Theatre Calgary’s 2024-25 season: From 'A Streetcar Named Desire' to world premiere by Sable Sweetgrass

Doug McKeag returns as Scrooge for Theatre Calgary's 2024 production of A Christmas Carol (Nov.29-Dec.29) (Photo credit: Trudie Lee)

In 2017, Calgary playwright Sable Sweetgrass talked about the powerful experience of hearing her dramedy Awowakii given staged readings at Red Earth theatre in Toronto and then later in Edmonton.

The play tells the story of Chrissy Two-Guns, a Blackfoot transgender woman whose father shows up in her life after a long time away and mistakes her friend for her, with confusion, tears and drama to follow.

The play was well-received in Toronto, where there was talk about doing a production, but Sweetgrass said in an interview with Calgary Arts Development that she kind of had something else in mind.

“I would really like it to be shown in Calgary,” she said. “The few native plays that have happened in Calgary and Southern Alberta packed audiences—native people come out for that. They’ll come off the reserve and come into the city.”

This week, Sweetgrass got her wish when Theatre Calgary announced it will stage the world premiere of Awowakii next April as part of its 2024-25 season in a first-time (for the company) presentation at the Big Secret Theatre.

Calgary playwright Sable Sweetgrass's dramedy Awowokii will have its world premiere as part of Theatre Calgary's 2024-25 season, which was announced earlier this week. The upcoming season includes drama by Tennessee WIlliams, comedy by Noel Coward (Blithe Spirit) and the musical adaptation of the Reese Witherspoon hit Legally Blonde and the return of Doug McKeag as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. (Photo: Courtesy Theatre Calgary)

Awowakii is one piece of a season lineup that includes a production of the Tennessee Williams classic A Streetcar Named Desire (Jan.28-Feb.23), Noel Coward’s comedy classic Blithe Spirit (March 18-April 13), the musical adaptation of the Reese Witherspoon comedy smash Legally Blonde (May 20-June 15), the Tony Award winning Lehman Trilogy (Oct. 15-Nov.3), the madcap theatrical farce The Play That Goes Wrong (Sept. 3-Sept.29) and the return of A Christmas Carol (Nov.29-Dec.29), starring Doug McKeag as Scrooge.

'UNIQUE PLAYS'

For Theatre Calgary artistic director Stafford Arima, the new season represents a glimpse of what he’s learned over the course of the past seven years programming plays for the company – and what he’s learned from all those audiences.

“Theatre Calgary audiences continue to surprise me with every season,” he said, in an email to CTV News. “One might expect that a certain demographic might prefer a certain type of programming, and so it constantly surprises me when a long-time subscriber will come to me in the lobby and exclaim how much they loved Meteor Shower and that they are hoping for more unique plays on our stage."

What’s evolving over the past several seasons is that Theatre Calgary is staging shows in a variety of Arts Commons venues – from Engineered Air to the Martha Cohen, to the Big Secret in 2025 for Awowakii in addition to its traditional home in the Max Bell – which Arima said expands the size of the stories the company can tell.

“It’s deeply important that certain plays are shared in more intimate venues,” he said. “It’s the nature of the work and the need for an audience to be closer to the material, the cast, and the action of the play.

“Theatre Calgary is redefining what “home” is – and this season we expanded our home to include the Martha Cohen Theatre, and next season our home now includes the Big Secret.”

Theatre Calgary artistic director Stafford Arima (Photo courtesy Theatre Calgary)

'BOWL OF SUNSHINE'

And as far as Awowakii goes, Arima said being the theatre company that gives it its world premiere feels like an opportunity.

“Sable is a bowl of sunshine,” he said. “Her laugh is one of the most infectious laughs on the planet. She’s also a passionate writer and Awowakii combines Sable’s laugh and her passion in this family dramedy (drama meets comedy).

“Awowakii was part of Theatre Calgary’s TD Page to Stage New Works Festival in 2021. Sable has been continuing to work on the play since then under the director, Alanis King, and everyone at Theatre Calgary felt that Awowakii was ready for its world premiere.

“What makes this play so exceptional is that Sable speaks authentically of her own experiences, yet communicates a universal message of how a family can heal through simple acts of awakening and forgiveness.

“Awowakii,” he added, “is filled with humour, honesty, heartache, and hope, and will be presented in a theatrical, immersive setting in the Big Secret.”

“It’s so exciting,” said Sweetgrass. “I can’t wait for the whole process of rehearsals to begin.  Still a whole year away from opening so the anticipation will be with me for the next 12 months.”

Single tickets for next season's lineup go on sale April 29. For more information, go here.

It's also the final weekend for the company's critically-acclaimed production of As You Like It.