Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) Artistic Directors Tyler Dobrowsky and Taibi Magar recognize the artistry of Philadelphia’s storytellers and 50 years of patronage in the upcoming theatre season entitled ‘PTC: We’re a Philly Thing’. To celebrate the anniversary season, PTC presents a series of plays, events, and readings of, by, and for Philadelphia, honoring the support of its patrons and compelling works and artists brought to the PTC stage over 50 years.
In its 50th Season, PTC is embracing everything Philadelphia, from the culture, neighborhoods, and people who make up this world-class city to the creators of its unique works of art onstage. Sports enthusiasts can enjoy the humor and inventive staging of a new musical commissioned by Daryl Morey. The internationally known composing team, the Lazours, give a voice to Philadelphia’s massive healthcare and caregiver personnel. At the same time, a beloved Philadelphia playwright, Erlina Ortiz, offers audiences a more intimate look at one family’s story of perseverance using humor that warms the soul.
PTC’s 2024-2025 Season
The season begins October 4 with the Philadelphia premiere of the 2022 National Latine Playwrights Award-winning production La Egoista by Dominican-American playwright Erlina Ortiz. Ortiz, a six-time Barrymore Award nominee, Resident Playwright, and Co-Artistic Director at Power Street Theatre, is nationally known for the infusion of heart and heritage in her work. La Egoista, her thrilling combination of stand-up, family bonds, and the cost of healthcare, was first produced by the Actors Theatre of Louisville(Louisville, KY). The story follows sisters Josefina and Betsaida. Josefina, a stand-up comic from Philadelphia, is coming to terms with her mother’s recent death and her sister Betsaida’s sudden illness just as her comedy career is taking off.
The show runs from October 4 to 20.
For its second show of the season, PTC presents the world premiere of Night Side Songs from Feb. 21 to March 9. PTC’s Taibi Magar directs the production with words and lyrics by the Lazours. The soulful musical depicting the intimacy of illness, mortality, and the profound dignity of caregivers will be presented on tour across local Philadelphia hospitals, community centers, and places of worship from February 3 to 16, before its debut at Suzanne Roberts Theatre.
The new musical introduces audiences to Yasmine Holly, a fictional character inspired by interviews with several local doctors, hospital staff, and patients. The 90-minute production features a montage of personal trials offset by the ethereal process of treatment, acceptance, and communication about the one part of life everyone must experience but doesn’t want to talk about.
The final show of the 2024-25 season features the East Coast full-length premiere of Small Ball, presented June 6 to 29 at PTC. The off-beat, sports-themed musical debuted for audiences in 2018 at the Midtown Arts & Theater Center in Houston, Texas, produced by The Catastrophic Theatre. Melancholy journeyman basketball player Michael Jordan (no, not that Michael Jordan) has recently started playing in an international league with the Lilliput Existers – as in Lilliput, from Gulliver’s Travels. With teammates who are only six inches tall, the team’s fortunes and the post-game press conferences rest on Michael’s shoulders.
In addition to PTC’s traditional season of shows, the 2024 McNally Award-winning feature play by theatre artist MK Tuomanen, Night Science, will have its first public reading at Suzanne Roberts Theatre. The script follows two Nobel Prize-winning scientists struggling to complete their life’s work while the natural world — trees, bacteria, even the geological record itself — warns them of inevitable disaster. Will they heed the message before it’s too late? From radioactivity to CRISPR technology, Night Science dives into the feckless hope of scientific discovery, the dangers of trusting others of your own species, and the fact that any beautiful idea can be turned into a weapon. MK Tuomanen’s work bounces from humor to heartbreak to describe an eventful century in humanity’s ridiculous history.
Subscription packages for the 2024-25 Season are now on sale starting at $51. Subscriptions purchased before July 16 will include an additional early bird discount. Single-show tickets will go on sale in September. For subscriptions, tickets, and more details, please visit www.philatheatreco.org or call 215-985-0420.