PURE Theatre Charleston Announces Season 22 Lineup – It is poised to be a “Season of Delight”

PURE Theatre Announces Season 22: A Season of Delight

Charleston, SC (April 26, 2024) – PURE Theatre is proud to announce Season 22: A Season of Delight. The season begins in September, with five productions including a World Premiere musical and two regional premieres. Performances in the 2024–2025 season will take place at the Cannon Street Arts Center and virtually through PURE Live, the company’s live-streaming program (subject to rights availability). 

“Sometimes, we all just want to smile. We want reasons to laugh and to be joyful, especially living in the world today, and that’s what Season 22 is all about,” says PURE Theatre Artistic and Executive Director, Sharon Graci. “Each of the five plays in our upcoming season has the unique ability to spark laughter and ignite delight, while also fulfilling our promise to always leave you with something to talk about. Whether we’re studying birds in a biosphere in Papua New Guinea, on a boat in the middle of the ocean making one of the world’s most iconic films, or following the crimes of a supervillain in a modern imagining of Sherlock Holmes, we’ll always find something to learn about ourselves – and we’ll have fun along the way!”

Season 22 kicks off in Fall 2024 with the South Carolina Premiere of Fat Ham by James Ijames. When the ghost of his father shows up in the backyard demanding revenge for his murder, it feels like a familiar story to Juicy, a queer Southern college kid who is well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. Against the backdrop of an uproarious family barbecue, Fat Ham is a delectably modern reinvention of a classic recipe seasoned to perfection.

Following Fat Ham is The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown. First produced at PURE 15 years ago, this freshly reimagined staging showcases his and hers vocal powerhouses accompanying each other in a passionate and intimate take on one of contemporary theatre’s most beloved musicals. 

Winter 2025 will feature the Southeast Regional Premiere of The Shark is Broken by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon. It’s 1974, and filming of the future megahit Jaws is delayed…again. As Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss suffer at the hands of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star, alcohol flows, egos collide, and tempers flare on a chaotic voyage that just might lead to cinematic magic—if it doesn’t sink them all. 

Spring 2025 ushers in the Southeast Regional Premiere of Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B by Kate Hamill. Oddball female roommates Sherlock Holmes & Joan Watson join forces to emerge from pandemic fog as a deeply codependent, quasi-dysfunctional adventure duo—solving mysteries and kicking butts until they come face to face with a villain who seems to have all of the answers. A darkly comic modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth and sidekick, this fast-paced romp reexamines the world’s most famous detective story with a bold new feminist lens.

Season 22 will conclude with the World Premiere of Pleasure Never Lies, a new musical by Brad Moranz, Marshall Hagins, and Noah Brody. Dr. Samantha Williams is a brilliant but slightly insecure ornithologist…and let’s face it, who wouldn’t be, with radical, slightly feminist ideas about evolution bubbling up in one’s head? Ideas like the pursuit of pleasure (gasp!) is the second great engine of evolution! What if “survival of the fittest” is only half the story? Sam along with a ragtag group of bird scientists struggle to prove their theories on love, life, and evolution from deep within the jungles of Papua New Guinea in this quirky and clever world premiere musical from Broadway veterans Marshall Hagins, Noah Brody (Fiasco Theater), and Charleston’s own Brad Moranz. 

PURE Theatre’s Season 22 Flex Pass is on sale now and includes five flexible tickets for the mainstage season, concierge ticketing services, first invitations to all PURE events, and discounts on additional ticket purchases. The Flex Pass also includes access to PURE’s Dining Benefits Program in partnership with the Charleston Arts Festival, giving you discounts and specials at your favorite local restaurants throughout the season. Current and retired K-12 educators can receive a special discount on their Flex Pass by contacting PURE.

Patrons and ticket buyers should visit PURE Theatre’s website at puretheatre.org for additional information on Season 22. Information on purchasing season passes as well as individual tickets is also available on PURE’s website, social media platforms, and via PURE Theatre’s box office at 843-723-4444, Monday-Friday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. 

ABOUT PURE THEATRE

PURE Theatre is a professional regional theatre in Charleston that creates consequential theatre experiences by and for a diverse gathering of artists and audiences. PURE produces work that inspires thought, ignites dialogue, heightens consciousness, and contributes to our community’s urgent exchange of ideas, viewpoints, aspirations, and inspirations.

PURE’s staff includes Sharon Graci (Co-founder and Artistic Director), Rodney Lee Rogers (Co-founder and Director of New Media and Education), David Mandel (Associate Artistic Director), Joy Vandervort-Cobb (Associate Artistic Director), Richard Heffner (Technical Director), Shivam Patel (Education and New Media Associate), Meagan McMahon (Patron Experience and Marketing Manager), and Tippy Trombly (Patron Experience Associate). 

Michael Culler (President), Peter Calcagno (Treasurer), Chris Burgess (Secretary), Amy Gaffney, Bridget Durkan Laird, Liza Elsner, David Smalls, Brad Erickson, Stephanie Hunt, and Drew Childers serve on PURE Theatre’s board of directors.