Audio described performances for the 2022-2023 season
Check out these audio described live theatrical performances in and around Boston, from January 2022 through March 2023.
At long last, it is time for audience-goers to return to exciting live theater productions with audio description. Pre-show description of sets and costumes begins 30 minutes prior to curtain. Arrive early to allow time to get headsets, programs and be seated.
Many venues have also started providing pre-recorded streamed audio described versions of the iperformances available for convenient viewing from your home. Nothing quite beats a live performance, but described streamed performances are opening up great opportunities for new attendees from all across the globe. Not all theaters are offering streamed performances, so ask the theater if they are making streamed performances with audio description available to attendees.
Health and safety: All guests 5 and older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with an FDA, CDC or WHO authorized, approved vaccine, and must show proof of vaccination, upon request. Check with the theater you plan to visit to learn their vaccination policy requirements. Theater staff will be fully vaccinated.
The following audio described performances will be at the designated theaters listed below.
Enjoy your return to the theater!
American Repertory Theater (A.R.T)
The Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
(617) 547-8300
AmericanRepertoryTheater.org
To purchase tickets for these performances email [email protected]. For access questions, contact [email protected] or (617) 547-8300.
Ocean Filibuster
Audio described: Friday, March 11, 2022, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 12, 2:00 p.m.
A genre-crashing musical experience that fuses myth, song, video, stand-up, and science to explore the depths crucial to our daily survival.
1776
Audio described: Friday, June 24, 2022, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 25, 2022, 2:00 p.m. (with open captioning); Saturday, July 9, 2022, 2:00 p.m. (tentative date); and Friday, July 15, 2022, 7:30 p.m. (tentative date)
This new Tony Award-winning musical reexamines this pivotal moment in American history.
Broadway in Boston – Citizens Bank Opera House
Broadway in Boston
539 Washington Street, Boston, MA
(617) 259-3400
Boston.Broadway.com
For tickets, contact the Opera House Ambassador Program, Tuesday-Sunday from noon to 9:00 p.m. at (617) 259-3448 or email [email protected].
Pretty Woman
Audio described: Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
Pretty Woman: The Musical is based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic films. It features an original score by Grammy winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance.
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Audio described: Sunday, February 27, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston Street, Boston
She was a girl from Boston with a voice from heaven, who shot through the stars from gospel choir to dance floor diva. Three actresses play the role of Donna Summer at different points in her life as “Diva Donna,” “Disco Donna” and “Duckling Donna,” while an inexhaustible ensemble of almost entirely women tear up the stage.
To Kill A Mockingbird
Audio described: Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
All rise for Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning masterwork. An emotionally shattering landmark production of an American classic. Majestic and incandescent, it’s filled with breath, nuance and soul.
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations
Audio described: Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
This new musical follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and silky-smooth harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts with an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits. Nominated for 12 Tony Awards, Ain’t Too Proud tells the thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal, as the group’s personal and political conflicts threatened to tear them apart during a decade of civil unrest in America.
Wicked
Audio described: Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another girl, born with emerald-green skin—possessing an extraordinary talent. Then she meets a blonde who is exceptionally popular. Their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.”
Anastasia
Audio described: Sunday, August 21, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
This romantic and adventure-filled new musical transports us from the Russian Empire to Paris in the 1920s. As Anastasia sets out to discover her past, she is pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her. She enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an adventure to help her find home, love, and family.
Hamilton
Audio described: Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 1:00 p.m.
Hamilton features book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, all blending hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway. It takes the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, and creates a musical having a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. Hamilton is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography.
The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts
2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
TheHanoverTheatre.org
For tickets online, use promo code AUDIO for a 50% discount on audio described tickets. Call the box office at 877-571-7469 or email [email protected] for tickets.
Cats
Audio described: Sunday, March 6, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
This musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber has earned 7 Tony Awards. Cats tells the story of one magical night when a tribe of cats gathers for its annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn.
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Audio described: Sunday, April 3, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
Summer is a vibrant tribute to the queen of disco. Told through the lens of her final concert, it presents the complexities and conflicts the famed songwriter and singer faced in her meteoric rise and descent. The show features a score with more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits.
Anastasia
Audio described: Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
With the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat, Anya embarks on an adventure to help her find home, love and family.
The Prom
Audio described: Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
The Prom is the joyous Broadway musical comedy hit about big Broadway stars on a mission to change the world and the love they discover that unites them all.
The Huntington Theatre
The Huntington Theatre on Huntington Avenue is currently undergoing renovations. Most performances will take place at The Huntington’s Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA located at 527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End.
For more information on The Huntington’s access programs, and to purchase tickets to audio described performances, please email [email protected] or call 617-266-0800. Tickets are $20 for each patron, and one additional guest.
The Bluest Eye
Audio Described: Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
Celebrate the legacy of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison’s acclaimed debut novel that tells the story of Pecola, a young Black girl who believes everything in her world would be made wonderful if only she had blue eyes. Enthralling, gorgeously written, and incredibly emotional, it asks powerful questions concerning racism, beauty, and identity with stunning grace and subtlety.
What the Constitution Means to Me
Audio described: Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:00 p.m., Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston
After a smash run on Broadway, Heidi Schreck’s hilarious play tells the story of fifteen-year-old Heidi Schreck, who paid her college tuition by speaking in debate competitions. Now older, she tells the story of how the lives of four generations of women in her family were shaped by the Constitution.
