THE 2021/22 SEASON
A thrilling return to live theater | safe and strong
Exhilarating musicals. The hottest plays. Exciting new work. From all of us at Signature,
welcome back.
Safety Measures at Signature The safety of our patrons, staff and artists is our top priority. Here are our current plans to reopen safely. Flexible Ticketing If you or any member of your household are not feeling well and cannot attend the performance, you can get a fee-free exchange or full refund of your tickets until the day of the performance. Air Filtration Signature’s air handling system has been studied and meets ASHRAE’s recommended guidelines for filtration and air exchanges per hour. Seating We are currently planning on opening with full seating capacity – however your safety is our top priority and we will continue to monitor and update our plans as the current situation requires. Staff & Artist Vaccination All of Signature’s employees, including staff and performers, are participating in a mandatory vaccine program. E-Ticketing Signature is utilizing paperless e-tickets delivered via text, email and Apple Wallet. You will have the ability to forward to your seating companions so each ticket holder will have their own ticket. Face Masks We will follow current state and CDC guidance regarding the wearing of masks. If it is recommended, we will require all audiences to wear face masks (medically required exceptions allowed). As the situation is rapidly changing, get the latest information on Signature’s safety initiatives by visiting SigTheatre.org/Safety
La Vie Boheme! The iconic rock musical’s pure rush of adrenaline, passion, energy and joy is boldly and immersively reimagined in Signature style for a triumphant reopening. At the end of the millennium, a group of bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggle with gentrification, love, loss and legacies amidst the HIV/AIDS crisis. Through songs such as “Seasons of Love,” “One Song Glory,” “I’ll Cover You,” “Out Tonight” and more, they embrace hope, find strength and survive. Winner of the Tony Award® and the Pulitzer Prize, Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking phenomenon defined a generation as it redefined the American musical and has never been more essential in today’s world. NOVEMBER 2, 2021 – JANUARY 2, 2022 RENT Book, Music & Lyrics by Jonathan Larson Music Directed by Mark G. Meadows Choreographed by James Alsop Directed by Matthew Gardiner
“The exhilarating, landmark rock opera…a glittering inventive score.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Colorful characters create a makeshift ménage at the neighborhood watering hole in a vivid and vibrant play by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Water by the Spoonful and In the Heights. Run by the warm and enterprising Daphne, a north Philadelphia bar becomes home for a disparate band of society’s outsiders; among them an offbeat artist, eccentric activist, ambitious businessman, retired biker, abandoned teenager and Daphne’s vivacious sister. Over the course of nearly twenty years, they drink, dance, rejoice, and grieve together in a captivating weave of interconnection. Both poignant and joyful, this tribute to found family serves hospitality with a twist of heart in every pour. FEBRUARY 1 – MARCH 20, 2022 DAPHNE’S DIVE By Quiara Alegría Hudes Directed by Paige Hernandez
“There’s an unassailable heart to Hudes’ work – a fierce compassion for the people she creates and an equally ardent love for the ethnically and culturally diverse city that raised her.” – THE GUARDIAN
Daphne’s Dive
she loves me
A romantic, witty and effervescent musical comedy by the creators of Fiddler on the Roof. In a charming 1930s European perfumery, two salesclerks spar endlessly, saving their sweetest words for an anonymous pen pal. Unbeknownst to them, however, their “dear friend” happens to be each other in a joyful, transcendent, and perfectly crafted escapade featuring the treasured songs “Vanilla Ice Cream,” “A Trip to the Library” and the irrepressible title song. MARCH 1 – APRIL 24, 2022 SHE LOVES ME Book by Joe Masteroff Music by Jerry Bock Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick Based on a play by Miklos Laszlo Originally Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince Originally Produced on Broadway by Harold Prince in Association with Lawrence N. Kasha and Philip C. McKenna Original Orchestrations by Don Walker Adapted by Frank Matosich, Jr. Music Directed by Jon Kalbfleisch Choreographed by Kelly Crandall d’Amboise Directed by Matthew Gardiner
