Travesties, The Royale, The Lifespan of a Fact, and Twelfth Night go on sale August 2, 2022. As of June 2022, all audience members are required to present proof of Covid-19 vaccination and a corresponding photo ID for entry into all Lantern venues, and everyone other than the actors on stage are required to wear properly fitted masks at all times. Any updates to these policies will be announced 30 days prior to each production.

Lantern Theater Company's 2022/23 Mainstage Season

TRAVESTIES

By Tom Stoppard

Directed by Charles McMahon

September 8 - October 9, 2022

PRESS OPENING: Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 7 p.m. at St. Stephen's Theater

Zürich, 1917. In Tom Stoppard's Tony Award-winning comic masterpiece, obscure British diplomat Henry Carr and Dadaist Tristan Tzara are in love with Cecily and Gwendolen, who are both in love with someone named Jack. Carr stages a production of The Importance of Being Earnest with James Joyce, and the action gets heated when Vladimir Lenin bursts onto the scene. Soon everyone in neutral Switzerland is at war over the question, "What does it mean to be an artist and a revolutionary?"

THE ROYALE

Philadelphia Premiere

By Marco Ramirez

Directed by Zuhairah McGill

November 10 - December 11, 2022

PRESS OPENING: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 7 p.m. at St. Stephen's Theater

Set in 1905, The Royale takes inspiration from the life of Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight world boxing champion. Ramirez's riveting drama is filled with the rhythms of the ring and of the people fighting for freedom, dignity, and success in a fascinating and important chapter in our national story.

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

Philadelphia Premiere

By Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell & Gordon Farrell

Directed by Jennie Eisenhower

February 2 - March 5, 2023

PRESS OPENING: Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at 7 p.m. at St. Stephen's Theater

A famous writer, a magazine editor, and a lowly fact-checker walk into a bar disagree about the meaning of words, truth, and art. This play comedy pits the three against one another in a struggle to the death and chaos ensues. Based on the best-selling book by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal - the real-life writer and fact-checker - The Lifespan of a Fact exposes shocking secrets explores meaningful questions about truth vs. art.

TWELFTH NIGHT

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Charles McMahon

May 18 - June 18, 2023

PRESS OPENING: Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 7 p.m. at St. Stephen's Theater

As Shakespeare's most fascinating comic heroine, Viola turns personal tragedy and loss into a world-changing experience for herself and those she comes to love. Yes, there will be a storm, twins, mistaken identities, and - above all - music, the food of love. Join us for an enchanting and poetic journey of discovery.

2022/23 Special Holiday Production

Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL

An Original Adaptation by Anthony Lawton

In Collaboration with Christopher Colucci and Thom Weaver

December 3 - 28, 2022

Press Opening: Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 2 p.m. / The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake

In this wonderfully clear and direct telling of Charles Dickens' novella, acclaimed actor and playwright Anthony Lawton brings the story boldly to life as only live theater can. Come rediscover Dickens' timeless story of a miser's miraculous redemption from a life of bitterness, greed, and isolation. Back by popular demand for its fifth year, this heartwarming adaptation captured the hearts of theater critics and audiences alike, inspiring a new Philadelphia holiday tradition. Best enjoyed by ages 9-99.

About Lantern Theater Company

Founded in 1994 and concluding its 28th season with Lynn Nottage's Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine, which closes Sunday, June 26, 2022, Lantern Theater Company's mission is to produce plays that investigate and illuminate what is essential in the human spirit and the spirit of the times. The Lantern serves the Greater Philadelphia region with artistic and educational programming, notably partnering with middle schools and high schools in the Philadelphia School District to provide in-classroom residencies in support of curricular learning. Throughout the Covid-19 health crisis, the Lantern continuously provided artistic programming on both a free and paid basis, including livestreamed readings of Shakespeare plays in spring 2020; professionally filmed and edited Plays from the Lantern Archives; and newly created and critically acclaimed digital productions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel, The Gospel According To... by Scott Carter, the American premiere of Neil Bartlett's The Plague from Albert Camus' La Peste, and the world premiere of Me and the Devil, co-written and directed by Steve H. Broadnax III.

More information about the Lantern is available online at www.lanterntheater.org.

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