Our Daughters, Like Pillars
Audio described: Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
Lavinia is bringing her sisters and mother on a much-needed family vacation. She has planned the week to the smallest detail. This epic and funny saga about a contemporary Black family from Boston, asks about the ties that bind us to our families. Will togetherness split them apart, or bring them together?
Common Ground Revisited
Audio described: Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
This world premiere play brings Boston’s history to life in the 1960s and 70s, culminating in three families’ experiences with court-mandated busing. Diverse in both race and class, what can these families’ experiences tell us about our own time? Especially when Boston Public Schools are more segregated today than they were in 1974.
Open Door Theater
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
Audio described: Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.; and Sunday, June 26, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. (with rain dates June 27 and June 28 at 7:00 p.m.).
Outdoors at the beautiful Nathaniel Allen Recreation Area (NARA) Park amphitheater located at 25 Ledge Rock Way in Acton.
The Lightning Thief features lyrics by Rob Rokicki. Based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Rick Riordan. It follows Percy Jackson, a teenager who discovers that he is a demigod, and goes on a quest to find Zeus’ missing lightning bolt and prevent a war between the Greek gods.
Moonbox Production at the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA)
Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, Boston MA 02116
Tickets for audio described performances are $15, including fees. To order yours, visit https://bit.ly/PStrangeTkts, or call (617) 933-8600, and use the code ACCESSVIP.
Jonathan/The Good Deli – Two play production
Audio described: late February/early March 2022 TBD
Jonathan
A young man with autism named Jonathan is working at a big-box store the week before Christmas. As the holiday season heats up, his personal aspirations are at odds with the reality of how he is treated. Jonathan confronts what we really believe in America: about adults with disabilities, about employment, and about the creature comforts of a retail economy.
The Good Deli
Julia is working as a comedian in Boston when she receives a frantic summons from her stepmom – her estranged father is on his deathbed. She rushes to his side, only to find him seemingly the same wise-ass curmudgeon he always was – only now he’s obsessed with the Italian deli the family visited when Julia was a child. Julia embarks on a road trip with her family, trying to reconnect with her father while they search for the memory of a mysterious deli that may not even exist.
Boston New Works Festival
Audio described: June 24-26, 2022 TBD
In June, Moonbox will close out its season by hosting its 1st Annual Boston New Works Festival. In the past year, Moonbox Productions pivoted from normal operations to launch this new initiative dedicated to cultivating new works by local artists. In response to its request for proposals in the fall of 2020, Moonbox received sixty-five submissions from local playwrights. From these sixty-five proposals, a diverse panel of judges chose nine original theatrical pieces. Throughout this coming year, the selected submissions will be part of an extensive workshop process that will culminate in staged productions at the festival June 24-26th, 2022, at the Boston Center for the Arts.
The plays include Late by Kathleen Cahill and Michael Wartofsky, Queens by Kai Clifton, Sister School by David Coleman, Rocky Relationships by Catherine Giorgetti, For the Fish by Surrey Houlker, Silt by Gabby Simone Preston, and The Prince and the Painter by Rebecca Wright and Kelvyn Koning.
SpeakEasy Stage Company
All performances of SpeakEasy Stage Company productions will take place at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston
For patrons utilizing the audio description service (and their guests), SpeakEasy will offer $25 tickets with the code SPKAUDIO. For tickets, call the box office at 617-933-8600, visit SpeakEasy.com, or email Alex Lonati at [email protected].
People, Places & Things
Audio described: Saturday, February 19, 2022 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, February 20, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.
People, Places & Things focuses on surviving in the modern world, featuring Emma, a thirty-something actress who thinks she is having the time of her life, until she finds herself in rehab. Her first step: admitting that she has a problem. The problem isn’t her; it’s with everyone else. From award-winning playwright Duncan Macmillan comes this mesmerizing trip into addiction, rehab, and identity.
Once on This Island
Audio described: Friday, April 8, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.
This rousing production is one of the most beloved musicals in SpeakEasy history. Once on This Island, with its pulsating Calypso beat, tells the story of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl who, guided by the island gods, sets out on a journey to follow her heart and find her place in the world. It features a joyous, uplifting score by Tony Award winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
The Inheritance
Audio described: Saturday, May 14, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. (Part 1), Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. (Part 2), or Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. (Part 1) and 7:30 p.m. (Part 2)
2020 Tony Award Winner for Best Play! The Inheritance transposes E. M. Forster’s novel Howards End to 21st century New York, a generation after the peak of the AIDS crisis. What is it like to be a young gay man in New York, and what is the legacy left by previous generations? Award-winning playwright Matthew Lopez explores many themes through the experiences of a group of young New Yorkers.
Run time (Part 1): roughly 3 hours, 15 minutes with two intermissions. Run time (Part 2): 3 hours, 10 minutes with two intermissions.
Wheelock Family Theatre at Boston University
200 The Riverway, Boston, MA
For tickets, call 617-353-3001 or visit WFT’s website at WheelockFamilyTheatre.org.
The Wizard of Oz
Audio Described: Friday, April 29, 2022 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
The Wizard of Oz follows the story of Dorothy, as she finds the true meaning of “home.” She and Toto find themselves in the magical land of Oz as they battle their way to their heart’s desires—knowledge, love, courage and home.
Make Way for Ducklings
Audio described: TBD
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are exhausted from their search for a starter home when they land in the Boston Public Garden. Surprised by conditions in the Garden, the Mallards move on to continue their search until their ducklings are born. When they begin to explore, the challenges of parenthood in the city create plenty of family drama. A classic story for all ages, this world premiere musical celebrates family, Boston, and the beings who make an unfamiliar place a home.
