MNfusion: Jungle Theater Announces Shows For 2017 Season

As the end of 2016 draws near, many are beginning to plan for the year ahead.

This includes those in the Twin Cities' theater community.

On Tuesday, the Jungle Theater's artistic director Sarah Rasmussen announced the shows selected for the 2017 season.

The season will feature five plays, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, a musical and a holiday show. Additionally, four of the season's productions will be having their regional premiere on the Jungle's stage.

"We're passionate about honoring the Jungle's incredible legacy of excellence, while inviting new voices and perspectives to the stage. We're so proud and eager to introduce these fresh works to audiences hungry for intelligent, exciting, highly theatrical productions," Rasmussen said in a recent press release.

The season begins on Feb. 11, with Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics."

The show revolves around a Cuban-American family in 1920s Florida. At the start of the show, the family is awaiting a lector to read at their cigar factory. When he arrives to read "Anna Karenina" to the family, the factory begins to mirror the Tolstoy classic.

Directed by Larissa Kokernot, the show features an all-local Latino cast.

Following the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, the Jungle Theater will present "Lone Star Spirits."

The off-Broadway show, written by Rasmussen's husband Josh Tobiessen, will be directed by Rasmussen herself. The show explores what it means to come home and confronting ones past. It opens on April 8.

The summer show, opening on June 10, will be "Fly By Night: A New Musical."

The 2015 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Musical is a love story set during the 1965 East Coast blackout.

Next, the Jungle Theater will stage "The Nether." Opening on Sept. 16, the show is a mix of crime and sci-fi thriller.

Finally, the season will come to a close with the theater's first holiday show, "Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley." Opening on Nov. 18, the show tells the story of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" characters reuniting at the Darcy home for the holidays.

For more information on these shows, purchasing tickets or the Jungle Theater itself, visit the Jungle Theater online.