A staging of the musical holiday hit It's a Wonderful Life, the return of Empire of the Son, a play about hockey that's told through swing dance are a few of the highlights of the Gateway Theatre's just-announced 2018-19 season.

The season opens with Les Belles-soeurs, Ruby Slippers Theatre's production of the Michel Tremblay comedy about a working-class woman in 1960s Montreal, from September to 27 at the Richmond theatre's main stage.

Next up, from November 8 to 17, is Empire of the Son, Tetsuro Shigematsu's hit autobiographical one-man play, produced by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre and showing in the facility's more intimate Studio B.

Peter Jorgensen, meanwhile, debuts a new musical adaptation of the beloved It’s a Wonderful Life, with arrangements and orchestrations by Nico Rhodes and based on the Frank Capra film. Produced in association with Patrick Street Productions, the show features songs from the '20s, '30s, and '40s.

February 2019 will feature Dipika Guha's Yoga Play, a satire about an awfully familiar-sounding scenario: a yoga apparel company, Jojomon, and its attempt to rebuilt itself after its CEO is brought down by a fat-shaming scandal.

 March marks the world premiere of Meghan Gardiner's Gross Misconduct, a Speakeasy Theatre production about a bond between two male prisoners, one older and one a young newcomer to Millhaven, also at Studio B.

And in April, look for Glory, a Western Canada Theatre/Alberta Theatre Projects Production by Tracey Power. Driven by the era's swing dance, it's based on the true story of the Preston Rivulettes women’s hockey team, launched in 1933.

Season subscriptions are available now (find more info here), with single tickets on sale July 15.