TheatreSquared kicks off 10th season with Amadeus

Northwest Arkansas — TheatreSquared (T2) opens its Tenth Anniversary season on August 27 with its production of Amadeus, the company’s largest production to date. In this contemporary classic by Peter Shaffer, composer Antonio Salieri schemes to discredit a foul-mouthed former child prodigy who he fears will threaten his legacy. But genius, it seems, is not easily obscured, and Salieri must ask himself how far he will go to destroy the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Winner of five Tony Awards—including Best Play—and the Oscar for Best Picture, Amadeus weaves intrigue, comedy, suspense, and music into a tale of breathtaking dramatic power. Performances are August 27 – September 20, 2015.

Amadeus is the first in an ambitious lineup celebrating ten years of remarkable growth for Northwest Arkansas’ professional theatre.

“We’re celebrating ten years with the most ambitious lineup of plays we’ve yet produced,” said T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford. “Starting with T2’s largest show to date—Amadeus—this bold anniversary season will include a wildly theatrical coproduction with the Arkansas Rep, two Pulitzer and Tony Award-winners, and a world premiere. It’s going to be a landmark year.”

"We’ve done something unusual in response to a tenfold increase in audience over the last six seasons,” said Executive Director Martin Miller. “We’ve lowered our ticket prices. We believe our region’s professional theatre should be accessible to every Arkansan, and so for Season 10, our lowest-cost package will be $40 cheaper—five plays for just $70. We’ve also added 30 performances, including a new Wednesday night series, to help keep up with demand.” 

In October, T2 will stage the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Water by the Spoonful, by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Elliot Ortiz is back from Iraq, working a Subway shop in Philly, and hoping to turn his winning smile into an acting career. Elsewhere, four strangers in an internet chat room seek support facing their demons. When these real and virtual worlds collide, reality splinters, and life itself is at stake in this acclaimed, provocative, and unexpectedly humorous journey to redemption. Performances are October 15 – November 8, 2015.

For the holiday season, TheatreSquared will produce the five-time Tony Award-winning adventure Peter and the Starcatcher, adapted by Rick Elice from the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson with music by Wayne Barker. The play is an innovative retelling of how an angst-ridden orphan became the immortal Peter Pan. Critically acclaimed for its mix of “lighthearted brilliance and existential shadow” (The New Yorker)—with a dozen actors juggling stagecraft, music and 100 characters—T2’s epic-scale co-production with the Arkansas Repertory Theater has something for audiences of every age. The play will open in NWA from December 3, 2015 – January 3, 2016 before continuing its run in Little Rock later in January.

In the new year, TheatreSquared will stage Fault, a world premiere by T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford (Look Away, The Spiritualist). In the aftermath of nuclear disaster in the Arkansas River Valley, Gabe disregards a government quarantine and returns to his family farm. When a mysterious woman wanders onto his land, the two are drawn inexorably into a perilous contest of secrets and blame. Performances are February 4 – 28, 2016.

The Tenth Anniversary Subscription Series will conclude with the 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist Rapture, Blister, Burn by Gina Gionfriddo. Sparks fly in this “intensely smart, immensely funny” (The New York Times) comedy about women who want to have it all. After grad school, Catherine built a career as a rock-star academic; Gwen built a life with her family. Decades later, a dangerous game begins as each tries to claim the other’s territory. Performances are March 31 – April 24, 2016.

Subscribers can also add tickets to the multi-award-winning, limited-run musical Murder for Two, which T2 will stage in May, and discounted passes to TheatreSquared’s 2016 Arkansas New Play Festival, the state's flagship celebration of bold new plays, in June 2016.

Tickets for TheatreSquared's Tenth Anniversary Season and for individual show are on sale. Subscription options include five-play packages starting at $70 and four-play packages starting at $60. For more information on Subscriptions, visit T2’s website at www.theatre2.org/subscribe. Tickets are on sale now on the website, at the Walton Arts Center Box Office, and by phone at (479) 571-2785.

The Gayly – August 22, 2015 @ 1:30pm.