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THE HUMAN RACE THEATRE COMPANY TELLS STORIES IN MOTION –
A SEASON OF IMAGINATION AND INVENTION  

For the upcoming 2023-2024 season, The Human Race Theatre Company sparks creativity, imagination and invention through a season of “Stories in Motion,” with shows inspired by or adapted from existing tales. Each title has been intentionally selected to challenge and advance theatrical storytelling, our audiences, and our theatre company. This evolution can only be experienced in the theatre because every night is a unique exchange between the playwright’s vision, the performer and audience. This 38^th year marks the first season devised by new Artistic Director Emily N. Wells.

“Theatre has a unique ability to tell stories in a way that sparks an audience’s imagination – as if they are inside the story,” said Wells. “Theatre and storytelling live as dynamic, evolving art forms, just as we evolve as people.” She adds. We are transforming well-known stories and timeless themes into stage productions designed for modern audiences. Connected by a theme of adaptation, this season of Stories in Motion presents contemporary plays and musicals through the artist’s lens.

The season will launch in September with the world premiere musical This is Tom Jones! by Mark Brown and Paul Mirkovich and directed by Wells. Not that Tom Jones!  But inspired by the Henry Fielding book, Brown and Mirkovich merge the novel with 1960’s pop sounds of the British Invasion.  Opening in late October, Atlanta playwright Pearl Cleage’s Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous takes the stage, directed by Cincinnati favorite Torie Wiggins. An aging actor is invited to remount her revolutionary take on August Wilson, but finds herself auditioning her replacement instead.

December sees the second world premiere in the season, Reindeer Sessions, by Eric Ulloa (26 Pebbles, Kevin Moore Celebration.) Directed by Igor Goldin, Blitzen heads to anger management therapy after an incident with that other famous reindeer. To shake the February doldrums, head out on a rollicking sea adventure with Shipwrecked! An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as Told by Himself) by Donald Margulies and directed by Greg Hellems. Inspired by a true story, adventurer Louis de Rougemont shares his adventures on the high seas in a series of magazine articles. But can we believe everything he shares?

In April – and just in time for college acceptance letters – peerless, Jiehae Park’s take on Macbeth, puts us in the cutthroat world of academic admissions where every option is on the table for twins M and L in a witty, pointed and stylized look at competition. Peerless will be directed by Marya Spring Cordes. To wrap up the season in May, The Human Race partners with Dayton Live to bring the national tour of the critically celebratedBroadway production of The Kite Runner. Adapted by Matthew Spangler from Khaled Hosseini’s bestselling novel, this extraordinary and sensitively told story will shine bright on the Victoria Theatre stage.

We are so enthusiastic about every show this coming season, we’re making them all available in a 6-Show Subscription Package! Other “Flexible Options” include 3-show packages, and annual Memberships. By popular demand, a Parents Day Out Series is available at no additional charge. Military and student discounts available. Renewals will begin mid-April and new subscriptions are available at any time after that. All tickets are available through Dayton Live Box Office at 937-228-3630 or https://www.daytonlive.org/series/loft-season/.

The Human Race Theatre Company
2023-24 Season  

This is Tom Jones!
Book & Lyrics by Mark Brown
Music by Paul Mirkovich
Director Emily N. Wells
September 7 – 25, 2023
Loft Theatre

Henry Fielding’s heart-throbbing masterpiece meets the frenzied, mop-top sounds of the 1960s known as the British Invasion. Aristocrats, wenches and scalawags abound in this bawdy and rollicking romp through the back roads and bedchambers of England. If you liked Austin Powers, The Full Monty, Avenue Q.

Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
By Pearl Cleage
Director Torie Wiggins
October 26 – November 13, 2023
Loft Theatre

After decades of self-imposed exile in Amsterdam, actress Anna Campbell and her manager Betty Sampson receives an invitation to remount their controversial performance piece “Naked Wilson.” Uncertain of her reception, Anna auditions her possible replacement, an ambitious young performer whose experience is limited to the adult entertainment industry. These two women confront their differing world views with humor and grace–and still manage to find common ground.  If you liked Master Class, Crowns, Art, Red.  

Reindeer Sessions
By Eric Ulloa
Director Igor Goldin
December 8 – 23, 2023
Loft Theatre

After a fight that left history’s most famous reindeer with a broken red nose, Blitzen is forced into a series of Anger Management therapy sessions by Kringle Enterprises. Tasked with finding the cause of this violent outburst, his therapist Dr. Arbor hopes to help him understand what led to this moment and if he can save his job on the reindeer squad.  You won’t look at The North Pole the same way again in this hilarious and unexpected ride!  If you liked Who’s Holiday, The Santaland Diaries

Shipwrecked! An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as Told by Himself)
By Donald Margulies
Director Greg Hellems
February 22 – March 10, 2024
Loft Theatre

The adventurous Louis de Rougemont invites you to hear his amazing story of bravery, survival and celebrity that left 19th-century England spellbound. Dare to be whisked away in a story of the high seas and all corners of the globe, populated by flying wombats, giant sea turtles and a monstrous man-eating octopus.  Shipwrecked examines how far we’re willing to blur the line between fact and fiction to leave our mark on the world. If you liked Around the World in 80 Days, The 39 Steps, Peter & the Starcatcher

peerless
By Jiehae Park
Director Marya Spring Cordes
April 25 – May 12, 2024
Loft Theatre

Twins M and L have given up everything to get into The College.  So when D gets “their” spot instead, they figure they’ve got only one option: kill him. A darkly comedic take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth about the ultra-ambitious and the cut-throat world of high school during college admissions. If you liked Macbeth, Lizzie

The Kite Runner
Adapted by Matthew Spangler
Based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini
May 28 – June 2, 2024
Victoria Theatre –  Co-presented with Dayton Live

Based on Khaled Hosseini’s beloved, internationally best-selling novel, THE KITE RUNNER is a powerful new play adapted by Matthew Spangler that follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption. Told across two decades and two continents, THE KITE RUNNER is an unforgettable journey of forgiveness, and shows us all that we can be good again.

The Human Race expresses gratitude for the public and private support which makes our productions possible: The Loft Season Sponsors: Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation; Sustainability sponsors:  Anne F. Johnson, Steve and Lou Mason, ELM Foundation, and Morris Furniture Company;  Additional Season support:  Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts, Erma R. Catterton Trust, The Shubert Foundation;  Organizational support:  Culture Works, Montgomery County, Ohio Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Dayton Region Arts Renewal Grant. Media Sponsor: WDPR Discover Classical. Pay What You Can Sponsor: Enterprise Holdings Foundation.

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