Last night, freeFall Theatre Artistic Director Eric Davis announced the company's 2016-17 season. The theme for the season, Davis told the small crowd gathered at the Morean Center for Clay, is "inspired by a true story."
"Just in time for elections," Davis said, freeFall will open its season with Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, a Sondheim show about, well, presidential assassins and presidential-assassin wannabes (October 8-November 6). Davis promised "extreme pathos and tensions" mingled with "dark humor."
For its holiday show, freeFall will reprise Rick Elice's show (based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson), Peter and the Starcatcher, this season's sellout that many (including this writer) didn't get to see. freeFall made the decision based on the show's popularity; as a bonus, during the same time, the company will perform J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan in rep (December 10-January 29) so patrons can see either or both. On certain Saturdays, diehard theatergoers can see them back to back.
Ever heard of Ira Aldridge, the black American actor? freeFall doesn't think you have, but they're set to change that. "You've probably never heard of this guy, and that's a shame," Davis said. "Red Velvet discusses race in casting." Ira Aldridge was the first black man to play Othello in London, even as abolition riots consumed the streets. Lolita Chakrabarti's Red Velvet runs from February 25-March 26.
From April 29-May 28, Peter Quileter's End of the Rainbow will explore — in a "somewhat fictionalized" sense — the final months of Judy Garland's life.
To close the season, freeFall will mount a production of a new play, David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette, which, Davis said, "looks at Marie Antoinette through the lens of our celebrity-obsessed culture."
Careful theatergoers will note freeFall has decreased the number of shows from seven to six. This, president Cheryl Forchilli said, allowed each production "more air" to extend runs if needed.
Forchilli also spoke to the crowd about freeFall's budget, explaining shows like currently-running Sondheim on Sondheim cost $90,000 to produce and also that freeFall had budget shortfalls. The company, she said, has a $1.3 million budget but needs $1.7 million.
Actor Larry Alexander praised the company — now in its sixth year — for putting its commitment to taking risks first.
"The art comes first" at freeFall, Alexander said. "The artistry comes first."
Before closing the announcement of the new season, Forchilli asked patrons to consider how that commitment to artistry meant sometimes that taking chances didn't equate to profit, and that she — along with the rest of the board and staff — didn't want making money to overshadow freeFall's goals.
"What are we missing out on," she asked "when Eric has to play it safe?"
Davis, who was on the ground level when freeFall started, called the company's progression "an exciting journey."
"It's really just a matter of the appetite and the hunger for it in the community," he said of freeFall's success.
This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2016.