What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1090741
"For the holiday season, we wanted to show the many folks who will be discovering us for the first time next year how TheatreSquared can put a defining spin on a true classic," said Ford. "'A Christmas Carol' brings together audiences of all ages in regions across the world each year during the holidays — and that's a pretty neat trick, considering it's the darkly painted world of Charles Dickens' Victorian London, populated with ghosts who wake up an unlikable protagonist and threaten his soul. But the joy and redemption of this timeless story — and the challenge of doing it fresh, uniquely, and really, really well — brought us back to create a brand new stage version, directed and adapted by the wonderful Amy Herzberg." The new year will bring "The Royale" by Marco Ramirez, a New York Times' Critic's Pick when it was performed at the Lincoln Center in 2016. "Told in a boxing ring over six rounds, 'The Royale' is an electrifying adrenaline rush that shows us the human cost of making history," said Miller. "From playwright Marco Ramirez, the showrunner of 'Orange Is the New Black' and 'Daredevil,' comes a story inspired by the real- world boxer Jack Johnson who — as an African-American man at the height of the Jim Crow era — became the Heavyweight Champion of the World." In the midspring slot, T2 hopes to repeat the success of this year's "Every Brilliant Thing" with another one- person show. "How many of you remember Texas governor Ann Richards?" asked Ford of the assembled T2 patrons. "She's hard to forget, right? For the next production in our Grand Opening Season, we are thrilled to feature the play that the New York Times called 'Funny, fiery, salty and brash'. 'Ann' is the inspiring and hilarious story of that captivating woman, who was even bigger than the state from which she hailed. This acclaimed, one-woman tour-de- force will bring the charismatic and storied former governor of Texas into TheatreSquared's most intimate new space." For the penultimate show of the 2019-20 season, T2 is bringing back a fan favorite that is very personal to two of the theater's co-founders — Ford, who wrote "My Father's War," and associate artistic director Amy Herzberg, whose father's war Art in Bloom Flowers in the galleries, fun for the whole family. March 15-18 | FREE Spring Break Specials Enjoy family artmaking, games, and performances every afternoon at the museum. March 16-24 | 1 - 4 pm | FREE CELEBRATE SPRING WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY AT CRYS TAL B RID GES! 4 WHAT'S UP! MARCH 10-16, 2019 T2 Continued From Page 3 COVER STORY FYI T2 Announces 2019-20 Season "SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE" — It's the greatest love story (almost) never told. This wildly funny and irresistibly romantic new adap- tation of the Academy Award-winning film arrives fresh from its critically acclaimed debut in London's West End. Young Will Shake- speare has writer's block — until he meets Viola. Against a bustling backdrop of mistaken identity, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics, their forbidden romance inspires a masterpiece. Perfor- mances Aug. 14-Sept. 8. "NATIVE GARDENS" — Good fences make good neighbors … right? A new comedy about the clash of class and culture that pushes well-meaning neighbors over the edge. Performances Oct. 2- Nov. 10. "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" — A T2 original adapted by Amy Herzberg and brimming with stage magic and holiday cheer, TheatreSquared's world premiere sets the stage for a new Northwest Arkansas tradi- tion. Performances Nov. 20-Dec. 22. "THE ROYALE" — Told in a boxing ring over six rounds," The Royale" is inspired by the real-world boxer Jack Johnson who — as a black man at the height of the Jim Crow era — became the Heavyweight Champion of the World. Performances Jan. 22-Feb. 16, 2020. "ANN" — "Funny, fiery, salty & brash," (The New York Times), "Ann" is the inspiring and hilarious story of a captivating woman who was even bigger than the state from which she hailed. Performances Feb. 19-March 22, 2020. "MY FATHER'S WAR" — Donning her father's old helmet, Amy Herzberg once again tells Bob Ford's funny, harrowing, and deeply moving story of Art Herzberg, a Jewish kid from Chicago's North Side who landed at Normandy on D-Day and fought through to the Battle of the Bulge. Performances March 25-April 25, 2020. "MATILDA: THE MUSICAL" — TheatreSquared reimagines for North- west Arkansas the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Performances May 20-June 21, 2020. INFO — theatre2.org or 443-5600 experiences serve as the basis for the story. "A decade ago, TheatreSquared staged a world premiere that remains one of the most commented-on crowd favorites of anything we've ever mounted," said Miller. "Now, we are bringing it back in a limited engagement to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II: 'My Father's War' by Robert Ford. "As she dons her father's old combat helmet, Amy is plunged into a world at war," Miller continued. "This T2 original is the funny, harrowing and deeply moving story of a Jewish kid from Chicago's North Side who landed at Normandy on D-Day and fought through to the Battle of the Bulge. As Pvt. Herzberg survives one near-death experience after another through luck, chutzpah, and sheer comic timing, his daughter chases down the one story that still haunts him." The final selection of the season promises to be a show stopper: T2 will produce the winner of five Tony Awards, "Matilda: the Musical," based on the novel by Roald Dahl. "'Matilda: The Musical' is the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny," said Ford. "It's a wonderful, mischievous, smartly written new musical that has thrilled adults just as much as it's inspired kids. It's the perfect show to close out the grand opening season. "It's going to be an exciting season."