2023 Season
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We are thrilled to announce Chance Theater’s 25th Anniversary Season — another compelling collection of contemporary theater, including the landmark musical, Rent, two world premieres, an underground hit musical, and a Tony Award-winning mystery with an unexpected detective.
Included in your Subscribing Membership
Our 2023 Main Series
As well as our Holiday Shows The Secret Garden, The Musical and Fancy Nancy, Splendiferous Christmas, TYA Family Series production of Fancy Nancy, The Musical, and New Play Readings by our Resident Playwright Keiko Green, along with Jake Anthony, Jonathan Josephson, Laurel Ollstein, and Adam Szymkowicz.
See below for more details about all of the upcoming shows in 2023.
MAIN SERIES of exciting plays and musicals
2023 Season Producers
Bette & Wylie Aitken
2023 Associate Season Producers
The Family of Mary Kay Fyda-Mar
Ride The Cyclone
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell
Directed by Jocelyn A. Brown
Music Direction by Lex Leigh
Choreographed by Miguel Cardenas
January 27 – February 26, 2023
» California Premiere
Strap yourself in for a bracingly funny, supremely inventive musical journey with more twists and turns than the rickety rollercoaster that sends six teenagers prematurely into the afterlife. Now trapped in a fantastical carnival-like purgatory, a mechanical fortune teller invites the teens to tell their stories of life interrupted with the promise of a prize like no other – the chance to return to life. Already being lauded as a contemporary musical masterpiece, this quirky, smart, and darkly hilarious show reveals the resilience of the human spirit with a riveting score that skillfully mixes cabaret, hip-hop, and Broadway.
NOTE: This show contains strong language and mature themes.
Colonialism is Terrible, But Phở is Delicious
by Dustin H. Chinn
Directed by Oánh Nguyễn
March 31 – April 30, 2023
» World Premiere
This biting comedy spans centuries, continents, and cultures in a compelling three-part vignette structure. Beginning in 1880s French Indochina, a headstrong Vietnamese cook finds herself in the kitchen of aristocratic French settlers. Then in 1999 Vietnam, American tourists get their first taste of the local cuisine. Finally, in present-day, gentrifying Brooklyn, the simmering clash around culture, ownership, and authenticity comes to a roaring boil.
Matinicus: The Story of Abigail Burgess
by Jenny Connell Davis
Directed by Katie Chidester
May 5 – June 4, 2023
» World Premiere of a Chance Theater-commissioned play
Based on the true story of Abigail Burgess, a young lighthouse keeper’s daughter, living on a rock 25 miles off the coast of Maine, this is a one-woman play filled with humor and heroism, about keeping the lights on at any cost. Jenny Connell Davis was commissioned by Chance Theater to write this powerful one-person show as part of the OTR New Works program.
Rent
Music, Book, and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Directed by Matthew McCray
Music Directed by Lex Leigh
Choreographed by Mo Goodfellow
July 21 – August 20, 2023
» Pulitzer Prize Winner
Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent is a pop cultural phenomenon, with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages. Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, the musical follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. This is theatre at its best – exuberant, passionate and joyous.
NOTE: This show contains mature content and strong language.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
A play by Simon Stephens
Based on the novel by Mark Haddon
Directed by Darryl B. Hovis
September 22 – October 22, 2023
» Winner of 5 Tony Awards, including Best Play
Fifteen-year-old math whiz Christopher Boone lives with his divorced dad in Swinton, a working-class town west of London. After being falsely accused of killing a neighbor’s dog, Christopher—who is brilliant but has difficulty dealing with the sounds and stresses of everyday life—decides to investigate the crime. The secrets he unearths prompt him to leave his trusted teacher and the familiar streets of his hometown for a life-changing train trip to London. Based on Mark Haddon’s best-selling 2003 novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a thrilling and heartwarming adventure story featuring an unforgettable young hero.
NEW PLAY READING SERIES
Exotic Deadly: Or The MSG Play
by 2023 Resident Playwright Keiko Green
February 22, 2023
» Staged Reading of a New Play
This family-friendly comedic adventure takes us on a time-traveling journey with Ami, an awkward Japanese American high school girl, whose world comes crashing down with a terrible discovery: her family is responsible for manufacturing MSG. Ami vows to save the world and realizes what she’s capable of… if she would just stop being invisible.
Cheese, The Musical
by Laurel Ollstein and Jake Anthony
April 19, 2023
» Staged Reading of a New Musical
In the Spring, we will feature a staged singing of the new musical Cheese, adapted from the critically acclaimed and darkly comedic play by Laurel Ollstein. Together with composer Jake Anthony, Laurel is revisiting Tillamook Oregon in this story about grief, choice, and yes, cheese.
