1. “Man Covets Bird” at Spooky Action Theater
“…a brilliant and tenderly meaningful production that will enchant adults and children alike.” –
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Synopsis: From critically acclaimed Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer, comes Man Covets Bird, an enveloping world of pearly prose, lustrous live music, melancholia and sunshine. A boy wakes to finds he has grown. He recognizes the stranger in the mirror, but his parents, his town do not. Outside his childhood bedroom he finds a bird that cannot fly and together the strangers embark on adventures. This is the story about their journey to the big city, what they find there, what they join in and what they make themselves. A story about flying from nests, birdsong and growing up.
From left: Emily Erickson, Jonathan Feuer, and Navi. Photo courtesy of Spooky Action Theater.
2. “Cinderella” at Synetic Theater
“… a captivating, uplifting production that will delight both children and adults and fill your heart with much-needed light during this darkest month of the year.” –
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Synopsis: This holiday season, Cinderella is stepping into her own shoes! Led by an all-female team of creators, this festive take on the classic fairytale is inspired by Afro-Latino music and dance. It is a perfect fit for audiences of all ages and all backgrounds!
Maria Simpkins as Cinderella and Pablo Guillen as the Prince in Synetic’s Cinderella. Photo by Johnny Shryock Photography.
3. August Wilson’s “Seven Guitars” at Arena Stage
“…you won’t find one better acted, directed, and designed than this production at Arena Stage. It is a masterpiece from beginning to end.” –
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Synopsis: The lives of seven friends are irrevocably changed when their old friend and blues singer Floyd Barton reappears with a chance of a lifetime. Infused with deep and soaring blues rhythms, this “rich and exceptionally vivid” (Variety) play pits the determination for a better future against life’s harsh realities, ultimately leading to heartbreaking and inescapable circumstances. Director Tazewell Thompson returns to Arena Stage to direct August Wilson’s Seven Guitars—the fifth play in Wilson’s American Century Cycle.
Roderick Lawrence (Floyd Barton) and Joy Jones (Vera) in “Seven Guitars” at Arena Stage. Photo by Tony Powell.
4. “A Strange Loop” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
“A Strange Loop’ glimmers, provokes, and might even…change what you think a musical can be.” –
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Synopsis: Usher is a Black queer writer working a job he hates while writing his original musical… about a Black queer writer working a job he hates while writing his original musical. Michael R. Jackson’s blistering, mind-blowing, Pulitzer Prize-winning new musical follows a young artist at war with a host of demons— including the punishing thoughts in his head—in an attempt to capture and understand his own strange loop.
Antwayn Hopper (Thought 6), L Morgan Lee (Thought 1), Jason V easey (Thought 5), Jaquel Spivey (Usher), James Jackson, Jr . (Thought 2), John-Michael L yles (Thought 3), John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4) in “A Strange Loop” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
5. “How I Learned What I Learned” at Avant Bard
“Avant Bard’s production is smooth, supple, and a life lesson in grace under pressure—and so is Newman’s portrayal.” –
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Synopsis: From the late August Wilson, one of America’s greatest playwrights and creator of award-winning titles like Fences and Jitney, comes this autobiographical tour de force. In his one-man show, Wilson takes us on a journey through his days as a young poet: his first few jobs, a stint in jail, the support of his lifelong friends, and his encounters with racism, music, and love as a struggling writer in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Originally performed by Wilson himself, How I Learned What I Learned is a heartfelt theatrical memoir—charting one man’s journey of self-discovery through adversity, and what it means to be a black artist in America.
William T. Newman Jr. as August Wilson. Photo by Christopher Banks.
