New works opening at Abbey Theater, an arts hub for Dublin community
Quite a few new works will open this year at the Abbey Theater of Dublin, an increasingly visible suburban home to theater companies and festivals.
The Abbey Theater will produce its own 2023 season of plays and musicals at the Dublin Community Recreation Center, while also filling the center’s 200-seat performing space with full seasons by resident troupes.
“The level of collaboration that exists between these organizations and the Abbey staff is substantial," said Joe Bishara, theatre supervisor of the facility at 5600 Post Road. "It’s a model unlike anything else in central Ohio theater."
Original Productions Theatre (OPT) will launch its 2023 season of all-new works this weekend at Abbey Theater.
“With so much theater Downtown, it’s nice to do theater giving access to people in the suburban north side community,” said Alyssa Ryan, OPT executive director.
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Opportunities for greater collaboration
Whether directing some resident company shows or advising about programming for the Dublin community and beyond, Bishara also works closely with OPT; Evolution Theatre Company, a professional troupe focusing on LGBTQ+ themes; and Spotlight Ohio, annual presenter of the South Asian Theatre Festival.
Stage Right Theatrics, a 6-year-old semi-professional company, also presents its full season (including its recent annual theater festival) at the Abbey.
“Arts groups come to us to work in our space and we work with them to serve the community," Bishara said. "We’re committed to being an incubation space for new works and regional productions."
Benefits of a better home
Evolution Theatre Company’s production quality has improved noticeably since moving in 2021 from the Columbus Performing Arts Center into the Abbey, according to Artistic/Executive Director Mark Phillips Schwamberger.
“Everything is just way above, from lighting, projectors and technical support to the comfort of the seats and lobby,” Schwamberger said.
His professional theater company, which announced its 2023 season in December and launched it in February with the musical revue “Forbidden Broadway,” is producing mostly world and area premieres this year while expanding from five to six productions.
More:What to expect from LGBTQ-focused Evolution Theatre Company in 2023
A diversity of programming
Most notable: the North American premiere of “McQueen” (May 25 through June 3), James Phillips’ hit play in London about the late British fashion designer; the regional premiere of “The Inheritance” (Sept. 7-30), Matthew Lopez’s two-part 2020 Tony winner for best play; and “A Real Boy” (Oct. 19-28), Evolution’s first youth-oriented play.
“Dublin, a growing community, deserves professional theater and has welcomed us," Schwamberger said. "Our ability to grow at a higher level is made possible by Abbey Theater and its superior facilities, and Joe has become my sounding board about what connects with audiences there.”
Ryan agreed.
“We’re excited we got our start at the Abbey, a great and beautiful space, because we’ve been on the ground floor as more theater and art is exploding on the north side,” she said.
Here are the season lineups:
Abbey Theater
“A Yankee Goes Home” (April 14-23): The world premiere of Sean Cooney’s one-act comic drama centers on a Yankees-loving retired New York policeman who is grieving the loss of his co-worker. He struggles to communicate with the world, but receives help from a special friend from the world of baseball.
2023 Otterbein Playwrights Collective (June 30 to July 2): The third annual showcase, co-produced by Bishara and Otterbein professor Jeremy Llorence, features new short works written by Otterbein University creative writing students and performed by Greater Columbus teenagers. Three or four one-acts will be selected for staging from 10 student submissions.
“Matilda JR., The Musical” (July 13-16): The one-act version of the London and Broadway hit, cast with young actors up to age 16, follows an extraordinary little girl with special powers who finds refuge in books from abusive parents and a domineering school headmaster.
“Grease!” (Aug. 9-13): The musical comedy revolves around the 1959 senior class at Rydell High.
Original Productions Theatre
“Abundant Life” (March 3-12): Cory Skurdal’s one-act drama focuses on a friendship emerging despite religious and political differences.
“40 Acres” (June 15-25): Australian playwright Davion Tynarious Brown’s new romantic drama, a co-production with Abbey Theater, focuses on a free Black man and a White woman struggling against the stigma of interracial marriage in 1899 in Tuskegee, Alabama.
“Moby Dick’s Gone Missing” (Oct. 5-15): Irish playwright Sean Cooney’s comedy revolves around an Irish fishing village’s frustrations during the shooting of John Huston’s 1956 film of Melville's novel “Moby-Dick.”
Spotlight Ohio
The South Asian Theatre Festival (July 8-9): South Asian theater companies from across the country will collaborate with local artists to spotlight vibrant South Asian culture in the ninth annual event offering theater performances and panel discussions.
Stage Right Theatrics
“That Poor Trapped Man” (May 12-14): Joshua Danese’s absurdist drama focused a man “trapped” in a house he claims is his, who schemes with neighbors against the unsuspecting family who owns the home.
“A Crime of Forgiveness” (Aug. 18-20): Lynette Grace’s play is based on a true story about a stabbing victim who befriends and forgives her assailant.
“The Fantasticks” (Nov. 10-12): The beloved off-Broadway musical, with a score by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones (“Try to Remember”), revolves around young lovers and their bickering fathers.
For more information about all Abbey Theater productions, call 614-410-4550 or visit dublinohiousa.gov/abbey-theater.
@mgrossberg1
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New works opening at Abbey Theater of Dublin during the 2023 season
