Theatre NOVA will rearrange remaining shows in 2023

ANN ARBOR: Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor’s resident nonprofit professional theatre, announces a revised schedule for the remainder of its 2022-2023 season.

Revised Dates are as follows:

SPLATTERED, by Hal Davis and Carla Milarch: April 21 – May 14

ARABIC TO ENGLISH, by David Wells: June 2 – 25

MLIMA’S TALE, by Lynn Nottage: September 1 – 24

Why the change? Founding Artistic Director Carla Milarch says “MLIMA’S TALE is a complex, challenging piece of theatre. It requires a director that is both culturally suitable and versed in many theatre styles and modalities. It presents very specific casting and design requirements. Despite our best efforts, at this time, we do not have the director and cast in place to adequately address these challenges. Because we are committed to providing audiences with the highest quality productions possible and providing culturally safe spaces for artists to work in, and because we want to make sure that our production takes the necessary time to honor the complicated history, multicultural characters, and difficult conversations in the show, we will move MLIMA’S TALE to the end of the season.”

The season now continues with the world premiere of “Splattered” by Hal Davis and Carla Milarch, opening April 21, 2023. It is evening at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where old friends, cousins, and lovers – Sylvie, Astrid, and Justin – gather at a wedding reception. Seminarian Justin sneaks off to be alone in Gallery 406, where he encounters Jackson Pollock’s famous splatter painting One, Number Thirty-One, 1950. As the painting mesmerizes him, Pollock’s ghost emerges to challenge some of Justin’s most fundamental beliefs, divulging stories, and secrets of Pollock’s turbulent life. Meanwhile, Astrid and Sylvie come and go, appealing to Justin to join the party, as conflicts from their past bubble back to the surface, prompting Justin to question his choices and his chosen future. Directed by Briana O’Neal.

We’ll head into summer with the World Premiere of “Arabic to English” by David Wells, running June 2 – 25. In a high-stakes trial, an Arab American man is accused of fraudulent marriage to gain a visa. Losing in court will send him to a country he barely knows. His interpreter, a young Arab American woman, is on the verge of entering a storybook American life, about to be married to his White American trial lawyer. When romance blossoms between the interpreter and the defendant, it may be up to her to decide which words to translate, and which to leave unspoken. Directed by Sarab Kamoo, and featuring Zeyy Fawaz, Joe Sfair, and Fedor Kinaya.

Finally, to close out the season, the Michigan premiere of “Mlima’s Tale” by Lynn Nottage will open on September 1, 2023. A ghost story for our times. Mlima is a magnificent African elephant killed by the underground ivory market for his tusks. As his soul accompanies his tusks on a path forged by greed and colonialism, Mlima takes us on a journey through the agonizing tradition of mining animals. This groundbreaking work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright marries theatricality and social commentary in a play that will truly haunt you. “Those of you who don’t believe in ghosts are likely to think again after seeing Lynn Nottage’s beautiful, endlessly echoing portrait of a murder and its afterlife.” -NY Times.

The remainder of the season contains one (1) Michigan Premieres, (plays being produced for the first time in Michigan) and two (2) World Premieres (plays making their debut for the first time ever.). We’re proud to produce the hottest new plays at affordable prices, including pay-what-you-can tickets available for every show.

Theatre NOVA is located at 410 W Huron St, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. General admission tickets for plays are $22. Theatre NOVA continues to make theatre accessible by offering pay-what-you-can tickets for those who need them.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.TheatreNOVA.org or by calling the box office at 734-635-8450. Tickets may also be purchased in person one hour before each performance. Seating in the theatre will begin 30 minutes before each performance. There is ample free parking, as well as quick access to the city’s restaurants, bars, bakeries, and coffee shops. New patrons can find it across Huron Street from Ann Arbor’s YMCA, through a parking lot entrance on the north side of the street. For more information, visit www.TheatreNOVA.org.

Theatre NOVA’s mission is to raise awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and playwrights and to provide resources for playwrights to develop their craft by importing, exporting, and developing new work.

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