By Tribune Staff
NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville Repertory Theatre is proud to announce their 2022/2023 Mainstage Season. There are three featured musicals and three plays. This is the company’s 38th annual season, and they are exploring the theme of family — the family you have, the family you choose, and the family you find.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support of our audiences and artists who were so eager to return after the pandemic shutdown. Our comeback season played to full houses and standing ovations. This support is allowing us to program an even bigger season next year, and we couldn’t be more excited,” Drew Ogle, Executive Director of Nashville Rep, said in a press release.
The season opens in September with Jonathan Larson’s “Rent.” It has inspired audiences for over 25 years, and become a pop cultural phenomenon, with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages. Based loosely on Puccini’s “La Boheme,” Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side. “Rent” will be performed September 16 – 25, 2022 in TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater.
The second production of the season is the Nashville Premiere of “The Cake” by Bekah Brunstetter. Della’s North Carolina bakery is legendary, and her cakes are the best! She’s going to compete on the Great American Baking Show. When her best friend’s daughter returns from New York to get married and asks her to make her wedding cake, Della is overjoyed – until she realizes that there isn’t just one bride, but two. She can’t really bake a cake for such a wedding, can she? Della is forced to re-examine her deeply held beliefs and her own marriage. Faith, family, and frosting collide in this timely, funny, and thought-provoking new play. “The Cake” will be performed October 21 – 30, 2022 in TPAC’s Andrew Johnson Theater.
This holiday season, a Christmas favorite comes alive in “Elf the Musical!” It’s based on the hit holiday movie; Buddy mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. Raised as an elf, he is unaware that he is actually human until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh realities that his father is on the naughty list and his half-brother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. “Elf the Musical” will be performed December 21 – January 1, 2023 in TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater.
The second half of the season begins with August Wilson’s classic “Fences.” Troy Maxson’s yard is his refuge. A sanctuary where, at long last, the grass is finally green. But it can always be greener, right? Troy’s story is both unique and universal — a portrait of the unsteady bridge between fathers and sons, and the wives and mothers who stand cheering for both sides while hanging their own dreams out to dry. A story strong enough to bear the weight of injustice and yearning and love, at its best and its most destructive. “Fences” is a lyrical, heartbreaking love song sung in August Wilson’s unparalleled poetry, about people whose hearts beat vast and deep. August Wilson’s “Fences” will be performed March 3 – 5, 2023 in TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater.
Next on the Rep stage is “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” based on the best selling novel by Mark Haddon and adapted by Simon Stephens. 15-year-old Christopher has an extraordinary brain. He is exceptional at mathematics but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched, and he distrusts strangers. Now it is 7 minutes after midnight, and Christopher stands beside his neighbor’s dead dog, Wellington, who has been speared with a garden fork. Finding himself under suspicion, Christopher is determined to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington. His detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a thrilling journey that upturns his world. Based on the bestselling novel and also the Tony award winning play, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” will be performed March 24 – April 2, 2023 in TPAC’s Andrew Johnson Theater.
The season closes with Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley’s “Violet.” As a girl, Violet was struck by a wayward axe blade when her father was chopping wood, leaving her with a visible scar across her face. Now, she’s traveling across the Deep South in 1964 towards a miracle – the healing touch of a TV evangelist who will make her beautiful. Although she may not succeed in having the scar on her face healed, Violet may be able to repair those scars that are lying deeper than her skin. On the way, she meets a young soldier whose love for her reaches far past her physical “imperfections.” With a sweeping score by Jeanine Tesori (“Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Shrek the Musical”), Violet is a powerhouse piece of theatre about healing and finding the beauty within. “Violet” will be performed May 12 – 22, 2023 in TPAC’s Andrew Johnson Theater.
Season Tickets go on sale April 26, 2022 at 10am. Single Tickets will available for all six shows on July 1, 2022 at 10:00am. Tickets can be purchased at www.nashvillerep.org or www.tpac.org.
