2020-2021: PBD’s Twentieth Anniversary Season

Palm Beach Dramaworks will celebrate its twentieth anniversary season by paying tribute to its past and stepping into the future. Subscriptions for the 2020-2021 season, which opens on October 9, will be on sale soon. Visit the subscriptions page on our website for information about subscription packages and how to purchase tickets: palmbeachdramaworks.org/subscriptions

To mark this milestone anniversary, PBD Producing Artistic Director William Hayes is bringing back three plays that patrons have frequently expressed an interest in seeing again: Mark St. Germain’s Camping with Henry and Tom , Stephen Temperley’s Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins , and Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser . The company continues its commitment to new work with the world premiere of Michael McKeever’s The People Downstairs , which was commissioned by PBD and was met with an enthusiastic response when it was read at the recent New Year/New Plays Festival. Rounding out the schedule is Lynn Nottage’s critically acclaimed Intimate Apparel .  

“This is a special season, so we wanted to take a look at where we’ve been and where we’re going,” says Hayes. “We wanted to give our longtime patrons a chance to revisit some of their favorite plays, and provide new audiences with the opportunity to discover these works. The three that we’re reviving were chosen both because they’re among the most requested, and because the material suits a number of the artists who have contributed significantly to the growth of PBD over the years. I want to showcase as many of these actors as possible.” Casting will be announced at a later date.

“The two plays that are new to us are a wonderful reflection of the organization’s evolution and vision as we start another decade,” Hayes continued. “This is our fourth consecutive season producing a world premiere, and developing new work is now an essential part of our profile. We also want our audiences to hear from an expanding variety of voices, so I’m extremely pleased to produce a play by Lynn Nottage, one of our very best contemporary playwrights. As we look ahead, we will, of course, continue to stage great classic works. We remain guided by the idea of ‘Theatre to think about,’ and in these turbulent times we feel an even greater urgency to offer plays that illuminate the period we’re living through.”

2020 – 2021 SEASON

CAMPING WITH HENRY AND TOM

By Mark St. Germain

October 9 – November 1, 2020

Warren G. Harding, eager to get away from the press, prying eyes, and the presidency, accepts an invitation to join Henry Ford and Thomas Edison on their annual camping trip. Stranded in the woods, they converse about politics, ambition, family, and fame, revealing three starkly different personalities and world views. A work of fiction inspired by an actual 1921 excursion, the play deals with issues and ideas that remain as relevant today as they were 100 years ago.  

THE PEOPLE DOWNSTAIRS

By Michael McKeever

December 4 – December 27, 2020

For two years and one month, Anne Frank and seven others hid in four small rooms concealed behind a bookcase in the building where her father worked. Her diary revealed their ordeal to the world. But what of the people who hid them, got them food, and kept them informed? This play explores the complex challenges faced by these brave individuals on their journey of rebellious morality during the horrors of the Holocaust.

INTIMATE APPAREL

By Lynn Nottage

February 5 – February 28, 2021

In this heartfelt and heartbreaking work set at the turn of the 20 ^th century, Esther is a 35-year-old African-American seamstress of exquisite intimate apparel who aches to love and be loved. An unlikely opportunity arises when she enters into a correspondence with a man she’s never met. The play is a lyrical exploration of loneliness and longing, sweet dreams and bitter truths, determination and resiliency. 

SOUVENIR: A FANTASIA ON THE LIFE OF FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS

By Stephen Temperley

April 2 – April 25, 2021

Florence Foster Jenkins was a wealthy socialite who had unwavering confidence in her “pitch- perfect” voice and was blissfully unaware that her singing was astonishingly awful; it was so bad that it made her a celebrity. Cosmé McMoon was her longtime accompanist, who was pained by her lack of talent but came to admire her indomitability. McMoon narrates this funny and touching memory play about self-delusion, friendship, kindness, compassion, and joy.

THE DRESSER

By Ronald Harwood

May 21 – June 6, 2021

It’s 1942, bombs are dropping over England, and a renowned but fading actor is bringing Shakespeare to the provinces with a ragtag troupe. Sir, scheduled to give his 227 ^th performance of King Lear , is in no condition to go on, but his devoted, self-sacrificing dresser, Norman, is determined to get him onstage. Sir and Norman’s co-dependent – if unequal – relationship is the heartbeat of this warts-and-all, tragicomic valentine to the transcendent power of theatre.