LOS ANGELES (January 3, 2023) — Tickets are now on sale for three exciting new plays that will make up the Echo Theater Company’s 2023 season, with special, “Early Bird” subscription rates available through January 23.

“This year is about mystery, faith, love... and the sense of humor we must never lose,” says artistic director Chris Fields. “A ghost story about what is always there and never seen. A farce about crabs living the hard life that crabs live. And a simple story about the poignant heartbreak that comes when we lose our innocence. Please join us for a season of fabulous premieres.”

The new season opens on March 18 with the California premiere of The Thin Place by Obie Award-winning playwright by Lucas Hnath (Broadway’s A Doll's House, Part 2; Hillary and Clinton; Dana H). Can we talk with the dead? Communicate with loved ones we’ve lost? In this mesmerizing new play, Linda promises that we can. If you listen — really listen — she can take you to the “thin place,” the fragile boundary between our world and the next. Perhaps it’s merely a cunning illusion that awakens our deepest desires… but then again, so is this spine-tingling play. Abigail Dreser (Ovation best production-winning And Then They Came for Me) directs. March 18 – April 24 (previews begin March 15).

Next up is the world premiere of a funny, playful, existentialist endeavor exploring how communities can often be their own worst enemies. In Crabs in a Bucket by Bernardo Cubría, Amargo and Pootz are two bitter crabs living in a shucking bucket. They spend their days talking chit about the crabs that got out, the ones who couldn't take it, and the losers who still live among them. When a new crab arrives filled with hope and change, they are faced with who they once were and their incessant dream of getting the shuck out. Directed by Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award winner Alana Dietze (Dry Land, Poor Clare). July 15 – August 21 (previews begin July 12).

Finally, September 16 will see the West Coast premiere of How It’s Gon’ Be, a lyrical coming-of-age/coming-out tale of missed connections by JuCoby Johnson. With adulthood looming in the distance, Jahaan and his friends enjoy the last precious moments of summer vacation. When Jahaan’s father returns after a year away, the world stops spinning for a moment — and lines are drawn in the sand. Ahmed Best (Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies) is at the helm. September 16 – October. 23 (previews begin September 13).

Founded in 1997, the Echo Theater Company has gained a reputation for producing and developing exciting new work. Under the artistic leadership of Fields, the company has championed playwrights for a quarter century, producing and commissioning numerous world premieres and introducing Los Angeles to playwrights David Lindsay-Abaire, Adam Rapp and Sarah Ruhl among others, and winning numerous awards and accolades along the way. The company was anointed “Best Bet for Ballsy Original Plays” by the LA Weekly and was a recipient of a “Kilroy Cake Drop” to honor its efforts to produce women and trans writers. KCRW declared that “Echo Theater Company is on a fierce journey,” and Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote, “Artistic directors of theaters of all sizes would be wise to follow the [lead] of the Echo’s Chris Fields, who [is] building audience communities eager for the challenge of path-breaking plays.”

All performances take place at Atwater Village Theatre, located at 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90039.

To purchase individual tickets and to take advantage of the “Early Bird” subscription rate (only $60 for all three premieres), go to www.EchoTheaterCompany.com.