Executive Artistic Director Adam Karsten has announced CVRep’s 2023-2024 Season: five sensational productions new to CVRep, World and West Coast premieres, and multi-Tony® Award winning shows. The season includes the West Coast premiere of a daring new vision of THE FANTASTICKS; the World Premiere of SUMMER SESSION WITH THE BONES BRIGADE, the first play developed through CVRep’s Origins: New Works Program; the haunting 1998 version of CABARET; a comedy blast direct from Broadway – POTUS: OR BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE; and the ever-wonderful, always marvelous NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT by George and Ira Gershwin.
Karsten said, “Our 23/24 Season is going to be a great adventure. The shows represent everything we want to offer Coachella Valley audiences: fun, irresistible classics, familiar works examined for new insights and relevance, plus all new works that reflect the interests and ideas in our world today. I am so grateful to CVRep’s family of donors and sponsors who make it possible for us to produce the quality productions that our community has grown to expect of us and deserve.”
Subscribers may renew their current season tickets starting July 1. New subscriptions go on sale August 1. Ordering may be accomplished online at www.cvrep.org, by calling (760) 296-2966, ext. 201, or at the CVRep box office located at 68510 East Palm Canyon Dr., Cathedral City. Box office hours are noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday. It is currently closed on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. In order to better serve audiences, patrons requesting accessibility assistance are encouraged to speak to a ticket representative while purchasing their season subscriptions.
THE FANTASTICKS (reimagined) │ West Coast Premiere
Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Dates: November 1 – 12, 2023 (Preview/press performances – November 2 at 2 & 7 p.m.)
“It would surprise no one if this version became the preferred version to do from here on out.” – David Kiley, ENCORE, Michigan
This bold new reimagining of THE FANTASTICKS has only been seen once before and is bound for Broadway following its exclusive West Coast premiere at CV Rep. The Fantasticks is a theatrical phenomenon: it is the longest running musical in the history of the American stage and one of the world’s most loved and produced works ever. This inspired new setting of The Fantasticks is a collaboration between Tom Jones and Michigan’s Flint Repertory Theatre and remains true to the show’s soul. In an interview with Playbill’s Andrew Gans, Jones said, “Rethinking the show through the lens of two young gay men reveals so much about first love, identity, and self-discovery.” All of the original songs remain, including “Try to Remember,” “Much More,” and “Soon It ‘s Gonna Rain.” It’s fun, beautiful and deeply touching.
SUMMER SESSIONS WITH THE BONES BRIGADE │ World Premiere
Selected from the CVRep 2023 ORIGINS: NEW WORKS PROJECT
By Kirby Fields
Dates: December 6 – 17, 2023 (Preview/press performances – December 7 at 2 & 7 p.m.)
Coachella Valley Repertory presents the World Premiere of the first work selected from the company’s new works development project, ORIGINS. SUMMER SESSION WITH THE BONES BRIGADE was written by writer/playwright Kirby Fields, artistic director of University of Pennsylvania Theater Company and Up Theatre company in Manhattan. . His plays and films have been produced and developed in theaters and festivals across the country. His short fiction can be found online at Arch Street Press, The Write Launch, and Light and Dark Magazine.
Summer Session With The Bones Brigade explores universal themes such as the often painful process of passing from teen to adult, evolving friendships, and trying to make sense of inexplicable change and loss. Set in the Mid-West during the summer of 1988, the play relates the story of four teenagers with dreams of becoming competitive skateboarders and their two female friends. When one of them mysteriously disappears, the gang fears the worst and directs their guilt and shame against one another.
CABARET (1998 VERSION)│CVRep Premiere
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Dates: January 24 – February 4, 2024 (Preview/press performances – January 25 at 2 & 7 p.m.)
“We revive pieces of theater not to go back, but to present something pertinent to the world we live in.” –
John Kander
In an immersive, one-of-a-kind production, you will step off the street and into a world you could only imagine. From the minute you enter CVRep, you will be transported to a wild nightlife; a dangerous time in an unstable country; and take a journey unlike any you’ve risked before. What would you do? Cabaret is the musical that asks just that. Join CVRep as they present this show like it has never been done before and be swept away in the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical by the legendary American songwriting team, Kander and Ebb.
POTUS: OR BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN
TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE │CVRep Premiere
By Selina Filinger
Dates: February 28 – March 10, 2024 (Preview/press performances – February 29 at 2 & 7 p.m.)
“The likelihood that you will laugh until your face hurts is one of near certainty.” – Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly
A first rate, modern day political farce fresh from Broadway and just in time for election season! Just another day in the Oval Office, the vortex of world order: Chief of Staff Harriet and Press Secretary Jean are trying to minimize the damage after the President called his wife an unprintable name in front of foreign diplomats and the press. Unexpected visitors include the President’s pregnant mistress, his convicted felon sister, and a seasoned reporter with the proverbial nose for news. The press has called Potus “The Women meets House of Cards.” It was nominated for three Tonys and three Drama League awards. With political posturing, arrogant men, and the women who keep things running behind the scenes, Potus is great contemporary fun. “A Rollicking New Broadway Farce About the Women Behind the Idiot in the White House” (Variety headline).
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT │ CVRep Premiere
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Music by George Gershwin
Book by Joe DiPietro
Dates: April 10 – 21, 2024 (Preview/press performances – April 11 at 2 & 7 p.m.)
“ … a rowdy, dopey-smart, dance-driven screwball comedy that never shies from the extravagant edge of clunky silliness.” – Newsday
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT will be the biggest production ever mounted on the CVRep stage. A classic Broadway blockbuster filled with actors, singers, dancers and beloved Gershwin tunes, including “Sweet and Lowdown,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “S’Wonderful,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Lady Be Good,” “I’ve Got to Be There,” and many more. Nice Work If You Can Get It is a classic family, endlessly entertaining show boasting 10 Tony nominations and two wins. Get ready for the climactic grand finale to CVRep’s 2023-2024 Season. It’s s’wonderful!!
