Berkeley Rep to welcome audiences back in October
Berkeley Repertory Theatre plans to open its 202122 season with inperson performances starting Oct. 1.
The theater company is slated to present seven shows consisting of four musicals and three plays, with four of the productions making their world premieres.
In January, outside its regular subscription season, Berkeley Rep is also scheduled to present a solo work by comedian Mike Birbiglia titled “The Old Man and the Pool” and host six conversations with writer Fran Lebowitz, who was recently the focus of the hit Netflix docuseries “Pretend It’s a City.”
“Coming back into our buildings and preparing work to meet audiences feels thrilling after all this time,” Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer told The Chronicle. “I am looking forward to finally being in the physical presence of these stories, to being able to support the imaginations of these artists through the great work of our staff.”
The famed downtown Berkeley company’s venue on Addison Street has been closed since March 2020, with performances presented digitally during the pandemic, including creating the new “Place/Settings” audio series with local playwrights.
“I am acutely aware that theater as an art form doesn’t really exist until it is in the presence of an audience, so being able to bring people together in real time, in a shared space, to collectively experience these stories feels like the culmination of what has been a really challenging time,” Pfaelzer added. “I can’t wait for that moment when I can hear an audience breathe together, laugh together, weep together.”
The season opens with the world premiere of Christina Anderson’s “The Ripple, the Wave That Carried Me Home,” directed by Miranda Haymon, a commission developed in the company’s Ground Floor Summer Residency Lab. Charles L. Mee’s family manners comedy “Wintertime” follows on Nov. 12.
Among the most anticipated works in the season is the new musical “Swept Away” by Tonywinning playwright and screenwriter John Logan, with songs by the Grammywinning roots band the Avett Brothers. “Swept Away” is set to have its world premiere Jan. 9, following its postponement last year. Tony winner Michael Mayer (“Spring Awakening,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”) directs, marking his return to Berkeley Rep for the first time since his blockbuster 2009 musical “American Idiot” featuring the music of East Bay band Green Day.
The musical “Goddess,” directed and conceived by Saheem Ali with an African and jazzinspired score by Michael Thurber, follows with its world premiere March 19.
The offBroadway a cappella musical “Octet” by Dave Malloy begins its run April 20, and the familycentered “Cambodian Rock Band” by Lauren Yee is expected to hit the stage June 3. The epic rock musical features songs by Dengue Fever.
Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Martyna Majok’s “Sanctuary City” closes out the season with a run that starts July 8, 2022.
Berkeley Rep has “taken this last year to evaluate all our facilities in the context of safety regulations and are pleased to share that our theatres meet or exceed the safety standards as determined by the CDC,” Managing Director Susie Medak said in a statement, adding that she and her staff plan to “continue to follow CDC and State of California safety standards as they evolve over time.”
Pfaelzer said that in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the company also undertook “a year of deep thinking about the systemic racism in our field, and about how theater in general, and Berkeley Rep in particular, can be more inclusive.”
Subscriptions, starting at $68 with the newly introduced RepPassport, are on sale now at www.berkeleyrep.org.