PURE Theatre Announces 20th Anniversary Season

May 23, 2022

4:40 PM

PURE Theatre will be celebrating their 20th anniversary season beginning in August with five productions including two world premieres and three Southeast regional premiere plays.

To celebrate, PURE is offering Season 20 tickets for $20 each for 20 days (June 13th to July 2nd), exclusively available for purchase online. Season 20 performances will take place at the Cannon Street Arts Center, as well as virtually through PURE Live, the company's live-streaming program (subject to rights availability).

“I've often told the story that when we founded PURE, we set up a small booth at the Charleston Farmers Market at Marion Square to sell tickets and subscriptions to our inaugural season,” said PURE Theatre's Co-Founding Artistic Director Sharon Graci. “To make a long story short, I left in tears. Saying that people were dubious about our ability to make a go of establishing a professional, contemporary theatre in Charleston is an understatement. I'm not one to say, ‘I told you so,' because I don't feel that way. PURE wasn't a slam-dunk, it's been 20 years of continuing to keep the faith, and of developing an incredible, fearless community around us. All are welcome at PURE, and all is welcome. What I'm most excited about in Season 20 is the opportunity to see what the coming decades will bring, who will join our growing family, and who will be delighted, challenged, invigorated, and inspired by the stories we tell.”

Performances this season include (descriptions provided by PURE):

A Hidden Life by Randy Neale
- August 18th – September 10th
- Four actors share the remarkable and quiet brilliance of one woman's life from her impoverished birth on a dirt farm in Canada, through her life as a young widow and mother in Detroit during the depression, to the satisfaction of her matriarchy of a huge extended family.
Clyde's by Lynn Nottage
- January 12th – February 4th, 2023
- Creating the perfect sandwich is the shared quest of the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of Clyde's, a truck stop café. Even as the shop's mischievous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staffers are given purpose and permission to dream.
Septima Clark by Patricia Lessane
- March 10th – April 1st, 2023
- In cooperation with the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area, Septima Clark is a World Premiere play celebrating the life of Septima Poinsette Clark, an African American educator and civil rights activist.
Compulsion: Or the House Behind by Rinne Grof
- April 20th – May 13th, 2023
- Sid Silver is a man obsessed. When he learns about a young girl named Anne Frank and her extraordinary diary, Silver makes it his mission to ensure her tale is heard. But is the manuscript a work of art? A cultural treasure? Once publishers and producers get involved, it becomes “a very valuable product” – and his good intentions prove to be his undoing.

Don't forget about PURE's Season 20 All-Access Flex Pass, which provides tickets to every show (live or virtual), plus a bonus ticket to share with family and friends, concierge ticketing services, reserved seating and free ticket exchanges. The pass also includes PURE's Dining Benefits program, in partnership with the Charleston Arts Festival, offering members discounts and specials at their favorite local restaurants throughout the season from Indaco and Renzo, to Basic Kitchen and The Grocery.

For additional information on Season 20 and to purchase season passes, visit puretheatre.org or call the box office at 843-723-4444, Monday – Friday from 10 am to 2 pm.