Theatre 3, which for 50 years has been run by Jac Alder, pictured, begins its 51st season this summer with a schedule that includes a world premiere and the regionally-produced debut of a queer hit.
The unofficial start of the season is Avenue Q in the downstairs Theatre Too space. A sassy puppet show with adult themes and gay characters, it’s the first time the show has been mounted locally, although the national tour has been through numerous times. Unlike in recent years, this (and the Valentine staple I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) are the only shows scheduled for the smaller space. It opens June 29.
The remainder of the seven-show schedule upstairs is as follows:
• Present Laughter (Aug. 2–Sept. 1). Gay bon vivant Noel Coward’s witty farce.
• Freud’s Last Session (Sept. 20–Oct. 20). An imagined exchange between the atheist father of psychoanalysis and Christian author C.S. Lewis.
• Godspell (Nov. 15–Dec. 15). T3’s music director, Terry Dobson, recently met with Stephen Schwartz, who dubbed him one of his “official” arrangers. That will no doubt apply to this revival of the off-Broadway classic musical.
• Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Jan. 10–Feb. 9). Rajiv Joseph’s recent Broadway hit starring Robin Williams, narrated by a giant cat.
• Idols of the King (Feb. 28–Mar. 30). Longtime T3 collaborator Ronnie Claire Edwards debuts her new play about Elvis Presley.
• Enron (Apr. 25-May 25). A quasi-musical drama about the notorious collapse.
• City of Angels (June 13–July 13). The season closes with the Tony-winning hit about the movie business.
