American Players Theatre's 2027 season leaps forward and looks back

Lindsay Christians, The Cap Times

A Shakespearean comedy of mixed-up twins, the stormy drama of “The Tempest,” a reimagining of “Hamlet” at a Carolina cookout and a memory play set among a 1970 consciousness-raising women’s group mark American Players Theatre’s 2027 season.

The Tony Award-winning classical repertory theater in Spring Green announced its upcoming season this week, including a few casting choices for core acting company members.

Tracy Michelle Arnold will play the titular madam in George Bernard Shaw’s “Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” with Phoebe González as her strong-willed daughter, Vivie. Gavin Lawrence will play the murdered father (Pap) and villainous uncle (Rev) in James Ijames’ 2021 “Hamlet” retelling, “Fat Ham.”

Laura Rook (the princess in this season’s “Sueño”) will play an “air hostess” in the 1960s French farce “Boeing Boeing,” as well as direct “The Tempest.” Jim DeVita is set to play the marooned magician Prospero.
“I’m so thrilled at the breadth of work we’re doing,” said artistic director Brenda DeVita, who is set to leave leadership of the company in 2029. “It feels connected to who we are and to our core company of actors. To really revel in their growth as artists is at the forefront of the season.”

APT’s summer season typically opens in early June and runs in repertory through early October. Five plays will play the open-air Hill Theatre, which seats about 1,100. Three plays rotate in the indoor Touchstone Theatre, which seats 200.

A single “shoulder season” play — this fall, it’s Jen Silverman’s “Witch,” opening in previews Oct. 22 — runs in the Touchstone for about a month after the main season closes.

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