Colorado Springs organization has a busy lineup ahead

(press release)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 30, 2022) — The Fine Arts Center Theatre Company is pleased to announce its lineup for the 2022–2023 performing arts season.

The FAC will produce a season of diverse and exciting programs including, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” for the holiday season and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical “In the Heights” next spring. The season kicks off in November 2022.

“This season, we are rebuilding and reimagining,” said producing artistic director Pirronne Yousefzadeh. “Our 22–23 programming is born of a spirit of abundance and the foundational principle that every one of us deserves to feel seen, heard, and represented in the stories we tell onstage. The performing arts have a singular way of inspiring empathy and bringing us together; we can’t wait to share space with our community in the diverse experiences we have planned.

The 2022–2023 Season Includes:
“Songs from the Border”
November 3–6, 2022

Featuring the creator and performer of “Where Did We Sit on the Bus?,” “Songs from the Border” is a limited run concert of original music about immigration, identity, and where we belong, starring Satya Chávez and Brian Quijada.

“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play”
December 1–23, 2022

Based on the story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern, Adapted by Joe Landry

Directed by Marisa D. Hebert

See this beloved American holiday classic come to life on stage as a captivating 1940s radio broadcast. With the help of a virtuosic, tight-knit ensemble that embodies a few dozen characters and live foley artistry, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. This holiday season, join us for a story of hope, faith, and the power of community.

“In the Heights”
March 2–April 2, 2023

Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda | Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes | Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh

Lights up on Washington Heights! In this uptown neighborhood of Manhattan on the cusp of change, Usnavi, a young storeowner, witnesses the joys and heartbreaks of his tight-knit community as they pass through his corner bodega. Together, they face difficult choices, the possibility of love and the depth of loss in this vibrant hit Broadway musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of “Hamilton.”

Winner of the 2008 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations.

The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Production of “Where We Belong”
April 13–23, 2023

Written by Madeline Sayet

Directed by Mei Ann Teo

In Association with Folger Shakespeare Library

In 2015, a Mohegan theatre-maker moves to England to pursue a PhD in Shakespeare, grappling with the question of what it means to remain or leave, as the Brexit vote threatens to further disengage the UK from the wider world. Moving between nations that have failed to reckon with their ongoing roles in colonialism, Achokayis finds comfort in the journeys of their Native ancestors who had to cross the ocean in the 1700s to help their people. In this intimate and exhilarating solo piece directed by Mei Ann Teo, Sayet asks us what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world.

The tour of “Where We Belong” received a developmental production at Baltimore Center Stage (Stephanie Ybarra, Artistic Director) in October 2021.