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Palm Beach Dramaworks
Palm Beach Dramaworks is elated to announce that it will be reopening its doors for the 2021-2022 season with a full slate of five plays at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre. Opening night is set for Friday, December 3, and new health and safety protocols will be in place. In this special season of renewal and new beginnings, PBD has chosen to focus, for the first time in its history, solely on plays written in the 21st century. These are plays that ruminate on universal themes and subjects that seem to have a special urgency at this moment in time: love, longing, politics, race and racism, antisemitism, art, morality, aging, determination, resiliency and courage.
THE PEOPLE DOWNSTAIRS
By Michael McKeever
World Premiere
Opening December 3 through December 19
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.
ALMOST, MAINE
By John Cariani
Opening January 14 through January 30
Love – old and new, heart-stopping and weak-kneed, unexpected and unrequited, lost and found – is in the air in the fictional, remote town of Almost, Maine. This wildly popular play takes place on a Friday night in winter, and is made up of nine mostly joyful yet poignant vignettes connected by time and place, the beauty of the aurora borealis, a touch of magic, and a spirit of hope.
THE DURATION
By Bruce Graham
World Premiere
Opening February 18 through March 6
Audrey Batten has left the building. And the city. And quite possibly, according to her daughter Emma, her senses. Can two strong women with very different coping strategies on the journey from grief to release meet each other somewhere in the middle – out in the middle of nowhere? A moving, absorbing play about family, loss, love . . . and cats.
INTIMATE APPAREL
By Lynn Nottage
Opening April 1 through April 17
In this heartfelt and heartbreaking work set at the turn of the 20th 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.
THE BELLE OF AMHERST
By William Luce
Back by Popular Demand
Opening May 20 through May June 5
Based on the life of Emily Dickinson, this one-woman show tells the story of the independent, enigmatic, reclusive, witty poet through her letters, verse, and the playwright’s rich imagination, interweaving the voices of friends, family, and acquaintances to create a vivid portrait of the artist.
Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30PM, Friday and Saturday at 8PM, and select Sundays at 7PM. Matinee performances are on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2PM. Post-performance discussions follow Wednesday matinee and Sunday evening performances.
To ensure the safety and well-being of everyone who steps foot into the theatre, PBD is installing a new HVAC system throughout the building that complies with all the latest safety guidelines recommended by the CDC and the company’s consultant engineers. Facility and ticketing procedures will be upgraded to allow for as much of a touch-free patron experience as possible. The theatre will also be cleaned more frequently, and numerous hand sanitization stations will be easily accessible.
Palm Beach Dramaworks is committed to the health and safety of all our patrons, artists, staff, and vendors. They will be following CDC guidelines when the theatre reopens, which currently means that masks will be required and must be worn at all times everywhere in the building. In addition, they have updated safety protocols to include the presentation of proof of vaccine, or a negative PCR test within 72 hours, or an antigen test within 24 hours for admittance to the theatre.
Palm Beach Dramaworks
201 Clematis Street
West Palm Beach
For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042 x2