Bette Aitken News

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to announce its OTR New Works lineup for 2020. We will be presenting two staged readings from past and president Resident Playwrights, as well as a LAB Workshop production, and our first commissioned play, which is being written by our first Resident Playwright, Adam Szymkowicz. All performances will take place at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center. 

Chance Theater is pleased to remount its popular production of the heartwarming musical adaptation of the classic novel a?? Anne of Green Gables. Book by Joseph Robinette, music and lyrics by Evelyn D. Swensson, directed by Casey Long and music direction by Bill Strongin. Anne of Green Gables will preview from November 29 through December 3, regular performances will begin December 4 and continue through December 29 on the Cripe Stage at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Chance Theater announces its 22nd Anniversary Season, which will be the sixth to employ both stages in its home at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center. Next year will feature eight fully-staged productions. 

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is pleased to announce the second show in its fifth TYA Family Series... Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium. With book and lyrics by John Maclay and music and lyrics by Danny Abosch, based on the stories by R.L. Stine, and directed by Darryl B. Hovis, Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium will preview from October 4 through October 6; regular performances will begin October 6 and continue through October 27 at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Fyda-Mar Stage.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to announce that we've added two performances of the West Coast Premiere of Hamish Linklater's The Vandal. Directed by Kari Hayter, The Vandal will add performances on Saturday, October 5th at 3pm and Sunday, October 13th at 7pm. The production run will still closing on October 20th. All performances are on the Fyda-Mar Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to announce that we've added two performances of the West Coast Premiere of Hamish Linklater's The Vandal. Directed by Kari Hayter, The Vandal will add performances on Saturday, October 5th at 3pm and Sunday, October 13th at 7pm. The production run will still closing on October 20th. All performances are on the Fyda-Mar Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is pleased to announce the second show in its fifth TYA Family Series... Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium. With book and lyrics by John Maclay and music and lyrics by Danny Abosch, based on the stories by R.L. Stine, and directed by Darryl B. Hovis, Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium will preview from October 4 through October 6; regular performances will begin October 6 and continue through October 27 at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Fyda-Mar Stage.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to present Hamish Linklater's eerie drama-comedy, The Vandal. Written by Hamish Linklater and directed by Kari Hayter, The Vandal will preview from September 20th through September 27th; with regular performances beginning September 28th and continuing through October 20th on the Fyda-Mar Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

A sweeping, grandiose, and emotionally-searing stage musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's expansive 1975 novel, RAGTIME is a gripping, multi-character, and multi-story theatrical experience that uses era-authentic specificity to depict America's past during a time when its increasingly diverse population has been forced to adjust to the ramifications of new technological, social, political, and economic changes that are spreading throughout the nation. Of course, one can't help but observe that, eerily, many of these very same issues are somehow still top-of-mind today, particularly in recent years with the surge in anti-immigrant policies and sentiments, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, and, of course, the horrific rise of racist sentiments and, worse, racist acts against people of color. Perhaps this overarching motif---that many of these era-specific issues that RAGTIME's characters struggled with in 1906 are still alarmingly present in 2019---is the true motivator behind director Casey Stangl's impressive, 'intimate' theater reimagining of RAGTIME for Chance Theater, which continues performances in Anaheim through August 11, 2019.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to announce that we will be extending the sold-out run of Ragtime: The Musical. Based on the novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime: The Musical is written by Terrence McNally, and composed by Stephen Flaherty with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. This production is directed by Casey Stangl, with choreography by Kelly Todd, and music direction by Robyn Manion. Ragtime: The Musical will now run for an additional two weeks through August 11th on the Cripe Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to produce the award-winning musical Ragtime: The Musical. Based on the novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime: The Musical is written by Terrence McNally, and composed by Stephen Flaherty with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Ragtime: The Musical will preview from June 28th through July 5th; regular performances will begin July 6th and continue through July 28th on the Cripe Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to produce the award-winning musical Ragtime: The Musical. Based on the novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime: The Musical is written by Terrence McNally, and composed by Stephen Flaherty with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Ragtime: The Musical will preview from June 28th through July 5th; regular performances will begin July 6th and continue through July 28th on the Cripe Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is announcing that four performances have been added to the regional premiere of Kim Rosenstock's comedy, Tigers Be Still. Originally scheduled to close on June 2nd, the show will now run through June 9th on the Fyda-Mar Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

The specific highs and lows---and all the cloudy, uneasy details in between---of a failed relationship are all picked apart and analyzed by a pair of distressed former lovers in British playwright David Hare's absorbing 1995 play SKYLIGHT, currently on stage at Anaheim's Chance Theater through May 19, 2019. Directed with an appealing yet captivating casualness by Chance Theater's own artistic director Oanh Nguyen, this excellent, beautifully-acted new local revival of the Olivier and Tony Award-winning drama focuses on a pair of deeply flawed individuals who have been trying their best to move on separately with their respective lives despite the deep scars that continue to haunt them. After three years apart, could a resuscitation of their past relationship be the key to put them both back in the right frame of mind again---or is their love unsalvageable?

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to present the regional premiere of Kim Rosenstock's comedy, Tigers Be Still . Written by Kim Rosenstock and directed by Marya Mazor, Tigers Be Still will preview from May 3rd through May 10th; with regular performances beginning May 11th and continuing through June 2nd on the Fyda-Mar Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

The Orange County Asperger's Support Group (OCASG) and Chance Theater will be working together again this summer to present the Spectrum Speak Up outreach program. The workshops will be twice a week, from June 25 through July 25, 2019, culminating in two performances on Saturday, August 3 at 11am & 4pm at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Fyda-Mar Stage.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, presents David Hare's celebrated drama, Skylight. Written by David Hare and directed by Chance Theater's Artistic Director, Oanh Nguyen, Skylight will preview from April 19th through April 26th; with regular performances beginning April 27th and continuing through May 19th on the Cripe Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is pleased to present a staged reading of award-winning playwright John Glore's Creep. This staged reading is being directed by Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen as part of Chance Theater's OTR New Works Series. Creep will be presented for one night only on Wednesday, May 8 at 7:30pm at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Cripe Stage.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to present the regional premiere of Kim Rosenstock's comedy, Tigers Be Still. Written by Kim Rosenstock and directed by Marya Mazor, Tigers Be Still will preview from May 3rd through May 10th; with regular performances beginning May 11th and continuing through June 2nd on the Fyda-Mar Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, presents David Hare's celebrated drama, Skylight. Written by David Hare and directed by Chance Theater's Artistic Director, Oanh Nguyen, Skylight will preview from April 19th through April 26th; with regular performances beginning April 27th and continuing through May 19th on the Cripe Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.