Theatre NOVA announces 2022-2023 Season, beginning September 2022

Special to WLAA
August 17, 2022, 2 years ago

ANN ARBOR – Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor’s resident nonprofit professional theatre, is thrilled to announce its 2022-23 Season of Michigan and World Premieres. Proud to produce the hottest new plays at affordable prices, Theatre NOVA offers a subscription program as the best way to see quality programs at a discounted price. Subscribers can save up to 25% off single ticket prices and guarantee their seats for all our plays through August 2023.

Founding Artistic Director Carla Milarch said, “We’re grateful to the community for their help in getting through the pandemic intact and remaining financially viable. It is remarkable to see such support for our mission to raise the awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and new playwrights. As a result, we have selected some of the most exciting and timely plays from the strongest playwrights we could find. We’re incredibly excited to keep producing work that respects your intellect, imagination, and curiosity, and offer a season full of unexpected, innovative, and stimulating plays.”

For the health, safety, and well-being of our patrons, staff, and artists, COVID safety measures will be in place. Our COVID policy is subject to change anytime, following fluctuating local, state, and federal guidelines. Please check our website for our current policy before attending.

Theatre NOVA also offers a subscription program as the best way to see quality programs at a discounted price. Subscribers save up to 25% off single ticket prices and guarantee their seats for all our plays this season. In addition, subscribers get easy exchanges, no per-ticket fees, a pass to our Michigan Playwright’s Festival, and our eNewsletter keeping them up to date on future events at the theatre. If patrons prefer to pick and choose which productions they’d like to see and when they would like to see them, our popular Flex Pass offers six tickets to use for any show and any date.

Theatre NOVA’s 2022-2023 season opens September 30 with the World premiere of “Arabic to English” by David Wells. This world premiere by the playwright who penned hit productions “Resisting,” “Mazel Tov, John Lennon,” and “Irrational” makes its long-awaited debut. In a high-stakes trial, Faheem, an Arab American man, is accused of fraudulent marriage to gain a visa. Losing in court will send him to a country he barely knows. His interpreter, Amina, a young Arab American woman, is on the verge of entering a storybook American life, about to be married to Faheem’s white American trial lawyer. When romance blossoms between the interpreter and the defendant, she must decide which words to translate and which to leave unspoken. Directed by Carla Milarch.

Theatre NOVA presents “Sugar Plum Panto” by Carla Milarch and R. MacKenzie Lewis for the holidays. Beginning December 9, 2022, The holiday tradition is back, complete with all the zany antics you’ve come to expect from this raucous family entertainment. When Clara’s Christmas dream goes awry, an outrageous cast of characters appears to entertain her and save her from the Rat King. Bring the whole family for this festive holiday tradition, with original songs, hilarious parodies, a Bee-oo-ti-ful Panto Dame, and of course, all of the candy you can eat! Book early cuz this holiday favorite sells out!

Kicking off 2023, “The Language Archive” by Julia Cho will open on February 3, 2023. George is a man obsessed with documenting the dying languages of far-flung cultures. Closer to home, though, language is failing him. He fumbles for the words to say to his wife, to keep her from leaving him. He puzzles over his enamored lab assistant’s words and what they could possibly mean. All while obsessively studying an elderly couple – the last remaining speakers of a language whose culture is already dead. This quirky, romantic piece explores how language can build entire worlds but is often completely useless. Directed by Carla Milarch.

Heading into Spring, “Mlima’s Tale” by Lynn Nottage will open on March 31, 2023. A ghost story for our times. Mlima is a magnificent African elephant killed by the underground ivory market for his tusks. As his soul accompanies his tusks on a path forged by greed and colonialism, Mlima takes us on a journey through the agonizing tradition of mining animals. This groundbreaking work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright marries theatricality and social commentary in a play that will truly haunt you. “Those of you who don’t believe in ghosts are likely to think again after seeing Lynn Nottage’s beautiful, endlessly echoing portrait of a murder and its afterlife.”—NY Times.

The season continues with the world premiere of “Splattered” by Hal Davis and Carla Milarch, opening May 26, 2023. Does art speak to you? It is evening at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where old friends, cousins, and lovers – Sylvie, Astrid, and Justin – gather at a wedding reception. Seminarian Justin sneaks off to be alone in Gallery 406, where he encounters Jackson Pollock’s famous splatter painting One, Number Thirty-One 1950. As the painting mesmerizes him, Pollock’s ghost emerges to challenge some of Justin’s most fundamental beliefs, divulging stories and secrets of Pollock’s turbulent life. Meanwhile, Astrid and Sylvie come and go, appealing to Justin to join the party, as conflicts from their past bubble back to the surface, prompting Justin to question his choices and his chosen future.

