Santa Fe Playhouse is at 142 E. De Vargas St. in Santa Fe. Courtesy photo
SANTA FE PLAYHOUSE News:
SANTA FE — Since 1922, the Santa Fe Playhouse has been a haven for local actors and theater lovers who come together in the spirit of creative engagement and artistic excellence.
Celebratory centennial events are planned throughout 2022, and the exciting mainstage season begins Saturday, March 12, with The Effect, written by Lucy Prebble and directed by Robyn Rikoon.
The 2022 season offers audiences several different types of theater, with plays curated around the theme of “changing shape”.
Artistic Director Robyn Rikoon says “The word ‘theatre’ comes from the Greek ‘theatron’ — literally ‘seeing place’. When choosing the season, we kept this in the forefront of our minds. We all will have the opportunity to see ourselves in many different shapes on the Playhouse stage this year.”
Rikoon joined the Playhouse a few months before the pandemic shuttered live theater in March 2020. Her choices for the season reflect what the world has gone through during the past two years, from medical terror, to psychological upheaval, to reckoning with racism and social justice.
“Coming out of this pandemic, we need to be kind to one another. We need to see everybody for the full humans that we are,” she said. “We not only have to redefine what ‘normal’ means, but we have to open ourselves up to the possibility that there is no ‘normal.’ These plays remind us that life is messy and undefined no matter who we are, or what control we think we have. It is up to us to choose how to respond.”
Season subscriptions and tickets for the first show went on sale today.
Santa Fe Playhouse mainstage productions are presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Opening night is held the first Saturday, preceded by two nights of preview performances. Matinees begin the second performance weekend.
Productions and performance dates are listed below.
Ticket prices for mainstage Playhouse productions are $75 for premium reserved seating; $50 for reserved seating; $30 for general admission; $27 for seniors; and $15 for students. For tickets, go to santafeplayhouse.org or call 505.988.4262. Santa Fe Playhouse is at 142 E. De Vargas St.
THE EFFECT written by Lucy Prebble, directed by Robyn Rikoon
Saturday, March 12–Sunday, April 3
Connie and Tristan meet at a medical drug trial and their chemistry is immediately palpable — but is it real, or a side-effect of a new antidepressant? In this dark, pill-popping comedy, the pair’s illicit romance forces the supervising doctors to confront the ethical consequences of their work and their personal life decisions. The action moves quickly and takes place in multiple settings; boundaries blur, and time and space distort.
Edward Albee’s A DELICATE BALANCE directed by L. Zane Jones
Saturday, April 23–Sunday, May 15
Agnes and Tobias seem like an average upper-middle-class couple, though their empty-nest lifestyle is strained by their permanent houseguest, Agnes’ alcoholic sister, Claire. The cracks in the facade widen when their “best friends,” Harry and Edna, show up to stay, claiming some unnamed terror lurking in their own home, on the same night their 30-something daughter flees her fourth marriage. Multimedia and other contemporary stylistic elements will push the form of this classic kitchen-sink drama in ways Albee never could have imagined.
EVERYBODY written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (director TBD)
Saturday, June 18–Sunday, July 10
In this 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist, characters are moral concepts and states of being (or non-being), including Kinship, Evil, Strength, Beauty, Understanding, and Time. Everybody is adapted from the 15th-century morality play Everyman, one of the first recorded plays in the English language, which used allegory to examine how man attains Christian salvation. In Jacobs-Jenkins’ highly comedic version, the audience gets into the game. To make matters more confusing, actors memorize all the parts and roles shift for each performance.
SKELETAL SERIES
Wednesday, July 20–Saturday, Aug. 13 – Subject to change; exact dates TBA
Solo shows by local and national playwrights and performers.