“A lingering and deeply satisfying sweetness… for those moments when you sense a song in your heart.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Playwright Chelsea Marcantel (Airness, Everything is Wonderful) channels the unexpected in an ethereal journey of familial love, the limits of cynicism and how to explain the unexplainable. After a serious illness, a young man wakes up with the power to communicate with the dead (or so he believes). Desperate for guidance and to connect with their late father, he and his skeptic sister set out to test his paranormal talent at the Lily Dale Spiritualist community where their discoveries summon more than the afterlife. Signature’s latest Heidi Thomas Writers’ Initiative play is an enlightening tale of an unlikely psychic directed by Holly Twyford. APRIL 26 – JUNE 12, 2022 THE UPSTAIRS DEPARTMENT By Chelsea Marcantel Directed by Holly Twyford
“Her writing is both entertaining and heartbreaking.” – BALTIMORE THEATRE TALK
Sponsored by the Jenna and Paul Segal Foundation SigWorks: The Heidi Thomas Writers’ Initiative, a partnership with the Jenna and Paul Segal Foundation, is a multi-year commitment to present world premieres by female playwrights with female directors
New work at Signature Theatre is sponsored by Dan & Gloria Logan
The Upstairs Department
we wo sleep
on’t ep
A new, innovative musical based on the true story of a proud Montanan who became the first congresswoman in United States history. After a life of public service and suffrage activism, Jeannette Rankin shocks the world when she is elected to Congress in 1916—four years before white women got the right to vote. However, after just a few days in Congress she faces a choice that could destroy her life’s mission. Through invigorating pop music, We Won’t Sleep theatrically disrupts then and now in an exuberant and inspiring experience by America’s most produced playwright Lauren M. Gunderson and singer, composer and activist Ari Afsar (American Idol, Hamilton), that explores the dream of an equal vote for all Americans, a dream that remains unfulfilled even today.
MAY 31 – JULY 3, 2022 WE WON’T SLEEP Music & Lyrics by Ari Afsar Book by Lauren M. Gunderson Choreographed by Yusha-Marie Sorzano Directed by Erin Ortman Produced In Association with Jen Bender
New work at Signature Theatre is sponsored by Dan & Gloria Logan
Felicia Curry (The Scottsboro Boys) stars in the triumphant musical adaptation of the Pulitzer Prizewinning novel of human fortitude, redemption and love directed by Timothy Douglas (Spunk). A teenage Celie is torn from her beloved sister and forced into an abusive marriage. Over the next forty years, while Celie encounters repression, despair and heartbreak, she also discovers hope in a group of friends who inspire her to find her voice, discover her beauty and change her life. Nominated for 11 Tony Awards® and featuring a soaring score of jazz, gospel, blues and ragtime, The Color Purple brilliantly illuminates the lives of Southern Black women in breathtaking scope. AUGUST 16 – OCTOBER 9, 2022 THE COLOR PURPLE Based upon the novel written by Alice Walker and the Warner Bros./ Amblin Entertainment Motion Picture Book by Marsha Norman Music & Lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis & Stephen Bray The Color Purple was produced on Broadway at the Broadway Theater by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman and Quincy Jones. The world premiere of The Color Purple was produced by the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia Music Directed by Mark G. Meadows Choreographed by Dane Figueroa Edidi Directed by Timothy Douglas
“An exuberant celebration of community and female empowerment.” – THE GUARDIAN
The Color Purple
Special Events Signature Seminar: Art as Activism in We Won’t Sleep May 11 – May 29, 2022 $265 | $220 for Friends of Signature $20 per session for students We Won’t Sleep is more than a musical—it’s a mission. Through the historic lens of Jeannette Rankin’s story, the musical’s creators also tell the story of today and the ongoing struggle for equal representation for all Americans. Now go behind-the-scenes in a special five-part seminar to learn more about their revolutionary casting and rehearsal process, their education efforts with The We Won’t Sleep Experience, and how they plan to change the world by changing the theatrical process. Be in the room where history is both being told—and made. SigWorks: Monday Night New Play Reading Series SigWorks: Monday Night New Play Readings is an initiative which highlights and supports the work of DC-area playwrights. This series is an opportunity for playwrights, actors, directors, designers, and patrons to explore new plays in a fun and informal environment. Each reading will be followed by a dialogue with the audience and the artists. Come hear a new play still in development and enjoy food and drink specials from Ali’s Bar. Dates and plays for SigWorks to be announced at a later time. New work at Signature Theatre is sponsored by Dan and Gloria Logan.