Finally, to close out the season, “Sanctuary City” by Martyna Majok will open on July 21, 2023. B and G are DREAMers. Lovers. High school friends negotiating the broken promise of safety and the weight of responsibility in the so-called sanctuary city of Newark. When B learns that his mother will return to her country of origin, these two young people must fight like hell to establish a place for themselves and each other in America. “I have rarely seen a play that so effectively embodies the way external forces — in this case, immigration policies in the United States — distort the inner lives of actual humans. What love is, and can ever mean, is lost in the muddle between the heart and the law.” – New York Times.

Theatre NOVA is located at 410 W Huron St, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. To accommodate families with children, “Sugar Plum Panto” will hold performances on Fridays at 7:30 p.m, Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

General admission tickets for plays are $22. Tickets for the holiday musical panto are $25 for adults and $10 for children. Theatre NOVA continues to make theatre accessible by offering pay-what-you-can tickets for those who need them.

Tickets, memberships, flex passes, and subscriptions may be purchased online at www.TheatreNOVA.org. Tickets may also be purchased in person one hour before each performance. Seating in the theatre will begin 30 minutes before each performance. There is ample free parking and quick access to the city’s restaurants, bars, bakeries, and coffee shops. New patrons can find Theatre NOVA across Huron Street from Ann Arbor’s YMCA through a parking lot entrance on the north side of the street. For more information, visit www.TheatreNOVA.org.

Theatre NOVA’s mission is to raise awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and playwrights and to provide resources for playwrights to develop their craft by importing, exporting, and developing new work.

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FACT SHEET

WHO:
Theatre Nova Staff
Carla Milarch, Founding Artistic Director
David Wolber, Producing Artistic Director
Briana O’Neal, Resident Stage Manager, Company Manager
Sarah Elisabeth Brown, House Manager
Meghan VanArsdalen, Elementary Education Instructor
Becky Fox, Business Manager, Education Director
Daniel C. Walker, Production Director

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: ARABIC TO ENGLISH by David Wells
September 30 – October 23, 2022
Fri., Sept. 30, 8:00 p.m. Opening Night
Sat., Oct. 1, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 2, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 6, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 7, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 8, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 9, 2:00p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 13, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 14, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 15, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 16, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 20, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 21, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 22, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 23, 2:00 p.m.

SUGAR PLUM PANTO by Carla Milarch and R. Mackenzie Lewis
December 9, 2022 – January 1, 2023
Fri., Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m. Opening Night
Sat., Dec. 10, 3:00 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 10, 7:00 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 11, 2:00 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 17, 3:00 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 17, 7:00 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 18, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 24, 3:00 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 24, 7:00 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 25 – – Christmas – No show
Fri., Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 31, 3:00 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 31, 7:00 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 1, 2:00 p.m.

THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE by Julia Cho
February 3-26, 2023
Fri., Feb. 3, 8:00 p.m. Opening Night
Sat., Feb. 4, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 5, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 9, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 10, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 11, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 12, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 16, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 17, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 18, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 19, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 23, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 24, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 25, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 26, 2:00 p.m.

MLIMA’S TALE by Lynn Nottage
March 31 – April 23, 2023
Fri., Mar. 31, 8:00 p.m. Opening Night
Sat., Apr. 1, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Apr. 2, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Apr. 6, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 7, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 8, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Apr. 9, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Apr. 13, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 14, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 15, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Apr. 16, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Apr. 20, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 21, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 22, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Apr. 23, 2:00 p.m.

SPLATTERED by Hal Davis and Carla Milarch
May 26 – June 18, 2023
Fri., May 26, 8:00 p.m. Opening Night
Sat., May 27, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., May 28, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., June 1, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., June 2, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., June 3, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., June 4, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., June 8, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., June 9, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., June 10, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., June 11, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., June 15, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., June 16, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., June 17, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., June 18, 2:00 p.m.

SANCTUARY CITY by Martyna Majok
July 21 – August 13, 2023
Fri., July 21, 8:00 p.m. Opening Night
Sat., July 22, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., July 23, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., July 27, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., July 28, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., July 29, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., July 30, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Aug. 3, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 4, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 5, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 6, 31, 2:00 p.m.
Thurs., Aug. 10, 8:00 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 11, 8:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 12, 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 13, 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: Theatre NOVA
410 W Huron, Ann Arbor, MI 48103

ON THE INTERNET:  www.theatrenova.org
https://www.facebook.com/theatrenova

[Theatre Nova]