ETC’s Upcoming Season Features Comedy, Country Music, and Romance

Celebrating its 45th anniversary, Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) has announced a new and exciting lineup of shows coming up for the 2023-2024 season. Theater fanatics of Santa Barbara can look forward to having fits of laughter with the hit comedy The Thanksgiving Play and sing along to their favorite classic country tunes at Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. Soon after, Santa Barbara will have the chance to take inspiration from the biopic The Pianist of Willesdane Lane, experience the Central Coast premiere of Tony Award–winning play The Lehman Trilogy, and finally, fall in love with the new romantic comedy Alice, Formerly of Wonderland.

“This season marks not only the company’s 45th anniversary of presenting theater in Santa Barbara, but also the 10th season from our home, the New Vic,” said Managing Director Scott DeVine about the upcoming season. “Our Sapphire Season is a time to celebrate the organization’s rich history through the lens of these legendary stories. We look forward to sharing this amazing season with our community.”

To kick off the new season in fall, ETC will perform the insightful comedy The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse. A current showstopper on Broadway, the hilarious satire follows a “woke” theater troupe of white individuals hurrying to put on the first politically correct Thanksgiving play for Native American Heritage Month. The Thanksgiving Play runs October 5-22 and is a wickedly funny way to celebrate the upcoming holiday.

Next up, ETC celebrates a country-music legend with the musical Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, by Richard Maltby Jr. and William Meade. The show is a spectacular spotlight on Cash’s music, full of country tunes, rock ’n’ roll jams, and gorgeous ballads performed by a core group of brilliant actor-musicians. Ring of Fire runs November 30–December 17.

To continue on, ETC presents The Pianist of Willesden Lane, directed by the talented Hershey Felder and based on the memoir by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen. Set around World War II, the play tells the empowering true story of Golabek’s, mother Lisa Jura — a young Jewish pianist whose life is changed under the newly established Nazi regime. As a Grammy-nominated pianist herself, Golabek will perform pieces from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and more as she commemorates her mother’s story of hope and survival. The Pianist of Willesden Lane runs February 1-18, 2024.

Then, ETC celebrates the Central Coast premiere of five-time Tony Award winner The Lehman Trilogy. Named the Best Play of 2022, the play tells the real-life story of three immigrant brothers who find unfathomed success with their investment firm, then crippling failure that ultimately results in the company’s collapse. The Lehman Trilogy runs April 4-21, 2024.

Finally, ETC will finish off the season with a world premiere of the new musical Alice, Formerly of Wonderland by Mark Saltzman. Based on a “true story,” it follows the secret romance between young Alice Liddell and Prince Leopold — the youngest son of Queen Victoria. Alice, Formerly of Wonderland runs May 30–June 16, 2024.

For more information about ETC’s upcoming season, visit etcsb.org.