For Arkansas Public Theatre, Season 38 might be subtitled “Go Big Or Go Home.”
For the second time in five years, the Victory Theatre is preparing to close down for a few months. This time, the closure will happen between Season 37 and Season 38 — late summer or early fall of 2023 — not because of a pandemic, but because the Victory Theatre is getting an interior facelift.
So Season 38, which APT Artistic Director Ed McClure hopes will start in February 2024, had to be BIG! And it is:
Announced tonight during the annual SeasonLeaks celebration at Arkansas Public Theatre are the three shows that will make up APT’s abbreviated Season 38:
“Into the Woods” — With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine, Feb. 16-18, 22-25, 2024. Auditions are set at this time for 7 p.m. Dec. 11-12.
The Tony Award-winning musical follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. Everyone’s wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later.
“Rent” — With book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, April 12-14, 18-21, 2024. Auditions are set at this time for 7 p.m. Feb. 19-20, 2024.
Based loosely on Puccini’s “La Boheme,” Jonathan Larson’s iconic “Rent,” winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side under the shadow of AIDS.
“Kinky Boots” — With book by Harvey Fierstein, music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, June 21-23, 27-30, 2024. Auditions are set at this time for 7 p.m. April 15-16, 2024.
“Kinky Boots” won six Tonys including Best Musical, the Grammy for Best Musical Theatre album and London’s Olivier Award for Best Musical. In it, Charlie Price has reluctantly inherited his father’s shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to live up to his father’s legacy and save his family business, Charlie finds inspiration in the form of Lola, a fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos.
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