On September 21, Theatre Jacksonville opens its 104th consecutive season with The Diary of Anne Frank as its annual “Classic in San Marco” production. This beautifully presented version of the timeless book tackles difficult issues with humor, optimism and immense hope. Anne Frank wrote her diary when her family spent more than two years in hiding from the Nazi regime before being arrested and being sent to Auschwitz in 1944. The play is sponsored by the Together Strong Community Fund.

“The Diary of Anne Frank and its relevant and thought-provoking topics have much to teach us, even though the original book was first published in 1947,” said Theatre Jacksonville Executive Director Sarah Boone. “In our own Jacksonville community, in this country, and throughout the world, there is still great work to do to ensure that all people are loved and accepted. This brilliant play, using the words of precocious 13-year-old Anne herself, demonstrates the best of human nature in the face of extreme conditions.”

Directed by Jason Collins, The Diary of Anne Frank will run from Friday, Sept. 21 through Sunday, Oct 1. In order to accommodate Jewish High Holy Days Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the play will run for two weeks, with two shows offered at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays Sept. 23 and 30. All other evening shows will be at 7:30 p.m., and there will be one Sunday matinee on Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are included with Gold Level All-Access season memberships. Non-member tickets are $31.

A special Holocaust Education Speaker Series, provided by Jewish Family & Community Services, will be presented free of charge before performances at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, Sept 21 and 28 and at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1. The series features stories from Holocaust survivors and first- and second-generation family members, which help deepen our understanding of lessons from the Holocaust that still resonate today.
The regular Mainstage 104th season begins on Nov. 3 and includes:

¨     Just Desserts: A Musical Bake-Off, opening November 3 – Five strangers put their hearts, reputations and baking skills on the line to become the crème de la crème of bakers at a county fair. For some, the bake-off will mean the end of their dreams; for others, it’s a new beginning. Audiences will delight in sharing the personal journeys of each contestant in this sweet and savory musical comedy.

¨     On the Market, opening January 12 – Premiering for the first time due to Theatre Jacksonville’s relationship with talented writer Jason Odell Williams, this modern romantic comedy deals with love, loss, and finding your “forever home.” It follows a former singer, now realtor, struggling with the modern dating scene after two years of being a widow. When she receives a mysterious note from her dead husband telling her it’s time to “move on,” her life is turned upside down.

¨     Alabama Story, opening March 8 – Inspired by true events in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1959, this play contrasts two simultaneous stories. As the Civil Rights movement is brewing, a children’s book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the opposing passions of both a segregationist state senator and a no-nonsense state librarian. At the same time, childhood friends – an African American man and a woman of white privilege – are reunited in adulthood, providing a private counterpart to the public events swirling in the state capital. This production is both thought-provoking and a cautionary tale for the world we are currently living in.

¨     Picasso at the Lapin Agile, opening April 19 – In this absurdist comedy written by Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin), Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso meet in a Parisian café in 1904, just before the Theory of Relativity and Cubism transformed the science and art worlds, respectively. With ridiculously engaging merriment, the two spar with each other and café regulars about art, science, inspiration, love and the promise of the 20th century (even including a visitor time-warped in from a later era).

¨     SHOUT! The Mod Musical, opening June 7 – With its irresistible blend of hip-swiveling hits, far-out fashions and fab dance moves, this groovy musical takes audiences back to the music style and freedom of the 1960s through five gals coming of age during the dawning liberation of women and glorious days that made England swing. With such international favorites as “To Sir With Love,” “Downtown,” “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Goldfinger,” this smash hit is entertaining and downright fun.

The season will also include quarterly presentations of Stories on Stage. Each Stories on Stageproduction, typically held on Sunday evening, features local adult storytellers presenting stories around a certain theme.

Ticket packages are available at three levels:
·      Gold All-Access Memberships include the entire Theatre Jacksonville season, including Mainstage productions, the Classic in San Marco, Stories on Stage and all Extra productions.
·      Silver Season Subscriptions include tickets to the five Mainstage productions. Tickets will be extra for the Classic in San Marco and other special productions.
·      Bronze single tickets are offered on a show-by-show basis and will be $31 each.

For more information about the 104th season lineup, ticket packages, or The Diary of Anne Frank, visitwww.theatrejax.com.