This is no ordinary fairy-tale. Synetic Theater's Beauty and the Beast draws on the darkness and sensuality of Villeneuve's original French novel, La Belle et la Bête, and the 1946 Cocteau film of the same name. First brought to our stage in 2014, this fresh adaptation is a sparkling and inspiring Gothic romance full of wonder, mystery and redemption expressed through Synetic's unique stage effects, expressionistic design, shadowplay, and movement. Told through the vengeful narration of a handsome Prince's first love, Synetic's dark and mystical take on the fairy tale explores and challenges the dynamics of love and power as it asks the question, "Who is worthy of true love?" No sing-alongs or talking teacups from Disney's beloved animated film in this piece of theater art. Though just as magnificent, this show's got bite.

Proof that opera can be powerfully contemporary, Blue dives head first into the Black Lives Matter movement with the tragic story of a black police officer whose son is killed by a fellow officer. The Tony-winning composer of Fun Home teamed with the acclaimed director of Porgy and Bess to write the gut-punch of a score.

No one would accuse Clyde of having a soft heart: Sure she hires former convicts for the greasy kitchen of her truck-stop sandwich joint, but she knows what they owe her and holds that power tight. Her line cooks might be stuck, but their hopes haven't flickered out yet, fed by tentative connections and a fierce competition to create the perfect sandwich. Pulitzer-Prize winner Lynn Nottage's sweet and savory comedy trades in wonder, Wonder Bread, and the healing powers of food.

You are cordially invited to a meeting of The Drunk Shakespeare Society. In a hidden speakeasy, five classically-trained actors assemble for their sacred ritual. One actor takes five shots of whiskey and then attempts to perform a major role in a Shakespeare play. Hilarity and mayhem ensue as the remaining sober actors attempt to keep the play on track. Every night is different depending on who's drinking ... and what they're drinking! Drunk Shakespeare is a New York Times' Critics Pick and "the best thing to ever happen to the theater" according to Slate Magazine. Craft cocktails are served throughout the show.

Three siblings find themselves in a room full of possibilities and one not so simple task- to put things in their proper place. However, they soon discover that throwing this and that into a box is not the same as finding where it fits in.

Gloria: A Life is more than a play-it's a celebration of human connection. Five decades after Gloria Steinem began raising her voice and championing the voices of others, her call for equality is as urgent as ever. In this exploration of the iconic feminist's extraordinary legacy and the women who inspired her (including Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Flo Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, and Wilma Mankiller), the first act tells her story, and the second invites the audience to share their own. Gloria Steinem's stirring and uplifting narrative is a necessary reminder of the importance of speaking up and speaking out. Directed by Holly Twyford (Becoming Dr. Ruth), Gloria: A Life honors one of the most inspiring women of our time.

A Black man in an army uniform stands his ground atop Tulsa's Standpipe Hill, bearing witness to the destruction and desecration of Tulsa's Greenwood District - but other forces, both friendly and hostile, conspire to remove him. A play in conversation with Tulsa, Oklahoma's 1921 race massacre, The High Ground offers a complex portrait of what it means to bear witness, to resist and to move forward from devastation.

This beautifully touching and deeply human story centers around four disparate people who build a community of healing and hope. Set against the inviting backdrop of a Japanese garden, the play is told like a fairytale. Each of the characters take their turn in telling this heartwarming story of love and recovery.

Kameeka is confident that today she will finally beat her rival, Jamara, and become the Hula-Hoopin' Queen of 139th Street in Harlem. But she has to prepare for Miz Adeline's birthday party and almost ruins the day. Until Miz Adeline confesses that she's also got the itch- the hula-hoopin' itch! Her fingers start snappin'. Her hips start swingin'. Soon everyone's hips are swinging as the party spills out onto the street.

Joy, love, heartache, strength, wisdom, catharsis, LIFE-everything we've been waiting to see in a Broadway show- is here in the exhilarating, fearless new musical based on Alanis Morissette's world-changing music.

Avant Bard's second mainstage season production, Julius Caesar, returns from an untimely cancellation in the spring of 2020. Julius Caesar is directed by award-winning artist and director Kathleen Akerley, who also serves as Artistic Director of Longacre Lea. Julius Caesar famously explores a vacuum in leadership, but within a political structure that is too alien to us to be anything other than a period piece or bluntly handled metaphor. Avant Bard's reimagining modernizes the politics without targeting Caesar, but by removing Caesar entirely from the stage. This production will focus on an ensemble of nine actors who dismantle this traditional story to explain how leadership is not defined by Caesar's ambition or Brutus' and Antony's famous funeral speeches, but by the shifting personalities and demands of the citizenry. Video and projections will accompany the actors on stage to place these questions squarely in post-2016 America: is consensus even possible?