SANTA FE FIESTA MELODRAMA written by courageous, anonymous locals, directed by Andrew Primm and Eliot Fisher
Saturday, Aug. 27–Sunday, Sept. 4: Santa Fe Playhouse
Thursday, Sept 8–Sunday, Sept 18: local tour, TBA
Santa Fe Playhouse has been skewering and roasting the City Different for 100 years. Politicians, public-school policy, police, and the press are all fair game, as are cherished local traditions. Our centennial offering will be extra-special, complete with keepsakes and memorabilia.
THE MOUNTAINTOP written by Katori Hall, director TBD
Saturday, Sept. 24–Sunday, Oct. 16
The night before his 1968 assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. retires to the Lorraine Hotel after delivering his last impassioned speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”. He flirts with a comely room-service maid, whose agenda is greater than a simple meal. As their conversation deepens, true intentions come to light in a story about racism and justice, the divergent paths of legacy, and how a great man is also a human being. Although it is structured like a traditional play, The Mountaintop is steeped in magical realism and symbolism.
AN ILIAD written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, performed by Patrick Osteen
Thursday, Oct. 27–Saturday, Nov. 12: local bar tour TBA
Homer’s epic, borne on the backs of gods and warriors, dismantled and reconstructed by modern playwrights and actors. In this co-production between Santa Fe Playhouse and North Carolina’s RhinoLeap Productions, a world-weary poet tells a wrenching, timeless tale of the Trojan War, of bravery and blood and the heat of battle.
A YEAR WITH FROG & TOAD written by Robert and Willie Reale, directed by Rob Lutfy and Robyn Rikoon
Saturday, Dec. 3–Sunday, Dec. 25
Literature’s favorite amphibians jump from the page to the stage in this beloved musical production for young audiences. Based on Arnold Lobel’s well-loved books, A Year with Frog and Toad is a whimsical holiday show that follows two great friends — the cheerful, beloved Frog and the rather grumpy Toad — through four fun-filled seasons. Celebrate the holidays with this heartwarming classic, perfect for the whole family.
SWAIA PERFORMANCES
Two iconic Santa Fe non-profit organizations come together to showcase local, regional, and national indigenous performing talent on the historic stage of the Santa Fe Playhouse. Curated by Goiyo Perez for SWAIA, in collaboration with Santa Fe Playhouse’s artistic director, Robyn Rikoon, these installations feature musicians, dancers, poets, and other performing artists, as well as visual artists and other Indigenous artisans.
SWAIA Performances are at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the dates listed below. Ticket prices for SWAIA Performances are $20 for general admission; $18 for seniors, and $10 for students.
Friday, Feb. 11: Ria Thundercloud
Thundercloud (Ho-Chunk Nation, Sandia Pueblo) tells stories of indigenous womanhood and survival through contemporary and traditional dance and movement. She is classically trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and tap. She also dances traditionally in Ho-chunk and Sandia Pueblo styles, including jingle, fancy shawl, and applique. Thundercloud has trained with Dancing Earth Creations, Raven Spirit Dance, Spirit Wind Dance, and Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, and she has performed in New York, New Mexico, the Czech Republic, Canada, Russia, New Zealand, and Canada. She is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts, where she majored in Indigenous liberal studies.
Additional dates (performers TBA):
- Wednesday, March 23 Larry Yazzie, actor and fancy dancer
- Wednesday, May 11
- Wednesday, June 22
- Wednesday, July 20
- Wednesday, Aug. 31
- Wednesday, Oct. 12
- Friday, Nov. 11
COVID safety precautions: Guests are required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test results from within 24 hours of attending a production. Face masks are required for everyone entering the building, regardless of vaccine status. Complimentary masks are available in the box office. For more information about their COVID safety protocols, visit santafeplayhouse.org/safety-
About Santa Fe Playhouse:
The mission of Santa Fe Playhouse is to connect the artist with the audience. Through these interactions, the Playhouse engages in dialogue to examine, uplift, challenge, and heal through the visceral art of performance and storytelling. With its vision of making great theater, Santa Fe Playhouse’s professional standards and celebration of local diverse cultures act as a catalyst, broadening their national recognition as a live arts destination.
