What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette T heatreSquared has been making season programming announcements for 14 years now, and there's always been an air of excitement around that event. But there's no doubt that this year is particularly momentous. That's because the award-winning regional theater's 14th season will be the first in its new, state-of-the-art, 50,000-square- foot facility. "Today, we're pleased to share with you our seven play lineup for the 'Grand Opening Season,' in two intimate new theaters at TheatreSquared's architecturally significant new home," said T2 executive director Martin Miller at the season unveiling Feb. 24 at Fresco in Fayetteville. In its current incarnation in the Walton Arts Center's Nadine Baum Studios, T2 has only one theater space and no dedicated rehearsal space. The addition of a second theater space — the Spring Theatre is the new building's black box space, in addition to the mainstage West Theatre — and a 1,700-square-foot rehearsal hall means that T2 can add a seventh show to its season offerings. "The progress on our building construction is proceeding on schedule," added T2 artistic director Robert Ford. "There are literally hundreds of workers there on any given day. The 'Our Next Stage' campaign is [at] over 80 percent of its goal and entering its crucial last phase. Everything is pointing in the right direction for professional theater in Northwest Arkansas." T2 will kick off the "Grand Opening Season" with "Shakespeare in Love" by Tom Stoppard, Lee Hall and Marc Norman. The 2014 play premiered at the Noel Coward Theatre in London's West End, where the Daily Telegraph called it "funny, often genuinely moving" and a play that "generates a glow you could warm your hands by." "The first show in the new facility had a high bar to clear," noted Ford to the crowd gathered to hear the announcement. "We wanted it to be something beautifully written that would make our audience share a sense of joy; we wanted it to give us an opportunity to invite back some of our favorite artistic professionals; and we wanted it to be an open love letter to theater — because in a way, that's what this building is." Next up is "Native Gardens" by acclaimed playwright Karen Zacarías. The incisive social commentary- comedy has been a hit at venues like the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. "We know everyone here loves a comedy," said Miller. "This one is brand new and up-to-the-minute and brings back playwright Karen Zacarías, who joined us for our New Play Festival just a few years ago. Putting a new spin on the old adage, 'Good fences make good neighbors,' 'Native Gardens' introduces us to Tania, a very pregnant Ph.D. candidate, and Pablo, her rising star attorney husband, who move next door to Virginia and Frank, a deep-rooted couple with an impeccably trimmed backyard. But when a questionable fence line puts Frank's prize-worthy garden in jeopardy, what starts as a friendly question soon escalates hilariously into an all-out border dispute." T2 will celebrate the holidays by re-imagining an old favorite: Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." MARCH 10-16, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 3 Housewarming Gifts T2 announces seven-play season in new home File Photo/JASON IVESTER Amy Herzberg rehearses a scene in the original production of "My Father's War," written by Robert Ford and first produced by T2 in 2008. The play, based on a true story about Herzberg's father, Art Herzberg, returns to the T2 stage in 2020. COVER STORY See T2 Page 4