Contemporary Theatre of Ohio announces 2024-25 season lineup
Gearing up for its 40th anniversary, The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio will present musicals and plays next season about self-discovery and community.
“It’s so exciting to mark this year celebrating where this theater company came from and how much it’s grown,” Artistic Director Leda Hoffmann said.
Special events to reflect The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio troupe’s evolving brand
To honor the anniversary, Hoffmann said theater leaders and board members are planning a variety of special events that will take place throughout the 2024-2025 season, including a major community gathering and fundraising events to be announced.
“Our 40th anniversary shows the commitment to theater in this city and the support we’ve received for so long,” Hoffmann said.
Founded in 1985 as Contemporary American Theatre Company (nicknamed CATCO), the professional Equity theater company renamed itself last year.
“With our new name, we’ve moved forward and are connecting with new folks who didn’t know what CATCO was... People better understand what they can expect when they come to The Contemporary,” Hoffmann said.
How the next season of Contemporary Theatre of Ohio fits together
The company’s 2024-2025 lineup will include four season-subscription productions, plus a Theatre for Young Audiences play (to be announced for a January or February run) and a holiday encore of “A Christmas Carol.”
“Like all our work in every season, we pick plays and tell stories that are relevant to the current moment and building a community of empathy,” Hoffmann said.
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The four main productions offer themes about people “going through self-discovery, trying to figure out who they are and their relationship to their families and communities,” she said.
Her hope is that next season inspires people to think about their own relationships to family and community, Hoffmann said.
“This is a great moment to honor our past, look to the future and connect with people who’ve loved this theater for a long time,” Hoffmann said.
Epic musical launches The Contemporary fall season
All 2024-2025 shows will run in the Riffe Center’s Studio One or Two theatres, 77 S. High St.
? “Big Fish” (Sept. 12-29, Studio One): The Broadway musical fable with a score by composer-lyricist Andrew Lippa is based on Tim Burton’s fantastical film and David Wallace’s mythic novel about a skeptical son’s struggle to reconcile with his tall-tale-weaving father.
“What we do well is really theatrical storytelling... something as epic as ‘Bigh Fish’ is a thrilling way to jump into our 40th-anniversary celebration. We’re also excited to celebrate Lippa, an artist who lives in our community,” Hoffmann said.
? (Oct. 31 to Nov. 17, Studio Two): Theater leaders are working to obtain the rights to a play, to be announced.
Holiday favorite to return
? “A Christmas Carol” (Dec. 12-22, Studio Two): Guest Equity actor Angela Iannone plays all characters, plus narrator Charles Dickens, in this one-act retelling of Dickens’ tale of redemption.
“The response last year was incredible to this beautiful, intimate version, with a lot of people telling us they want to see it again,” Hoffmann said.
A Columbus native, Iannone has appeared off-Broadway, in national tours and at regional theaters.
“Angela is a truly incredible performer. We’re so lucky to have her here in Columbus,” Hoffmann said.
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A Pulitzer-winning area premiere
? “Fat Ham” (March 6-23, Studio One): Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for drama and a Columbus premiere, James Ijames’ Broadway tragicomedy is set at a modern backyard barbecue and skewers masculinity as it reimagines Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet” as a comedy.
“Ijames is incredibly smart. Fun and celebratory, his genius play dives into family dynamics and gets to the core of our dreams,” Hoffmann said.
Contemporary Theatre of Ohio reviving musical favorites
? “The Last Five Years” (April 24 to May 11, Studio Two): Composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown’s two-actor chamber musical charts a five-year romance between two young New York artists, with the man singing the story from hopeful start to sad finish while the woman sings the same story in reverse from her own perspective.
“So many people love this musical about the push and pull of our careers and relationships. I love the way it goes beyond realism to reveal higher truths about people connecting, or more importantly, not connecting,” Hoffmann said.
Like “Big Fish,” which Otterbein University staged in 2019, “The Last Five Years” has received local productions.
Hoffman will direct both musicals.
“It’s exciting when we can be the first to do shows here, but people also want to buy tickets to shows they love that they’ve seen before. A good musical creates word-of-mouth momentum,” she said.
@mgrossberg1
At a glance
Contemporary Theatre of Ohio is offering limited Classic subscriptions for $179 to its four main 2024-2025 productions plus “A Christmas Carol.” Additional subscription options and single tickets will go on sale later this spring. (614-469-0939, www.TheContemporaryOhio.org)
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Contemporary Theatre of Ohio, celebrating 40 years, announces 2024-25 season
