This Wednesday, August 10th, Urbanite Theatre announced their 2022-23 season slate. The season is comprised of four mainstage productions (The Burdens, Birds Of North America, Backwards Forwards Back, and That Must Be The Entrance To Heaven) as well as two special engagements (Mr. Yunioshi and the 2023 Modern Works Festival). The season is titled Heredity, as the four mainstage productions interrogate the conception of family and heritage.

“We ever go into a season trying to set a theme then find the plays. We start seeing what themes emerge when we get to a short list of the plays we want to do. What we realized is that in several of these plays that we were looking at, family ties were the thing that was driving much of the action,” says Brendan Ragan, Co-Artistic Director of Urbanite Theatre.

While the four mainstage productions couldn’t be more different in terms of theatrical style or genre of show - the list includes comedies, dramas and even a tragedy - the one connecting theme that runs through all of them are the different facets of familial relationships. It’s a concept that feels very apt in a post pandemic lockdown world.

“When I started thinking about what kind of theater does Sarasota need right now, I just felt like challenges inside the family are something that are so very relatable. Given everything that we’ve been through, I feel like family units have really been damaged. Some of that is political, some of that is social, but people can relate to the fact that their family has been a cause of challenge, humor, or triumph and managing to forge bonds through these challenges feels really rewarding,” says Ragan. “I think that we’re far enough away from certain things that it’s allowing many families to heal - it’s a perfect year to further all of that.”

Urbanite Theatre, 1487 2nd St, Sarasota, Box Office: 941-321-1397.

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