Theatre News Wire

Writers Theatre Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Interim Artistic Director Bobby Kennedy announced the company's 2022/23 four-play season, to include Mike Lew's Tiger Style!, directed by Brian Balcom; Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, The Tony Award winning musical Once, directed and choreographed by Katie Spellman; and Kareem Fahmy's timely new play A Distinct Society.

"There's something for everyone in the 22/23 Season at Writers Theatre. These four productions embrace a diversity of theatrical expression-from comedy to musical to drama to holiday spectacular," comments Interim Artistic Director Bobby Kennedy. "What they share are they are all stories of people seeking connection: to both sides of a Chinese American identity in Tiger Style!; to family traditions and recently lost loved ones in Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol; to distant partners, new acquaintances and music in Once; and to friends and family separated by borders and geopolitics in A Distinct Society. Connection and community were restricted during the pandemic-but they are what live theatre is all about. We're delighted to present this season that celebrates the irreplaceable experience of gathering together to enjoy a play."

All productions in the 2022/23 season will be presented in the 255-seat Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre in the in the award-winning building at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe, designed by Studio Gang Architects.

The Writers Theatre 2021/22 Season includes:

Tiger Style!
Written by Mike Lew
Directed by Brian Balcom
September 29-October 30, 2022

Squabbling siblings Albert and Jennifer Chen reached the pinnacle of academic achievement when they were kids. But as adults, they can't seem to get things right: he's just been passed up for promotion and she's been dumped by her less-than-ideal boyfriend. To fix the sorry states of their lives, they turn to the one thing they know they can blame: their parents. Or America. Or maybe China? It's someone else's fault, that's for sure.

Award-winning playwright Mike Lew (Teenage Dick) pens this hilarious comedy about Chinese American heritage and belonging that will leave you howling with laughter. Travelling the globe from California to Shenzen, Tiger Style! uproariously tackles the immigrant experience, cultural stereotypes and what it really means to feel successful-and at home.

Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol
Written and directed by Manual Cinema
November 29-December 24, 2022

Told through puppetry and music, this striking holiday experience comes to brilliant life on stage for the first time.

An avowed holiday skeptic, Aunt Trudy has been recruited to channel her late husband Joe's famous Christmas cheer over a Zoom call with family. But as Trudy becomes more absorbed in her own version of the Ebeneezer Scrooge story, the puppets take on a life of their own, and the family's call transforms into a stunning cinematic adaptation of Dickens's classic ghost story.

After the stunning success of its online Christmas Carol, Manual Cinema uses its groundbreaking creativity and powerful storytelling to elevate one of the most famous holiday stories ever told to new heights in this unique theatrical experience. Featuring the combined talents of actors, puppeteers and musicians, come experience a new holiday tradition unlike anything else you've seen before.

Once
Music & Lyrics by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Book by Enda Walsh
Based on the 2007 film Once, written and directed by John Carney
Music Direction by Matt Deitchman
Directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman
February 16-March 26, 2023

A soft-spoken, deeply felt musical about the forces that compel us to reach out to one another and hold on for dear life.

Guy is a young Irish musician ready to give up his career because his songs, written about his ex-girlfriend, are too heartbreaking to perform any more. When he encounters Girl, an inquisitive young Czech woman who believes he could win his ex back by playing to her in New York City, he resumes writing and performing-now with Girl. As the two form their band, and write new songs together, a love grows between them-one that inspires and challenges them.

This 2012 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical is based on the 2007 Irish musical film and features gorgeous songs like the Oscar-winning "Falling Slowly." Performed by an accomplished cast of actors playing their own instruments on the intimate Nichols Theatre stage, this will be a Once like you've never seen it before.

A Distinct Society
Written and directed by Kareem Fahmy
June 22-July 23, 2023

A timely story-needed more now than ever-about finding each other across borders, both physical and emotional.

A quiet library that straddles the border of the U.S. and Canada becomes an unlikely crucible for five people from around the world. When an Iranian family, separated from one another by the "Muslim ban," uses the library as a meeting place, the head librarian, a U.S. border patrol officer and a local teenager must choose between breaking the law and saving themselves.

Inspired by true events, this poignant and funny new play, written and directed by the gifted artist Kareem Fahmy, was a finalist for the National New Play Network's 2020 National Showcase for New Plays. Now making its Chicago debut, A Distinct Society delivers a moving story about the many things-family, food, art, love, and politics-that can either divide or unite us.