Order tickets online or download an order form. OR call the AET box office (M-F, 11-3) at 815-394-5004. Download a season brochure here.
UNNECESSARY FARCE
by Paul Slade Smith
Sept. 10–27
Two cops, three crooks, eight doors— GO! This laugh-out-loud door-slamming comedy from the playwright of The Angel Next Door centers around two adjoining motel rooms. A sting operation has been carefully set up. Detective Eric Sheridan (a smart guy who keeps getting caught with his pants down – that’s not a metaphor) has set up video surveillance on the adjoining room where he hopes to get evidence of corruption at City Hall. He is aided by Billie, an eager rookie who makes up for her lack of skills with incredibly misplaced confidence.
Add in a nervous accountant, a befuddled mayor, an insecure head of security and, well, things don’t go exactly as planned. Turns out our heroic cops have run afoul of an outlaw Scottish clan and a fierce highlander assassin has been summoned to “take care” of the situation. Yikes!
Recommended for middle school and up.
NATIVE GARDENS
by Karen Zacarías
November 5–22
High-powered attorney and doctoral candidate, Pablo, and his very pregnant wife, Talia, get a piece of the American Dream when they purchase their first home next door to Frank and Virginia, pillars of the community. But a disagreement over a long-standing fence line soon spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement. This hilarious culture clash guarantees that, in these gardens, no one comes out smelling like a rose.
Recommended for middle school and up.
LAST DRIVE TO DODGE
by Andrew Lee Creech
Mar. 11–28
A love story set in post-Civil War Texas. Born into slavery, Ro is three years into her five-year contract working as a servant on the Bailey family ranch. Prophet is a cowhand on the ranch and deeply in love with Ro. His boss, Bennett Bailey, fought for the Confederacy and is still grimly trying to put his life back together after the loss of his wife. Bennett’s sister, Millie, has come back from the East following her scandalous divorce with a trunk full of fancy clothes and an air of sophistication that mask her fears.
Four strong-willed people all scramble to secure a future in a world where everything feels uncertain in this passionate love story.
Recommended for middle school and up.
PARTNER’s IN CRIMe
by Margaret Raether
adapted from the stories by Agatha Christie
May 13–30
Before Nick and Nora Charles, there were charming married sleuths, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Childhood pals who met again following the Great War, they are now married and ripe for adventure when they are tapped to run a detective agency that is suspected of being part of a spy ring.
In the meantime, as Tuppence (her real and highly inappropriate name is Prudence) enthusiastically observes, they get to solve mysteries!
Join us for this world premiere adaptation of the Agatha Christie stories.