Signature in the Schools World Premiere Play January 24, 2022 at 7PM & January 28, 2022 at 8PM, $5 Watch local high school students present a world premiere play written especially for them by a professional playwright that aligns with Arlington Public Schools curriculum, focuses on current events and processes the world through art. See the artists of tomorrow on stage today. Signature in the Schools is sponsored by Amazon and Bonnie Feld.
DECEMBER 2021 – JANUARY 2022 AT THE ANTHEM This exhilarating Broadway-bound musical extends a backstage pass inside the highstakes world of the Korean pop music sensation that’s sweeping the globe. As K-pop superstars put everything on the line for a special one-night-only concert, one singer’s inner struggle threatens to dismantle their entire label. Pulsing with infectious beats, electrifying choreography, and breathtaking joy, this multimedia experience explores the relentless discipline, raw talent and commercial ambition behind the heart-pumping international phenomenon. “A delicious spectacle, expansive, catchy and cunning.” – Vulture “I defy you not to enjoy KPOP.” – Time Out Magazine KPOP, THE BROADWAY MUSICAL Conceived by Woodshed Collective & Jason Kim Book by Jason Kim Music, Lyrics, Music Production & Arrangements by Helen Park Music & Lyrics by Max Vernon Choreographed by Jennifer Weber Directed by Teddy Bergman Produced by Special Arrangement with Tim Forbes and Joey Parnes
KPOP, The Broadway Musical is not included in Signature’s subscription package.
Tickets go on sale at TheAnthemDC.com at a date to be announced.
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Single tickets go on sale in late-September 703 820 9771 | SigTheatre.org
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Thank you to our season partners: Anonymous Amazon Theodore H. Barth Foundation Dottie Bennett and Richard Morton John F. Benton and David W. Briggs Cathy Bernard/Bernard Family Foundation Mike Blank The Boeing Company The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Clark-Winchcole Foundation The Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts Dominion Energy Bonnie Feld Deborah G. Gandy GEICO Frank Guzzetta and Paul Manville Maxine Isaacs/The Max Productions LLC Arlene and Robert Kogod
Michelle S. Lee and Dr. C. Daniel Chou Dan and Gloria Logan Louis Mazawey Meredith Foundation Celie and Tabitha Niehaus Nirschl Orthopaedic Center Craig Pascal and Victor Shargai* The Jean T. Pelham and Heyward G. Pelham Foundation Wesley Pickard and Jeanette Studley Jenna and Paul Segal Share Fund The Ted & Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund David S. Shrager Foundation The Shubert Foundation State Farm Venable Virginia Commission for the Arts *In memoriam
All photos by Christopher Mueller unless otherwise noted. Page 2: Holly Twyford in A Little Night Music, Nova Y. Payton in Blackbeard, Danny Gardner in The Gershwins’® & Ken Ludwig’s Crazy for You by C. Stanley Photography, DeWitt Fleming Jr. in After Midnight; Pages 4 – 5: Pussy Noir; Pages 6 – 7: Yesenia Iglesias, Jalissa Williams, Timothy Andrés Pabon and Chani Wereley; Pages 8 – 9: Chani Wereley; Pages 10 – 11: Matthew Sparacino; Pages 14 – 15: Felicia Curry; Page 16: The Ensemble in A Chorus Line, Phuong Anh Nguyen Le in Signature in the Schools’ Smile Lines by Dennis Deloria; Page 18: Natascia Diaz and Nkrumah Gatling in Grand Hotel by Margot Schulman; Page 19: Sam Bolen in Midnight at The Never Get; Page 20: Phil Young and the Ensemble of A Chorus Line.
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Signature Theatre Maggie Boland Managing Director 4200 Campbell Ave Matthew Gardiner Artistic Director Arlington, VA 22206
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