Pictured (Top row, left-right): Adrienne Matzen, Drew Shirley, Douglas Carter Beane. (Lower row, left-right): Mike Bartlett, Leslye Headland, Derek Bertelsen.

The Comrades has announced the directors, partial casting, and three shows that will make up its 19/20 season.

The season will lead off with a one-weekend Midwest premiere of Mike Bartlett’s CONTRACTIONS, directed by Adrienne Matzen. In February 2020 Drew Shirley will direct the Midwest premiere of THE LAYOVER by Leslye Headland, and the season will conclude in July with Douglas Carter Beane’s AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN, directed by Artistic Director Derek Bertelsen.

The Comrades 19/20 Season (from the press release):

Midwest premiere
CONTRACTIONS 
by Mike Bartlett
Directed by Adrienne Matzen
October 10-13, 2019
Featuring Comrades member Cydney Moody

Emma’s been seeing her coworker Darren. She thinks she’s in love. Her boss thinks she’s in breach of contract. In a series of cordial but increasingly tense conversations, the two dissect the differences between “sexual” and “romantic,” negotiate the length of Emma’s interoffice relationship, and face the consequences of shrinking privacy and binding contracts.

Midwest premiere
THE LAYOVER 
by Leslye Headland
Directed by Drew Shirley
February 20 – March 22, 2020
Featuring Comrades member Alison Plott

Ever wonder who that stranger is sitting next to you? What is their story? What are they hiding? Shellie and Dex dare to answer these questions after their flight is delayed on a snowy Thanksgiving night. What they discover about themselves, and each other, sends both of their lives into upheaval. Can you ever really get to know somebody when you’re hiding so much yourself?

AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN 
by Douglas Carter Beane
Directed by Derek Bertelsen
July 16 – August 16, 2020
Featuring Comrades members Taylor Wisham, Mike Newquist, and David Coupe

Evan Wyler, a young writer, is the latest “hot young thing” to hit New York City. He finds himself in the irresistible clutches of one Alexa Vere de Vere, who promises him fame and fortune — and takes him on a whirlwind of a ride. Ultimately realizing he’s been had, Evan embarks on a quest to find out the truth about Alexa, seeking help from the many others whom Alexa has “discovered.”