The Season of Anticipation

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Flat Rock Playhouse announced its 2023 season this week and the intriguing lineup of shows promises something for everyone. This year’s playbills will be full of familiar titles, iconic classics, a regional premiere, an original production by a member of the Playhouse staff, music that runs the gamut from country to Christmas, the first-ever production of Shakespeare on the Playhouse mainstage, and a family show sure to enthrall audiences of all ages.

In short, Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2023 season offers a delightful variety and promises to be one of the most entertaining years in the long and storied history of the Vagabonds Players.

Producing Artistic Director, Lisa Bryant, has been working with her team for several months to put together the 2023 season. There are always anxious days before the announcement of a new season but she has been gratified by the response to the announcement this week. “The amount of feedback we got the day we announced the season was very encouraging,” she explains. “So many people are already telling us that they can’t wait for this season.”

Kim Hinkleman, Major Gifts Officer, anticipates that 2023 will build on the post-pandemic momentum of 2022. “This time last year I remember talking about not knowing if the audience would come back after being closed for two years.  This year feels like we are getting back to normal again.”

Indeed, the State Theater of North Carolina has provided its audience with a number of compelling reasons to return to the historic theater on The Rock.

The initial enthusiasm for the upcoming season can be felt inside the offices of the Playhouse. “I think we are really giving the public what they want to see,” says Marketing Director Christy Souther.  “People want to be entertained and I can promise that you will be entertained in 2023!”

Fellow Vagabond, Adam Goodrum serves as the theater’s Production Manager and looks forward to the challenges for his team in the upcoming season. As a producing theater, Flat Rock Playhouse will build and create every single element audiences will see during performances - from set designs to costumes, from arrangements for the Playhouse musicians to original choreography for the dance numbers - all brought to life by stunning lighting and sound designs created in-house. “There are no big trucks that pull up to our backdoor and unload these productions,” explains Adam, a fact that he and his production teams enjoy. “All these productions will be fun to build in different ways.” He points to the production of Steel Magnolias as a good example. “Any time you have a movie that is presented as a play, it’s fun to figure out how to bring it to the stage.”

For her part, Kim Hinkleman is continually amazed at the quality of theater she’s found here in her adopted home of Henderson County. “When I moved here from Philadelphia and New York I was kind of sad about leaving the theater experience there.” Then she adds with a smile, “Who knew that I would find it right here in the mountains of North Carolina?”

Audiences who loved the lighting and projection design of last season’s West Side Story will be excited to learn that renowned Projection Designer, Patrick W. Lord, will be returning to the Playhouse to work on Cinderella Enchanted in June. He will be coordinating his work with Ben Hamann who is Head of Lighting at the Playhouse and he is - pardon the pun - electrified by the upcoming season. “The Playhouse does incredibly high caliber work and brings amazingly talented actors and theater professionals to Flat Rock.’ And he is very confident of the quality we will all see on the Leiman Main Stage. “It’s going to be some of the best theater that you will see in the southeast. The shows are going to be incredible.”

Lisa Bryant is particularly excited by the wide audience draw of Cinderella Enchanted. “I’m thrilled for Cinderella because of what that will mean for families and all the generations that can come together at the theater and be dazzled by the production.”

Dennis Maulden has worked for nearly 40 years as Scene Designer at the Playhouse - including in 2020 when his hard work creating the set design for A Chorus Line had to be scrapped along with the rest of the 2020 season. His set design for the 2023 presentation of the iconic Broadway hit will be something of a redemption for all concerned. “I think we are fulling a promise from 2020 for a season that everyone was really excited about. People have been waiting and waiting for us to do A Chorus Line.” Although only three years removed from his previous design, Dennis says his designs will be updated to reflect the current state of theater arts and his 2023 collaborators. “The technology is different, the people are different, the director is different. It will be fun to create it again.”

Lisa thinks that A Chorus Line, in particular, will be an opportunity for the Playhouse to put its talents on full display. “We’ve never produced it and it’s a beautiful show,” she says. “I’m directing and I’m really excited to get to New York and find all the amazing, brilliant  actors that will really bring the show to life right here in Flat Rock.”

