Northern Stage Announces 2023/24 Season

Northern Stage has announced its 2023/24 Season, offering four main stage productions in the Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts, plus vibrant outdoor concerts, visionary education programming, engaging developmental work, and much more! This season is one that will bring to life intimate, personal stories that speak to the world and our infinite universe and embrace life and what makes us human.

"We are deeply proud of the breadth and depth of programming we are planning to offer in our 2023/24 Season, and we hope that there is something for everybody," says Carol Dunne, Producing Artistic Director. "Next season's offerings explore the full spectrum of human emotions. We can't wait to laugh, cry, think, explore, and connect with our audiences."

MAIN STAGE SEASON IN THE BYRNE THEATER:

Northern Stage kicks off the 2023/24 season with a timely play about family, trust, confinement, and hope with SELLING KABUL, written by Sylvia Khoury and directed by Evren Odcikin, October 11-29, 2023 in the Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts. A finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize, Selling Kabul tells the story of a former U.S. military interpreter, who is hiding from the Taliban in his sister's apartment in the wake of the American troop withdrawal. Sylvia Khoury's gripping thriller is a searing look at the human cost of America's longest war, and the love and family that keeps people going in the face of the harshest conditions.

Ushering in the holiday season at Northern Stage will be the timeless classic, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, reimagined to celebrate resilience and transformation during the holidays. Adapted and directed by Producing Artistic Director Carol Dunne, this new version of Charles Dickens' holiday tale will be filled with music and laughter, reminding us that it is never too late for kindness and compassion. Performances begin November 21 and run through December 31, 2023.

This winter, Northern Stage will offer the Olivier Award-winning modern romance, CONSTELLATIONS, written by Nick Payne and directed by Northern Stage BOLD Associate Artistic Director Sarah Elizabeth Wansley, January 24-February 11, 2024. Constellations follows Roland, a beekeeper, and Marianne, a scientist, from their first meeting through a multitude of possible futures. From marriage to heartbreak, through sickness and health, and back again - Constellations will reveal the vast universes of possibilities in our lives, and the consequences of the little choices we make.

The season closes with the hilarious Tony Award-winning comedy THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. Directed by Peter Hackett, this Olivier Award-winning comedy has been keeping audiences in stitches across the world since 2012. During the opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, things quickly unravel from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can't play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), chaos ensues and can't seem to stop. Prepare for weeks of unstoppable laughter in the Byrne Theater, March 13-April 14, 2024.

OUTDOORS IN THE COURTYARD THEATER THIS SUMMER:

There will be Shakespeare outside in Vermont this summer again when Northern Stage's Education Department's Summer Musical Theater Intensive returns to the Courtyard Theater with Twelfth Night the Musical, August 1-6, 2023. Based on William Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy, Twelfth Night the Musical tells the story of Viola, a young heroine who washes up on the shores of Illyria, disguises herself as a man, is sent to court a countess, and falls hard for a duke. As she navigates this strange and wonderful new land, she finds her true self and true love in the process. Twelfth Night the Musical features an original jazz funk score by Vermont's own Shaina Taub and is the culmination of a five-week training program for students ages 12 to 18.

Northern Stage will also present two outdoor concerts this year: the new Jazz at the Junction will celebrate world-class jazz artists and Upper Valley Jazz All Stars, and the best of Vermont folk music will return to the Courtyard this summer with Riverfolk.

The inaugural Jazz at the Junction, Wednesday, July 12, 2023 will feature the album release of En Diablada by Natalia Bernal. Her electrifying band features Mark Walker on drumset, Itaiguara Brandão on electric bass, Jason Ennis on guitars, and Michael Zsoldos on tenor and soprano saxophones. The evening will open with a performance by the Upper Valley Jazz All Stars, talented area high school musicians under the direction of Ian Gollub (Band Director, Hanover High School), followed by Natalia Bernal and her quartet.

Here in the Valley's folk festival Riverfolk is back by popular demand Monday, July 17, 2023 in the Courtyard Theater. Hosted by Jakob Breitbach and Tommy Crawford, Riverfolk is a celebration of music and community, featuring Americana artists from the Upper Valley and beyond.

NEW WORKS NOW:

Northern Stage will continue its commitment to the development of new work for the American theater with several new projects as part of its New Works Now. Designed to enrich the theater experience of our audiences and artists who are hungry for daring and impactful stories, New Works Now has helped rebrand Northern Stage as a bold and visionary theater.

On Friday, July 7, 2023 at 4 p.m., Northern Stage will present the Vermont Farm Project, a new indie folk musical about farming in Vermont, inspired by a year of interviews with farmers in the Upper Valley and beyond. Directed and developed by Sarah Elizabeth Wansley with a book by Jessica Kahkoska, and music and lyrics by Tommy Crawford, the Vermont Farm Project follows the stories and songs of an eclectic farming community through one day in the life of working on the land as they consider what we harvest and what we leave behind.

And on January 11 and 12, 2024, join Northern Stage for the annual works-in-progress reading of the winner of the 2024 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for Playwriting. Established in 2018, the annual Neukom playwriting award considers plays and other full-length works for the theater that address the question, "What does it mean to be a human in a computerized world?" The award is a partnership between the Neukom Institute, the Department of Theater at Dartmouth College, and Northern Stage.

The 2023/24 Season at Northern Stage is sponsored by Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, the season underwriter since 2018. Early Bird Subscriptions for the 2023/24 Season are now on sale. Subscribers save over 30% off single tickets. Single tickets will be available for purchase beginning July 10. For tickets and information, call (802) 296-7000 or visit northernstage.org.

Northern Stage's current 25th Anniversary Season will culminate June 14 through July 9th with the playful new adaptation of Jane Austen's beloved novel Sense and Sensibility outdoors in the Courtyard Theater. Tickets beginning at $19 are available now at NorthernStage.org or by calling 802-296-7000.