My Austin 2013-2014 Season Wish List: The Plays

As 2012 comes to a close, many Austin theater companies are putting together their 2013-2014 season. Given the incredible talent in this town and the large number of daring, courageous theater groups in the Austin area, here are my picks for 13 plays that I'd love to see produced in the 2013-2014 season.

13. Ma Rainey'S BLACK BOTTOM

By August Wilson

First Produced on Broadway in 1984

Austin loves music and history, and August Wilson's play about racism in 1920s America as told through the struggle of black recording artists would undoubtedly pique the interest of Austinites. It may not be the best play in Wilson's 10 play Pittsburgh Cycle, but it is one of the most accessible and enjoyable.

12. THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA?

By Edward Albee

First Produced on Broadway in 2002

Albee's certainly dealt with the themes of a crumbling marriage before (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) but he pushes the envelope further with The Goat or Who is Sylvia. Just imagine if Virginia Woolf's George cheated on Martha with a goat...

11. THE KENTUCKY CYCLE

By Robert Schenkkan

First Produced on Broadway in 1993

While it might not be the most well-known American epic from the 1990s (Angels in America earns that distinction), Schenkkan's nine act play is equally as profound and moving as it explores the themes of greed as told through several generations of the same Kentucky family.

10. AFTER THE FALL

By Arthur Miller

First Produced on Broadway in 1964

Though it may be one of Miller's less popular works, there is something mesmerizing and intriguing about his semi-autobiographic play that most believe is based on his failed marriage to Marilyn Monroe, a figure who is constantly appealing to audiences.

9. A THOUSAND CLOWNS

By Herb Gardner

First Produced on Broadway in 1963

This charming but little-known play from the 1960s has a lot going for it. In his story about a 12 year old boy and his eccentric uncle/care-taker, Gardner gives us themes about adulthood, responsibility, parenthood, and non-conformitism. It's an odd mix but an enthralling one.

8. ANGELS IN AMERICA

By Tony Kushner

First Produced on Broadway in 1993

An epic of magic realism that requires a strong ensemble cast as it explores themes of community, love, death, fear, politics, and the AIDS epidemic. Why shouldn't this be produced in Austin?

7. SAINT JOAN

By George Bernard Shaw

First Produced on Broadway in 1923

Joan of Arc is unquestionably one of the strongest female characters in history. Naturally, it seems obvious that the courageous and talented actresses in Austin would jump at the chance to play her. Though there are plenty of stage versions of the Joan of Arc story, I've always enjoyed Shaw's the best as it explores the mind of Joan's accusers rather than turning them into dastardly villains.

6. MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL

By T.S. Eliot

First Produced in Canterbury in 1935

Eliot's account of the assassination of Thomas Becket, an archbishop who clashed with King Henry II over the rights of the church, is a beautiful and poignant salute to the courageous opposition to authority. It's quite interesting when considering that Eliot wrote the play in the 1930s as fascist regimes rose to power in Italy and Germany.

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