2023 is more than half-over now, and the Southern literary world has kept us entertained so far. Expect more immersive storytelling as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival announces its schedule for the 2023-24 season. Entering its 52nd season, the ASF has announced six new productions, one of which will be the world premiere of a play about Zelda Fitzgerald.
The History
“This upcoming season is filled with celebration and joy. In putting together this lineup of shows, I wanted to create something that would serve a multi-generational audience,” says ASF Artistic Director Rick Dildine. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival seeks to build community by engaging, entertaining and inspiring people. They use transformative theatrical performances and compelling educational and community programs. From its founding in a high school auditorium in Anniston in 1972 to its designation as the State Theater of Alabama in 1977 to the stunning $21.5 million performing arts complex in Montgomery (built in 1985), ASF has been a leader in the performing arts throughout the state, region and country.
The Schedule
The first play on the schedule is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The dazzling production from the ASF team will bring Shakespeare’s classic comedy to life. This play will kick off the season starting on September 14 and running through October 1, 2023. The rest of the program includes great shows like Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Ken Ludwig’s comic thriller “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery” and Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s spectacle “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” This season will also feature the 2022 Southern Writers Festival winner Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder. Zelda In the Backyard‘s world premiere is June 13, 2024. Find the full schedule and details here.
World Premiere of ‘Zelda in the Backyard’
When Libby inherits a wrecked 1961 Rolls Royce, she sets off on a journey to reassemble the car and pieces of the past her father left behind. In honor of her Alabama roots, she names the car after Zelda Fitzgerald. A little broken herself, Libby finds herself with a new understanding of marriage and family. From the playwright of “Gee’s Bend” and “White Lightning” Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, “Zelda in the Backyard” is a story of love and loss—and all the roads in between.
For more than three decades, Alabama Shakespeare Festival has shown a commitment to commissioning, developing and producing new work written by Southern writers. The world premier of Wilder’s play furthers that commitment.
Tickets
Subscription packages are on sale now through the ASF Box Office at 334-271-5353. Single tickets went on sale for all season productions on August 1.
Featured image of Alabama Shakespeare Festival courtesy of Alabama Travel.
