SALT LAKE CITY—Moving forward after the most unconventional season in its 59-year history, Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) welcomes back professional actors, designers, directors, musicians, and stage crew eager for the 2021-2022 season.

Artistic Director KAREN AZENBERG and Managing Director CHRISTOPHER MASSIMINE announced the 2021-2022 lineup in an upbeat Zoom call this morning to season subscribers and other stakeholders, all of whom heartily welcomed the return of theatre after its unplanned shut down in March of 2020.

Season packages for the 2021-2022 season will go on sale March 23, 2021 at 10 a.m., and can be purchased online or through the box office at 801-581-6961. Seven and five play season subscriptions are offered. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date.

“We’re calling this season A Ticket to Feel…Good!” exclaimed Azenberg. “Salt Lake City has an enormous affection for theatre. Theatre has the power to elicit every human emotion including humor, sadness, anger, inspiration, hope, or fear, but this year, well, we all just want to feel good.”

“We’ve missed being on stage, and while we chart the path forward, one of the opportunities has been being able to look at how we do theatre, audit our processes and practices, and address inequities and social deficits in light of last summer’s community unrest,” offered Massimine. “Theatre is healing, and we need to ensure our organizational composition and what we put on the stage depicts not just our local community, but extends to our broader, national community, too. Professional theatre needs the community’s support more than ever this year as we journey back to ‘normal’ and we’ve constructed a season to reward that support.”

“I couldn’t envision a better way to open the season than Ain’t Misbehavin’” said Azenberg. “It’s the celebration of Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller, the stride pianist and composer who became a Harlem legend in the 1920’s and 30’s. Bringing together jazz and Tin Pan Alley, rowdy and fun, and is our joyous celebration of the return of theatre.”

Ain’t Misbehavin’ will run September 10 – 25, 2021 and will be presented as a concert musical, potentially with a smaller audience. This decision would allow for audiences to be seated in a socially-distanced fashion if indicated by guidelines from the state of Utah, Salt Lake County, and the University of Utah, where the theatre is in residence.

Ass, a comedy about complicated family relationships by ELLEN SIMON, began its life as a Play-By-Play reading in 2018, was originally scheduled to open on the main stage just before the pandemic struck. It will finally see its world premiere October 22 – November 6, 2021.

For the holidays, PTC will revisit one of its most popular Christmas productions of all time: Elf the Musical. Buddy the Elf takes NYC by storm in this hilarious and heartwarming holiday tale about the search for his “real dad.” Elf runs from December 3 – 18, 2021.

The Messenger, inspired by the Ibsen classic An Enemy of the People, is JEFF TALBOTT’s (playwright of i, that premiered at PTC in 2018) newest play. It presents the consequences of speaking out about a public health threat that threatens the local economy. An astonishingly prescient piece, The Messenger kicks off the new year, running January 14 – 29, 2022.

Another title that has been patiently waiting in the wings is the nine-time Tony-nominee Something Rotten! Originally scheduled as the closing musical to the 2019-2020 season, Something Rotten! is an “over-the-top take on Shakespeare” (New York Times) and provides an uproarious dose of pure Broadway fun. Wallowing in puns, double-entendres and bad taste, theatre buffs will enjoy the “Easter egg” references to popular musicals laced throughout this comedy. Something Rotten! finally gets its day on PTC’s stage February 25 – March 12, 2022.

Hello, Dolly!, most recently revived on Broadway in 2018, closes the season May 13 – May 28, 2022. Featuring the boisterous and charming Dolly Gallagher Levi, as she looks for love after a lifetime of matchmaking for others, Hello, Dolly! is considered to have one of the richest starring roles for a woman ever written for musical theatre. PTC last performed the award-winning production in 1985.

The remaining play included in the season opens April 1 – April 16, 2022, and the title will be announced at a later date.

Because Pioneer Theatre Company is a professional theatre that resides on the University of Utah campus, PTC will follow all safety guidelines established in response to the pandemic by the State of Utah, Salt Lake County, and the University of Utah, as well as by the professional unions with whom we contract. This may include socially-distant seating to limit the size of the audience, mandatory mask wearing, or even canceling performances, if necessary.

For the 2021-2022 season, single ticket prices for musicals will range from $48-$72, and prices for non-musicals range from $33-$50, depending on day and seat. PTC’s economical season packages include a full seven-play season; a Pick-5 option; and a “35 & Under” package, for emerging professionals. Our popular Flex and Rush Passes will also be offered this season, but only to renewing patrons at this point. They may be offered to new subscribers at a later date.

Packages and passes range in price from $107 to $350, and include early options for preferred seats, discounts on additional tickets with an exclusive presale period, and the convenience of free exchange privileges. PTC patrons also enjoy convenient, free parking.

Current PTC season subscribers will receive their renewal notices in early April, and will have the opportunity to reserve their current seats as long as they do so by Friday, June 25, 2021. Please note the seating guidelines may indicate those seats are not available, especially in the earliest part of the season, but renewing those seats preserves them for the next season as well.

New subscriber orders will be filled in the order in which they are received.

For season subscriptions, contact Pioneer Theatre Company’s Box Office at 801-581-6961 or visit online at www.pioneertheatre.org.

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SEASON TICKET PACKAGES

The 7-Play Package
Get tickets for all seven shows in our season, and receive a discount of up to 30%, the ability to purchase the best seats before they go on sale to the general public, and a voucher good for free admission to Ass, The Messenger, or Play 6.

The Pick-5 Package
This option allows patrons to select any five shows in the season and receive both a season ticket discount and preferred seating. Pick-5 patrons may choose from any of the seven productions on PTC’s 2021-2022 season.

The Under-35 Package
Theatre patrons who are age 35 or younger (at the time of subscription) may purchase a 7-Play Season Subscription for up to two people at a 50% discount for performances on Mondays through Thursdays.

The Flex Pass (only available to renewing patrons)
This season package provides patrons with $275 worth of credit redeemable at a discounted season ticket rate for any shows the patron wishes to see.

The $160 Rush Pass (only available to renewing patrons)
This season pass allows patrons to come to the theatre an hour before any show and get the best available single ticket for that night, based on availability. The pass is good for all seven shows in the season.

All packages and passes include best seats, discounts on additional tickets with an exclusive presale period, and the convenience of free exchange privileges.

PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY’S 2021-2022 SEASON

Ain’t Misbehavin’
The Fats Waller Musical Show
Based on an idea by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr.
September 10 – 25, 2021

Ass —World Premiere!
By Ellen Simon
October 22 – November 6, 2021

Elf the Musical
Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Based upon the New Line Cinema film written by David Berenbaum
December 3 – December 18, 2021

The Messenger —World Premiere!
by Jeff Talbott
January 14 – 29, 2022

Something Rotten!
Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
Conceived by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick
February 25 – March 12, 2022

Play 6 — TBA
April 1 – 16, 2022

Hello, Dolly!
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Book by Michael Stewart
Based on The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder
May 13 – 28, 2022