Harlequin Productions announces its 2023 “Resilience” season
Harlequin Productions’ 2023 “Resilience” season was revealed last weekend at its annual gala, along with an announcement that Harlequin will close its State Theater for renovations in the spring.
Harlequin plans to renovate the backstage, the enclosure of the performance space acoustically (including new seating), and the enclosure of the tech deck. Productions during that time will be performed at the Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College, and at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts’ Black Box.
The season itself will highlight local and regional artists, from playwrights to designers, directors, and onstage talent.
All productions will run for three weeks instead of four and will no longer include Saturday matinees.
Here are plays that comprise the 2023 season, with Harlequin’s notes:
“Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery” (Jan. 27 to Feb. 11): Comedic genius Ken Ludwig (“Lend Me a Tenor,” “Moon Over Buffalo”) transforms Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic “The Hound of the Baskervilles” into a murderously funny adventure. The male heirs of the Baskerville line are being dispatched one by one. To find their killer, Holmes and Watson must brave the desolate moors before a family curse dooms its newest heir. Watch as the investigators try to escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises, and deceit as five actors portray more than 40 characters. Directed by Corey McDaniel.
“Building Madness” (March 17 to April 1): This will be a professional world premiere of regional playwright Kate Danley’s work. Max and Paul are trying to keep their architecture company afloat, but they accidentally hired the mob to build a police retirement home. They may never get the project done in this screwball comedy, reminiscent of the comedies from Hollywood’s Golden Era of the 1930s.
“Hundred Days” (May 5-27): This story by Abigail Nessen-Bengson, Sarah Gancher, and Shaun Bengson will transform The State Theater into a nightclub for an uncensored, exhilarating, and heartrending true story about embracing uncertainty, taking a leap, and loving as if you only had 100 days to live. With magnetic chemistry and anthemic folk-punk music, creators Abigail and Shaun Bengson explore a fundamental question: How do we make the most of the time that we have? Directed by Aaron Lamb. Featuring local artist Amy Shephard and local band Sugar and the Spitfires.
“Falsettos” (June 30 to July 15): This musical by William Finn and James Lapine will be staged at the Minneart Center’s Main Stage. Hilarious, heartbreaking and utterly unique, the story revolves around the life of a charming, intelligent, neurotic gay man named Marvin, his wife, lover, about-to-be-Bar-Mitzvahed son, their psychiatrist, and the lesbians next door. It’s a hilarious and achingly poignant look at the infinite possibilities that make up a modern family ... and a reminder that love can tell a million stories. It won the 1992 Tony Award for Best Score and Best Book of a Musical.
“The Revolutionists” (Sept. 8-23): This new play by Lauren Gunderson will be staged at the Washington Center Black Box. Four very real women lived boldly in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe De Gouge, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, lose their heads and try to beat back the extremist insanity in the Paris of 1793. This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how to actually change the world. Directed by Lauren Love.
TBA (Oct. 13-28: Harlequin says this play — which will be staged in the Minnaert Center’s Black Box — is “simply too new for us to tell you what it is! We’re legally not allowed to reveal this title until mid-2023.” Directed by Aaron Lamb. Featuring local artist Eleise Moore.
Holiday 2023 (Nov. 24 to Dec. 24): Ring in the Yuletide season with a heart-warming holiday show to be announced.
Subscriptions are currently available for purchase by mail, online at harlequinproductions.org, by phone at 360-786-0151, and in-person at the Washington Center Box Office. Single tickets for the 2023 season will be available for purchase on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26.