The Trustus Theatre is starting the new year off on solid footing with diverse programming for the remainder of its 32nd season.
Their shows have always aimed to explore the human experience in all of its various forms, and this year the theater plans to continue that trend and reach an even more diverse and all-inclusive audience.
Their first show, “Boy,” which runs from Jan. 13 to 21, recreates the true story of how a botched circumcision caused a man to be raised a female.
“It’s a heartbreaking script with a lot of hope — something we can all use in the coming year,” artistic director Chad Henderson said.
“Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet” will bring the Brother/Sister trilogy to a close in February. This play was written by playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue" inspired last year’s hit film “Moonlight.”
John Floyd, who plays Marcus, graduated from USC’s Department of Theatre and Dance and is currently on staff with the department.
Henderson recommends that college students check out this show.
“A mixture of poetry, prose, music and movement — this show is a modern and hip option for any college-aged theatre fan who’s seeking productions about the discoveries and search-for-self that young adults experience,” Henderson said.
Adding some musicality to the theater’s lineup this season is “Grey Gardens,” which follows Jacqueline Kennedy’s aunt and cousin, Big Edie and Little Edie Bouvier Beale. The musical, which is based off of the documentary and film of the same name, will hit the Trustus Theatre in March.
The season will continue with “Hand to God,” — a show featuring a puppet character — the musical “Rock of Ages,” and plays “Sex on Sunday” and “Black Super Hero Magic Mama.”
Along with the season’s programming is the Trustus’s Late Night Comedy programming. Trustus’s resident sketch comedy and improv troupe The Mothers performs during the run of a Main Stage show at 11:15 p.m. USC’s improv troupe Toast also performs at the Trustus for late night shows. Tickets are $5 for students, and the bar is available for students of drinking age.
Henderson hopes that their varied programming will attract a new and wide-reaching audience this season.
“It is our hope that we will continue to grow our dedicated audiences by attracting people in the community who are seeking to be challenged and engaged while also being entertained,” Henderson said.
Although the shows this season are dissimilar in many ways, they all speak to the fundamental truths of the human experience.
“Many of these shows ask us to relate to someone who may be very different from us, or to find compassion and understanding for circumstances we may not be familiar with,” Henderson said. “Theatre has the power to give voice to the voiceless and offer windows into experiences that differ greatly from our own. We’re proud to offer material that does just that in the coming months.”