The Girl on the Train in August will be the premier presentation of the play for the southeast region. Christy Souther thinks that familiarity with the story will intrigue a lot of theater-goers. “The Girl on the Train is a well-known book and movie and now will be on our stage. I can’t wait to see what we do with such a well-known story.“

From a production standpoint, Adam is looking forward to the creative opportunities with the show. “It’s going to be a great cinematastic style show where we go back and forth between the train and an apartment with the use of our slip-stages and projection technology.”

The Music of Dirty Dancing will come to the main stage in September - around the same time as the Lake Lure Dirty Dancing Festival - providing the Playhouse with some opportunities for cross-marketing with the festival. It also has a strong regional connection and Christy believes people will have a special interest in the show.

Lisa is confident that upcoming casting for the season will uncover a parade of exceptional talent across the main stage throughout the year. “I’m proud of our standing in the theater arts community. Actors very much want to work at Flat Rock Playhouse. They appreciate our legacy of quality work and they love to spend time in the mountains.” To that end, Lisa and Matthew Glover, Artistic Associate will spend 10 days in New York City auditioning hundreds of potential performers. “We will be casting for the whole season,” explains Lisa.

The production of Macbeth represents the Playhouse’s second season for their Black Box Series which is presented in the round on the theatre’s mainstage. It will also be the first time that Flat Rock Playhouse will present a work of Shakespeare on the Leiman Mainstage.

The Black Box Series allows every patron to be just feet from the actors and their set and creates a unique theater experience. “The intimacy and novelty of that experience are very exciting,” says Lisa. Ben Hamann is looking forward to the technical challenge of lighting Macbeth in the round. “There’s a lot of creativity and challenge that goes into a production like that. The ghosts, the swordplay, the dramatic moments - it will be interesting to figure out the perfect lighting.”

Slowpoke will be an original work created for the Playhouse by Ethan Anderson who started at the theatre as an apprentice a decade ago and now serves as the Playhouse’s Music Director. Talking to the staff, it quickly becomes clear that they are universally excited to see Ethan’s considerable talents as a writer, composer, and arranger put on full display for Playhouse audiences. “Ethan Anderson is a brilliant, talented man,” says Kim Hinkleman.

Because the show has never been produced, Adam likes the fact that every single element of the production will be completely original to the Playhouse. “We can’t do any research on how anyone else has done it. That’s an interesting challenge.” Christy Souther loves that the show targets a brand new generation of theater-goers. “It will be a cute and fun show perfect for our young audience and their families.”

Indeed, theater education and exposure of the theater arts to children is a critical mission undertaken by Flat Rock Playhouse. In addition to their Studio 52 classes for area young people, last year the Playhouse Junior Touring Program took the theatre’s talents to over 9000 students in four counties in western North Carolina. As Lisa explains, “We are committed to creating opportunities for the next generation of artists to grow and develop and lead the industry forward.

Ring of Fire opens on April 21 and audiences will be treated to a new show every month for the remainder of the year. And the Flat Rock Playhouse is already working diligently to make sure the season will provide its audience with the chance to escape reality for a few hours and reacquaint themselves with the magic that is live theater.

Ben Hamann speaks for his fellow Vagabonds when he states that working at Flat Rock Playhouse is not just his job; it is his passion. “I love being a part of amazing storytelling and being part of a live performance. It’s awesome to be part of shows that are so impactful for so many people.”

Incredibly, all that extraordinary storytelling, all those moments that touch our hearts and souls, all the incredible talented artistry; it all happens right here in the mountains of North Carolina. “People are always surprised that we are as good as Broadway,” says Lisa. And that excellence, in her opinion, is important to all of us. “I think it matters that a community is rich and diversified in all of its offerings, not the least of which is arts excellence. 

The 2023 season kicks off in just under three months. Lisa Bryant and her staff are already shifting into high gear as their creativity and hard work carry them to the inevitable crescendo of breathtaking artistry and theatrical magic that defines the essence of Flat Rock Playhouse.

Are they ready? If the past serves as prologue, they undoubtedly will be. And this author, for one, cannot wait to experience the enchantment anew.

Ticket subscriptions available beginning February 28th. Single tickets go on sale March 8th. Read more about the 2023 season here. Stay updated on everything happening at Flat Rock Playhouse by subscribing to their newsletter here.