'Hope, optimism' fuel Buffalo Theatre's season announcement
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's Friday announcement of its 2020-2021 season was accompanied by an expression of hope and optimism from artistic director Connie Canaday Howard.
"We know our audiences share our love of theater, an art form that uniquely allows us into others' realities, enhancing understanding for our lives as well as others we had not before imagined. All three plays in our season provide heartwarming looks, sometimes touching and sometimes hysterical, at people on the brink of great change - themes that have never seemed more relevant than now," she said in a prepared statement.
If COVID-19 distancing precautions allow, the season will begin Sept. 10 with "Naperville," by Naperville native and Waubonsie Valley High School graduate Mat Smart.
BTE ensemble member Kurt Naebig directs the dramedy about loss, community and perseverance set at a chain coffeehouse located in the heart of Naperville.
That's followed by Stephen Karam's "The Humans" (Jan. 28-Feb. 28, 2021), an evocative, Tony Award-winning tale about an imperfect family struggling with financial woes, heartbreak, chronic illness and professional setbacks all of which surface during a Thanksgiving dinner at a dilapidated Manhattan apartment. Steve Scott directs.
The season concludes with Richard Bean's raucous "One Man, Two Guvnors" (May 6-June 6, 2021). It's based on the 18th-century commedia dell'arte "The Servant of Two Masters" by Carlo Goldoni with songs by Grant Olding. Howard directs the farce about an ever-hungry, out-of-work musician who gets jobs working for both a small-time gangster and an upper-crust twit, then must do his best to make sure neither employer finds out about the other.
Performances take place at the McAninch Arts Center, at the College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn.
Subscribers who purchase tickets through May 31 receive a 25% discount on individual show ticket prices. Anyone subscribing after May 31 receives a 20% discount. Individual tickets go on sale Aug. 1.
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