Seattle Rep All Set For A Big Live Season That Includes Major Stars

Even as new strains of Covid-19 lurk around, local live theater companies are determined to bring back live performances in 2022 after nearly 2 years of being shut down due to the pandemic.

One company with big plans for 2022 is Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Tony Award winning regional theater located on the Seattle Center campus. The theater is just getting ready to open their first major live show, the based on real life story of Fannie Lou Hamer, the civil rights activist next week with 5 more shows to follow in their spring 2022 season including a star studded new adaptation of Ibsen’s iconic play GHOSTS and a major new musical theater piece.

The skinny:

Casting for Seattle Rep’s 2021/22 season of live theater productions, include Academy Award-nominated actor David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck; A League of Their Own; Nomadland), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Scarface), and Thom Sesma (Broadway: The Lion King) in an exciting new translation of Ibsen’s classic play, Ghosts, previously part of Seattle Rep’s Plays in Process series. The upcoming season will also feature performances from multiple award-winning Chicago-based performer E. Faye Butler (Seattle Rep: Pullman Porter Blues) in Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer, the new play with music from local playwright Cheryl L. West; Gregory Award-winner Alexandria J. Henderson (Village Theatre: Dreamgirls) and Eric Ankrim (Seattle Rep: As You Like It) will both appear in the world premiere musical, Bruce; and Rheanna Atendido (Seattle Rep:The Odyssey) will be in the brilliant retelling of Shakespeare’s Richard III, Teenage Dick. 

Season tickets are on sale now, with single tickets becoming available intermittently throughout the season. By popular demand, Seattle Rep is also excited to announce a new offering: Seattle Rep at Home, the official production streaming platform for all things Seattle Rep. Seattle Rep at Home offers a 5-show streaming package for $190 which includes: Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer, Teenage Dick, Ghosts, Selling Kabul, and Bruce. Individual streaming productions will be available for purchase the same day each production’s single tickets go on sale in 2022. Freestyle Love Supreme is not currently available for streaming and free streaming or in-person tickets for The Winter’s Tale are available separately. For all tickets and to learn more visit SeattleRep.org or contact Seattle Rep’s Patron Services Office at 206.443.2222.

FANNIE: THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMERBy Cheryl L. West Directed by Henry Godinez A Seattle Rep Co-commission with Goodman Theatre Bagley Wright Theater – January 14 – February 13, 2022 Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer tells the impassioned story of American civil rights activist and hero, Fannie Lou Hamer. From her humble origins as the daughter of a Mississippi sharecropper, to co-founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and demanding recognition at the National Democratic Convention, hers is a story of justice that will not be denied. Part theater, part revival, and all power – this play with music will have your head nodding and hands clapping from start to finish.

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREMEConceived by Anthony VenezialeCreated by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale Directed by Thomas Kail  Bagley Wright Theater – February 16 – March 13, 2022 Before Hamilton, before In the Heights, there was Freestyle Love Supreme. Now — direct from Broadway — the original hip-hop musical phenomenon from Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale arrives in Seattle.  The recipient of a special 2020 Tony Award® and subject of the recently released Hulu documentary We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, every performance of this Grammy-nominated show brings the unexpected, as the crew takes the crowd on a freestyle, hip-hop, improvisational comedy ride. The performers take suggestions from the audience and spin them into instantaneous riffs and full-length musical numbers. See it for the first time each time — as no two shows are ever the same.

TEENAGE DICK By Mike Lew Directed by Malika Oyetimein Leo K. Theater – March 4 – April 3, 2022 In this satirical retelling of Shakespeare’s Richard III, one of the most famous disabled characters in literary history is reimagined as a 16-year-old outsider with all the teenage angst of high school. Bullied for his cerebral palsy, Richard plots his revenge as well as a glorious and ambitious plan to win senior class president. As he falls deeper into political turmoil, Richard is faced with an unexpected choice. Is it better to be loved or feared? Find out in this witty and lively production.

GHOSTS  By Henrik Ibsen Translated from the Norwegian by Paul Walsh Directed by Carey Perloff Originally produced by the Williamstown Theater Festival, Mandy Greenfield, Artistic Director  Bagley Wright Theater – April 1 – May 1, 2022 In this arresting new translation, Henrik Ibsen’s controversial drama resonates with startling contemporary power. Mrs. Alving welcomes home her beloved son Oswald after many years away. Rebuilding her life after the death of her unfaithful husband, she struggles to keep his debauchery hidden to protect his reputation for the sake of her son. But when Oswald begins a new romance, secrets of all kinds emerge, and Mrs. Alving must decide what course to take to truly be free.

SELLING KABUL By Sylvia Khoury Directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton  Leo K. Theater – April 22 – May 22, 2022 Taroon once served as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. After the Americans have withdrawn, their promises of protection and safety are no longer there. He now spends his days in hiding from growing presence of the Taliban as he anxiously awaits news from the hospital on the eve of his first child’s birth. What are the consequences of taking sides during wartime?

BRUCE World Premiere!Music by Richard Oberacker Book & Lyrics by Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor Based on the book The Jaws Log by Carl Gottlieb Directed and Choreographed by Donna Feore  Bagley Wright Theater – May 27 – June 26, 2022 In 1974, a virtually unknown 26-year-old director set out to film a best-selling novel. Invading a sleepy fishing island off Cape Cod to shoot on the open ocean, he battled weather, water, hostile locals, an exploding budget, endless delays, and a highly dysfunctional mechanical star named Bruce. Based on The Jaws Log by Carl Gottlieb, this world-premiere musical takes you behind the scenes of the world’s first summer blockbuster.