Whidbey Playhouses announces 2022 - 2023 Season of Love: Grease, Barefoot in the Park and more

Five plays make up a vibrant season for theater lovers on Whidbey Island and beyond

Oak Harbor, WA | Apr 21, 2022: Grease and Barefoot in the Park are among Oak Harbor-based Whidbey Playhouse’s 2022 - 20233 “Season of Love.” Whidbey Playhouse celebrates its 56th season in 2022. Season ticket renewals for those who were subscribers in the 2019/2020 season will begin May 1 through June 30, and sales to new subscribers will take place July 1 – 31.

Grease is a musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Here is Rydell High’s Senior Class of 1959: duck-tailed, hot-rodding guys, and their gum-snapping hip-shaking gals in bobby sox and pedal pushers evoking the look and sound of the 1950’s. Follow ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure and love. This rollicking musical features hit songs "Greased Lightnin'," "We Go Together", and “Hopelessly Devoted to You.” After an eight-year run on Broadway, two subsequent revivals and 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Whidbey Playhouse is proud to present GREASE on our stage.

“We are excited to present the 2022-2023 Season of Love. All five shows in our new season are connected by love. If you love music, comedy, romance and fashion, the upcoming Season of Love is just for you,” said Whidbey Playhouse Board President, Allenda Jenkins who will be co-directing Grease with Eric George.

Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, to be directed by Dave Frazer, tells the story of a free-spirited bride and her buttoned-down groom who settle down to some rocky happily-ever-aftering in a Greenwich Village walk-up, occasionally invaded by the bride's easily winded mother and the quirky bohemian who lives in the attic.

Three other shows are included in the Season of Love: poetic thriller Earth and Sky by Douglas Post and directed by Kevin Wm. Meyer; Love, Loss, and What I Wore, an intimate collection of stories by Delia Ephron, Ilene Beckerman, and Nora Ephron, directed by Sue Riney; and The Birds and the Bees, a hilarious and flirty romp written by Mark Crawford and directed by Sarah Jayne Gallella.

“As we start our 56th season in what we are hoping is a post-covid world, we are excited to welcome back our season-ticket holders and invite members of our community who have not experienced the joy of community theater to join us for these new productions,” said Sue Riney, Whidbey Playhouse’s Production Chair. “We also extend deep gratitude to all those who came out and supported Whidbey Playhouse over the past difficult year,” she said.

For questions regarding the upcoming season, contact the Playhouse at 360-679-2237 or office@whidbeyplayhouse.com

The final show of the current season, Charley’s Aunt, will run at Whidbey Playhouse from 3 - 19 June, 2022. One of the most popular comic farces of all time, Charley’s Aunt has been loved since its original performances in 1893. Tickets are available at the theater and online.