Upcoming BTE season examines fidelity, race and miracles

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble - whose rebirth disproves F. Scott Fitzgerald's maxim about there being no second acts in American lives - announced its 2018-2019 season Friday.

The new season reflects "the full spectrum of theater from entertaining comedy to thought-provoking drama while maintaining the connection to the heart our audiences have come to expect from BTE," said artistic director Connie Canaday Howard in a prepared statement.

The season begins Sept. 6 with the Chicago area premiere of "The Dingdong, or How the French Kiss." Adapted by Mark Shanahan from Georges Feydeau's "Le Dindon," it's about a faithful couple, Lucy and Vatelin, who are tempted by "sly suitors and femme fatales."

That's followed by "Defiance" (Jan. 31-March 3, 2019) by John Patrick Shanley, whose "Outside Mullingar" is currently at BTE. Set in 1971 at a North Carolina Marine Corps base, the play - about race and the military - centers on the conflicts between a Caucasian lieutenant colonel and an African American captain.

The season concludes with the Chicago area premiere of Tom Dudzick's "Miracle on South Division Street" (May 2-June 2, 2019). Years after the Virgin Mary appeared to a barber in his Brooklyn shop, his granddaughter announces she's producing a one-woman show about the event, which calls into question the family miracle.

All 2019-2019 productions contain adult themes and language.

Performances take place at the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn.

Subscriptions - for 20 percent off the regular $40 ticket price - are available at the box office or by phone at (630) 942-4000. Individual tickets go on sale at the box office on Aug. 4. Online ticket sales are available beginning noon on Aug. 5 and phone sales begin at noon on Aug. 7. For information, see btechicago.com or atthemac.org.