Caught in a carousel of memory, the head of a dysfunctional royal family grapples with power-hungry children and the threat of losing the empire he created. Real and imagined worlds coalesce, creating a political and personal horror that threatens to swallow the mind of the monarch. The incomparable Patrick Page (Hadestown, The Gilded Age) returns to STC as the once-revered king caught in an emotional hurricane ravaging his home, head, and heart.

A meet-cute at the local temple brings Naveen face-to-face with the man of his dreams: a fellow Marathi-speaking Hindu who loves the same Bollywood films and can cook a mean dal makhani. If his parents were ever going to accept him bringing home a boyfriend, Keshav would be that boy except - he's white, raised by Indian foster parents who adopted him. But they're madly in-love and so off they head to the Gevaskar house, where Naveen's white boyfriend isn't the only surprise ready to walk through the door. This inter-generational, inter-cultural comedy presents a warm portrait of an Indian family wrestling with tradition, masculinity, and acceptance.

In 1853, after 200 years of stability, Japan faces an American expedition determined to open the "floating kingdom" to trade. The isolationist island's reckoning with the unwelcome western influence is brilliantly illuminated through a kaleidoscope of stories about sailors, samurai, "someone in a tree" and two friends who choose radically different paths.

The elevated concert experience brings a community together with timeless music that speaks to the complicated human condition, honoring the impassioned and transcendent music of one of America's most beloved singer-songwriter. Rejoice while you are taken on an intimate musical odyssey guaranteed to get you up and out of your seat and dancing! The production journeys through Aretha Franklin's courageous life of love, tragedy and triumph starring a live band, supreme vocalists and a night full of music by one of the greatest artists of all time.

In 2013, a sister secretly shelters her translator brother from an increasingly powerful Taliban while he awaits the ever-delayed arrival of a promised American visa. On the eve of his son's birth, the walls begin to close in, threatening him, her and everyone they love in a heart-racing expose with devastating echoes to the present day.

"Shear Madness" is one of the most popular entertainments in the world, delighting audiences night after night with its unique blend of madcap improvisation and spine-tickling mystery. This unique comedy-whodunit takes place today in the "Shear Madness" hairstyling salon and is chock full of up-to-the-minute spontaneous humor. During the course of the action, a murder is committed and the audience gets to spot the clues, question the suspects, and solve the funniest mystery in the annals of crime.The outcome is never the same, which is why many audience members return again and again to the scene of the mayhem.

Inspired by Gayle F. Wald's book Shout, Sister, Shout!, this new musical tells the story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe-one of America's most influential rock, R&B and gospel crossover singers and guitarists. Ambitious, courageous and uncompromisingly public, Tharpe became a pioneer of the women's movement for racial and sexual equality and musical legend who redefined the national and international music scene in the 1930s and 40s and beyond. Dive into Cheryl L. West's spirited, authentic and emotionally charged story about a charismatic music forerunner and the authentic roots of rock-and-roll.

A funny frog storyteller ribbits the tale of offended fairies, silly royalty, and magic spells. Relive this classic fairy tale in this lovely Legacy rod-puppet show.

Our Learning Theater Ensemble revives our original adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's longest and most highly acclaimed tale that has inspired numerous films and adaptations from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Disney's Frozen! This classic tale of bravery and friendship follows the journey of young Gerda as she attempts to rescue her best friend Kai from the clutches of the Snow Queen. With the help of some unique friends and little magic Gerda is determined to break the Snow Queen's spell and melt the ice that has taken hold of Kai's heart before he is lost to her forever!

In this suspenseful drama, we meet Ivy League writing professor Bella Lee Baird and her talented yet enigmatic student, Christopher Dunn. As Christopher seeks mentorship and Bella asks an unthinkable favor, the two form an intense bond and the stories they live and tell become intertwined in provocative ways. Everyone has a story - the question is, how does it end...

Perisphere Theater presents the world premiere of The Storehouse by Joanna Castle Miller, directed by Amberrain Andrews. The Storehouse is based on the real-life interactions between the writers Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin) and Harriet Jacobs (Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl). Attempting to become the first fugitive enslaved woman to publish her story by her own hand, Jacobs approaches the world-famous author Stowe for her help, and the result alters both of their lives and legacies forever.

Sister Bear and Brother Bear are back from hibernation to take little ones on an interactive journey through the seasons. Meet a curious butterfly, play in a rushing waterfall, and catch lightning bugs as the bears frolic through the forest in an unforgettable theatre experience. Children sit in a circle on the stage, with their adults sitting behind them. See below for an alternate seating option.