Writers Theatre to revive 'Into the Woods,' 'Stick Fly'

Writers Theatre will open its 2019-2020 season with a bang, specifically an in-the-round revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's fairy tale-inspired musical “Into the Woods.”

Gary Griffin returns to Glencoe to helm the revival, which chronicles what happens after “happily ever after.” It runs Aug. 14 to Sept. 22 in the Nichols Theatre.

That's followed on Sept. 25 by a new, one-act adaptation by Sandra Delgado and Writers artistic director Michael Halberstam of Henrik Ibsen's “A Doll's House,” about marriage, trust, identity and self-fulfillment. It runs through Dec. 15 in Writers' Gillian Theatre.

Next up is “The Niceties,” Eleanor Burgess' two-hander about a black college student whose defense of her provocative thesis to her white Ivy League professor evolves into an impassioned debate on history, race and power. It runs Nov. 6 to Dec. 15 in the Nichols Theatre.

Long-standing tensions and resentments surface in “Stick Fly,” Lydia Diamond's examination of class and race set against a weekend at the Martha's Vineyard vacation home belonging to an upper-class black couple meeting their two sons' girlfriends for the first time. Ron OJ Parson directs the revival, which runs Feb. 5 to March 16, 2020, in the Nichols Theatre.

“The Last Match,” Anna Ziegler's drama about the lives of a young Russian tennis pro and an American superstar who are competing, runs March 18 to June 7, 2020, in the Gillian Theatre.

The season concludes in the Nichols Theatre with Manual Cinema's “Mementos Mori,” which runs May 6 to June 14, 2020. It incorporates shadow puppets, music and projections to tell the story of “Death,” who gets involved with a ghost, a young girl and an elderly projectionist while wandering through Hollywood.

Performances take place at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. Six-play subscriptions range from $249 to $389. Three- and four-play flex subscriptions start at $199. Call (847) 242-6000 or go to writerstheatre.org.