Urbanite Theatre plans two world premieres for ninth season in downtown Sarasota
After a pandemic-comeback season with intentionally lighter material to welcome the return of audiences, Urbanite Theatre is going back to its roots with two world premieres, two regional premieres and a couple of special engagements meant to give a jolt.
“Going back to our roots means not being afraid to produce shows that have those challenging, provocative themes that people grew to love” when the company started, said Brendan Ragan, who is co-artistic director and co-founder with Summer Dawn Wallace. “We’re looking at provocative, interesting things and not being afraid of plays with more tragic or dramatic elements.”
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That doesn’t mean lightness and humor have disappeared in a season with the over-arching theme of Heredity.
“Right now, we’re reconnecting with each other, family members,” he said. “That’s important and something we can all relate to and are working toward, finding joy and love in our families. There’s that common through line in all the plays about family ties. But we want to be sure that we’re still giving a big variety of theatrical styles and content. This season has that.”
Ragan describes the opening play, Matt Schatz’s “The Burdens” as “a dark comedy that’s also a bit silly” about two Jewish siblings who have an evil grandfather who made their mother’s life difficult.
“The entire play is told through text messages. That may sound like there’s a lot of projections, but it’s done through dialogue,” said Ragan, who will direct the production. “The actors will be saying things, including typos and spelling errors. Out of one of these misspelled text messages comes the idea of dealing with this problematic grandfather. It immediately asks the question of whether we need to respect elders just because they’re elders and how do we make space for them in the family.”
Wallace will direct the season’s second production, the father-daughter drama “Birds of North America” by Anna Ouyang Moench (Jan. 6-Feb. 12). It revolves around a father and daughter who are avid bird watchers but are facing strains in their relationship, divided by different opinions and attitudes.
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“It’s not just a political divide. It’s about a generational divide, opinions divide,” she said. “There’s a great stage direction from the playwright that says John and Caitlyn take almost everything the other one says personally, which is a fun way to start exploring something, and how do you connect when you love this human being even though everything they say frustrates you.”
The second half of the season features two world premieres.
“Backwards Forwards Back” is a one-man play by Jacqueline Goldfinger, whose play “Babel” was scheduled for Florida Studio Theatre’s 2022 winter Stage III season before the company canceled that series. Ragan will direct the production in which a soldier considers virtual reality therapy to deal with his post-traumatic stress disorder and reconnect with his family. It runs from March 24-April 23.
The regular season lineup ends with Franky D. Gonzalez’s “That Must be the Entrance to Heaven,” was commissioned by the Urbanite. It’s a drama about four Latino boxers seeking glory in the ring but for different reasons. One wants a visa to stay in the country, another is fighting for money to support his family.
“They’re putting their bodies through hell for these different reasons,” Ragan said. “Franky loves boxing and he’s wanted to write this play forever. His passion for boxing and his understanding of that sold us.”
The production was supported by the Charles Rowan Beye new play commission and the play was a finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwright’s Conference.
The theater will launch its season Sept. 7-11 with a special engagement of J. Elijah Cho’s one-person play “Mr. Yunioshi.” Cho is a Tampa-based theater artist who appeared in a performance of Urbanite’s production of “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit.” Ragan describes it as “a laugh-out-loud funny kind of play with a poignant message” as the play investigates race in casting. The title refers to the character played by Mickey Rooney in the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” in a way that emphasized offensive ethnic stereotypes.
“It’s about what happens when an actor accepts a role they shouldn’t play and he casts himself as Mickey Rooney playing Mr. Yunioshi,” Ragan said. The play was named the best solo show at the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Cho also will present the play at St. Petersburg’s freeFall Theatre from Sept. 15-18 (freefalltheatre.com).
Wallace also will once again oversee the annual Modern Works Festival, which returns May 3-78 to live performances after two years as a virtual event. It’s a festival built around female theater-makers. Last year attracted more than 300 play submissions, which were narrowed down to three finalists.
Last season’s production of “The Skeptic and the Bruja” emerged from a previous festival.
“The festival introduces to all sorts of playwrights that we didn’t know existed,” Wallace said.
Urbanite Theatre is at 1487 Second St., Sarasota. For tickets and more information: 941-321-1397; urbanitetheatre.com
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota’s Urbanite Theatre plans two world premieres in ninth season
