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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