Evolution Theatre Company's 2022 roster of LGBTQ+-themed shows to 'entertain, but also enlighten'
Evolution Theatre Company will offer mostly area premieres and a new commissioned musical on LGBTQ+ themes next year.
The small professional company, founded and led since 2012 by Artistic/Executive Director Mark Phillips Schwamberger, canceled virtually all of its 2020 season because of the pandemic, but resumed a three-show 2021 season after finding a new home at the 200-seat Abbey Theater of Dublin.
“We’re planning an even bigger comeback in 2022 in the Abbey Theater, a state-of-the-art facility,” Schwamberger said.
“We want to entertain but also enlighten on such topics as same-sex parenting, transgender issues, LGBTQ+ history and the true meaning of friendship,” he said.
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Three plays and two musicals, all appropriate for age 16 and older, will be presented live, with masks recommended, at the Abbey Theater, 5600 Post Road, Dublin.
• “The Musical of Musicals, The Musical,” April 28 to May 7: The off-Broadway musical comedy, by composer-author Eric Rockwell and author-lyricist Joanne Bogart, satirizes modern musical theater while offering five short pieces mimicking the styles of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
• “Birds of a Feather,” June 23 to July 2: Marc Acito’s play, an area premiere, focuses on the trials and tribulations of parenting, and tells the true story of Roy and Silo, two Central Park Zoo male chinstrap penguins who partnered, adopted an egg, and hatched and raised a chick together.
• “Gently Down the Stream,” July 21-30: Martin Sherman’s romantic and comic drama, an area premiere, celebrates and mourns the ghosts of the gay and lesbian men and women who fought for equality, legalized marriage and the right to dream.
• “Boy,” Sept. 15-24: Anna Ziegler’s drama about confusing sexual identity, an area premiere, was inspired by a true story set two decades after a well-intentioned doctor convinces parents of a male infant to raise their child as a girl after a terrible accident.
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• “I’ll Take Romance, The Musical,” Oct. 13-22: The world premiere, commissioned by and written for the company with music and lyrics by Michael Leamon and libretto by Edwin Sanchez, is adapted from Sanchez’s eponymous play about a gay gold-digger who sets his sights on a newly out billionaire amid vengeful ex-wives, closeted twin brothers and an imaginary lover.
Subscriptions, on sale now, cost $128, or $108 for senior citizens, $60 for students.
Single tickets, on sale now, cost $30 ($35 for musicals), or $25 ($30 for musicals) for senior citizens, and $15 for students.
Call 614-233-1124 or visit www.evolutiontheatre.org.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Evolution Theatre Company unveils new season of LGBTQ+ themed shows
