Season Announcement
Addison's WaterTower Theatre goes Hollywood for big 27th season
For its first fully produced season back onstage since the pandemic, WaterTower Theatre has four big shows on tap.
First up is perhaps the biggest, especially when you consider that it's the first time in decades this hit show has been produced locally in North Texas, featuring an all-local cast and team. It's Jesus Christ Superstar, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's iconic rock opera that also happens to have just celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Set against the backdrop of an extraordinary series of events during the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ, as seen through the eyes of Judas, the show reflects the rock roots that defined a generation and includes the songs "I Don't Know How to Love Him," "Gethsemane," and "Superstar." Directed by Natalie King, music directed by Cody Dry, and choreographed by Kelly McCain, it runs November 30-December 11, 2022.
The regional premiere of The Play That Goes Wrong is next, an Olivier Award-winning comedy that's a hilarious hybrid of Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python. This co-production with Stage West is written by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer and directed by Harry Parker. Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous with an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can't play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines). It runs February 1-12, 2023.
Created By Zachary Burton and Elisa Hofmeister and directed by Ashley Puckett Gonzales, The Manic Monologues is having its regional premiere, as well. When creator Zack had his first psychotic break and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in May 2017, he was just finishing his PhD at Stanford University — and his world imploded. Would mental illness dictate his whole life? Would everything change?
Zack was underwater, and his then-girlfriend Elisa (and future co-creator) had no way of knowing whether her happy, gregarious partner-in-crime would ever resurface. One of the hardest parts about those early days was the absence of relatable, lived experiences. Zack and Elisa decided to create a play based on true stories to disrupt the stigma around mental illness. It runs April 19-30, 2023.
The world premiere musical Goin' Hollywood closes out the season, with book and lyrics by Stephen Cole and music by David Krane. Have you ever wished you were born in a different time? Alice Chandler did. Alice does not feel like she belongs in the 21st century, but she never dreamed that while at lunch with her best friend and writing partner, Garson Stein, a magical birthday wish would find them both instantly transported back in time to 1949 Hollywood.
Alice and Garson arrive smack in the golden age of movie musicals, where they land their dream job writing for L. B. Mayer at MGM and are surrounded by glittering stars of Hollywood, but they soon see that under all the glamour lies a studio system crumbling while the blacklist threatens their closest allies, and their eyes are opened to Hollywood's darker side. It runs July 19-30, 2023.
"Season 27 brings forth new voices, new works, and new light indeed," says producing artistic director Shane Peterman, who programmed the season with associate artistic director Elizabeth Kensek. "Two stunning pieces of musical theater, one classic and one world premiere, and two plays, one comedic and an enlightening and educational piece that is very close to my heart. With this season, I think you will agree, WaterTower Theatre is making a thrilling comeback."
WaterTower is also committed to the development of musical theater and will be workshopping two brand-new musicals during its 27th season, beginning with Donald Fowler's Oregon in the Fall. WaterTower Theatre had been planning the workshop of this new musical before Fowler's unexpected death in 2020, and now it has been posthumously completed.
Individual tickets go on sale in summer 2022, but season tickets are currently on sale now, with prices increasing after June 1, 2022. New or renewed season tickets are available for purchase by calling 972-450-6232 or emailing boxoffice@watertowertheatre.org.
