Cynthia Collins said she loves the variety of the Actors Theatre of Indiana’s 2022-23 season, which was announced April 18.
“A season should have something for everyone,” said Collins, who co-founded ATI with Don Farrell and Judy Fitzgerald. “Everyone thinks differently and this season attributes to that.”
The season opens with “Nunsense” Sept. 9, which runs through Oct. 2. It is followed by “Violet’ Oct. 28 to Nov. 20, “The Mountaintop” Feb. 3 to 19, 2023 and “Mr. Confidential” April 28 to May 21, 2023. Those shows will be at the Studio Theater in the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. “Together, I believe we have come up with a season that will appeal to everyone,” Farrell said. “’Nunsense’ is a tried and true, irreverent musical comedy that’s been successful for decades, a hilarious spoof about the misadventures of five nuns trying to manage a fundraiser. ‘Violet’ is a poignant and touching musical about beauty, love, courage and what it means to be an outsider. ‘The Mountaintop’ is a fictional retelling of how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent his last night on Earth before his tragic assassination. ‘Mr. Confidential’ is our very first full-scale musical world premiere, a swinging, sexy musical based on real people and occurrences that happened in (the 1950s) when Bob Harrison practically invented modern celebrity journalism with his infamous Confidential magazine allowing the public a peek into the bedrooms and boardrooms of the rich, famous and powerful.”
ATI presented ‘Nunsense’ in 2010, prior to the completion of the Center for the Performing Arts.
“Presenting it in the Studio Theater will be a perfect fit for the show,” Collins said. “It was originally presented this way in a smaller space off-Broadway. I have done four productions of ‘Nunsense.’ Each one has been a joy (and) habit forming.”
“Mr. Confidential” was presented as an ATI LAB series reading earlier this year.
“This is the whole reason for our LAB series, to move a project to our Main Stage,” Collins said. “This show was highly developed going into the reading, so that definitely helped.”
Farrell said ATI knew it had great music and very interesting stories about real people and events.
“By bringing it into our ATI Theatre LAB, our goal was to learn what changes needed to be made and how well it would resonate with our patrons,” he said. “We were very pleasantly encouraged by the results of both and are thrilled to bring this new, fresh musical to life with plenty of cheeky humor, innuendo and truth.”
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