The Bed Trick
by Keiko Green
August 23 & 26, 2023
» Workshop of a new play by our 2023 Resident Playwright
College freshmen Lulu and Marianne test their limits as they party through the school year, in search of their place in the world. Marianne, newly eighteen, just learned that her parents’ origin story may not have been quite as romantic as she thought. Meanwhile, Lulu tries to reignite a spark with her boyfriend of ten years, who she just found out has a secret online dating profile. When the two girls’ drama-nerd-roommate Harriet brings in baggage from a student production of All’s Well That Ends Well, the thematic ideas of consent and manipulation start to seep into their lives.
A New Play by Jonathan Josephson
September 20, 2023
» A brand new play by our previous Literary Manager
This play is so new, we don’t even have a synopsis for it yet. Stay tuned to find out what Chance Theater’s former Literary Manager, Jonathan “JJ” Josephson has in store for us!
Such Small Hands
by Adam Szymkowicz
October 11, 2023
» Staged Reading of a New Play by our 2011 Resident Playwright
In the Fall, our first Resident Playwright, Adam Szymkowicz will be joining us to present a staged reading of his newest play — a powerful and moving two-person play about growing older, saying goodbye, memory, and love.
HOLIDAY SERIES
The Secret Garden – The Musical
Book & Lyrics by Marsha Norman
Music by Lucy Simon
Directed by Casey Long & KC Wilkerson
Choreography by Robert Hahn
November 24 – December 23, 2023
» Back by popular demand
Based on the popular children’s book of the same name, The Secret Garden follows the story of Mary Lennox, a young British girl born and raised in Colonial India. When the 11-year-old’s parents die in a cholera outbreak, she is sent to Yorkshire to live with a reclusive uncle, his invalid son — and a host of ghosts, spirits, and lost souls inhabiting Mary’s new home. With the help of the spirits, Mary and a young gardener uncover the mystery of the manor’s magical garden, bringing life to the neglected estate as Mary’s own personality blossoms alongside the flowers. Filled with amazing music, elegant choreography, and a heartwarming story of forgiveness and renewal, The Secret Garden is the quintessential holiday musical for all ages.
Fancy Nancy, Splendiferous Christmas
December 1-23, 2023
» A Holiday Musical for the Whole Family Returns!
Presents with elegant wrapping paper, festive decorations, Christmas cookies with sprinkles – and who could forget the tree? After all, there is no such thing as too much tinsel. Ooh, la la! This year, Nancy is especially excited. After selling some of her old gowns and accessories, she has enough money to buy a brand-new sparkly tree topper. She simply cannot wait to decorate the Christmas tree. But when things don’t turn out the way Nancy planned, does Christmas still stand a chance of being splendiferous?
TYA FAMILY SERIES
Fancy Nancy, The Musical
Book & Lyrics by Susan DiLallo
Music by Danny Abosch
Based on the popular “Fancy Nancy” books by Jane O’Connor
and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser
Directed by Nicole Schlitt
Music Directed by Robyn Manion
May 26 – June 17, 2023
» Encore Presentation
This TYA favorite returns to the Chance for the sixth time. Bring the family and watch as Fancy Nancy and her friends Bree, Rhonda, Wanda, and Lionel get ready to perform in their very first show, “Deep Sea Dances.” Nancy is positive, that’s fancy for 100 percent sure, that she and Bree will be picked to be mermaids. When another girl wins the coveted role of the mermaid, Nancy is stuck playing a dreary, dull tree. Can Nancy bring fancy flair to her role, even though it isn’t the one she wanted?
Bette & Wylie Aitken
Dear Friends,
We cannot say how excited we are for another season of live theater. Before we get started, we really want to thank the unsung heroes… the Chance Company Members themselves. When this pandemic hit, Chance Theater was on an unbelievable roll – receiving awards and recognition from across Southern California. After the world shut down, the Chance impressed us with how they rallied — creating virtual shows, holding free Zoom conversations with audiences about online shows, bringing Broadway shows into our homes with lively post-discussions, moving their education outreach programs to an online platform, all while the staff sacrificed by taking cuts in their salaries and simultaneously taking on additional responsibilities.
It’s unbelievable to think that this great theater is now finally going to return to where it belongs – as a great theater in Southern California. No longer “the hidden gem.” Chance Theater is the gem.
Space does not allow us to acknowledge the amazing contributions of so many but you know who you are and you know you are loved. We often get more recognition than we deserve, but let us assure you that we receive more then we give.
So if you love the Chance as much as we do – go forth and tell the story, shouting it out from every rooftop. Your love and support will move the Chance mountain.
We look forward to seeing you soon! And all the new family members we recruit!