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A.R.T announces new season, including two world-premiere musicals

Upcoming ART Season.
3 min read

The American Repertory Theater announced its four anchor productions for the 2023-24 season, all to be performed at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square.

Led by Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Director Kelvin Dinkins Jr., the season will begin in September with A.R.T.’s North American premiere production of  “The Half-God of Rainfall,” a new epic by poet and playwright Inua Ellams that fuses Greek mythology and Yoruba spirituality to tell a story that unfolds on basketball courts across the globe. Taibi Magar directs this co-production with New York Theatre Workshop.

In December and January, A.R.T. will produce the world premiere of “Real Women Have Curves,” a new musical based on the play and hit film of the same name about a first-generation child of Mexican immigrants torn between her parents’ vision for her life and her dreams. This story for anyone who has experienced the curves of life is directed by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo and features a book by award-winning playwright Lisa Loomer with an original score by Grammy-winning recording artist Joy Huerta and Fred Ebb Award winner Benjamin Velez.

In February 2024, A.R.T. will produce “Becoming a Man,” a world-premiere stage adaptation by P. Carl of his acclaimed memoir that chronicles his journey of gender affirmation. P. Carl and Diane Paulus will co-direct the story about the courage and the community we need to become ourselves.

To conclude, A.R.T. will produce the previously announced world-premiere musical “Gatsby,” an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel “The Great Gatsby,” with a score by international rock star Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine) and Oscar and Grammy Award nominee Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) and book by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok. Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin directs with choreography by Tony Award winner Sonya Tayeh. “Gatsby” will be produced by special arrangement with Amanda Ghost and Len Blavatnik for Unigram/Access Entertainment, and Jordan Roth, in association with Robert Fox. Hannah Giannoulis serves as co-producer. 

“Next season is filled with must-see theatrical events — two world-premiere musicals and two vitally important plays which explore themes of immigration, the American dream, and what it means to feel welcome in our country,” said Paulus. “We’ve been thrilled to see packed houses as audiences returned to the A.R.T. this past year, and I can’t wait for our community to experience this next boundary-breaking season and line-up of extraordinary artists.”

Throughout 2023-24, A.R.T. will partner with the Harvard Office for Gender Equity; continue to develop Essential Questions; and continue to collaborate with Artists for Humanity. Additionally, the public will have opportunities to engage with new works in development, including an October reading of “The Odyssey” by Kate Hamill.

Additional programming and initiatives will be announced at a later date.

Four-play subscriptions are now on sale to A.R.T. supporters and will be available to renewing subscribers and the general public in June. Visit AmericanRepertoryTheater.org/Subscribe for more information.