Two shows about Elvis, the local debut of Elf: The Musical, and a tween dance hit choreographed by local star Crystal Pite are just some of the highlights of the just-announced Arts Club 2020-21 season.

At an announcement at the BMO Theatre Centre this morning, artistic director Ashlie Corcoran revealed that her third season with the company will be a mix of classics with Canadian premieres, as well as two world premieres: ELVIS The Musical, a new show created by Sean Cercone and David Abbinanti that's a partnership with Edmonton's Citadel Theatre, and The Cull, a drama by local writers Michele Riml and Michael St. John Smith about a dinner party that goes terribly wrong, an Arts Club Silver Commission.

In other big news, Pite has been secured to choreograph Dance Nation, joining director Meg Roe to stage Pulitzer Prize-finalist Clare Barron's story about a team of pre-teen dancers, in October at the BMO Theatre Centre. It marks the first time the hit has been staged in this country.

The new season kicks off at the Arts Club’s Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, with Sense and Sensibility, a playful adaptation of the Jane Austen classic being helmed by Rachel Peake in September. Four other shows are programmed for the Stanley: Elf: The Musical, a holiday comedy based on the Will Ferrell film, with local comedic favourite Andrew McNee in the titular tights; Network, the Tony Award–winning media satire; The Legend of Georgia McBride, a musical romp about an Elvis-impersonator-turned-drag-queen; and the Corcoran-directed ELVIS The Musical, the new biographical ode to the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.

Elsewhere, at the BMO stage, the Arts Club also hosts the Canadian premiere of the one-woman holiday show The Twelve Dates of Christmas. And rounding out a strong Yuletide roster, the Arts Club's Granville Island Stage will welcome Scrooge in Rouge--An English music-hall Christmas Carol, and the Canadian premiere of one of the most produced plays of 2019–2020, according to American Theatre.

Amid other fun offerings at the Granville Island venue, watch for Farren Timoteo's Made in Italy, based on the Western Canada Theatre production about a John Travolta- and Rocky Balboa-obsessed Italian teenager in 1970s rural Alberta, in February; and Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band, featuring songs by Dengue Fever, later in the spring.

The Arts Club also announced its Silver Commissions for the creation of new plays in the 2020–2021 season: My Father Is the Greatest Man in the World, by Tai Amy Grauman, and a new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac by Christine Quintana. Meanwhile, the 2020–2021 Emerging Playwrights’ Unit will include Erik Gow, Pippa Mackie, Justin Neal, and Lili Robinson, who will workshop and receive dramaturgical input on new works. In addition, the Arts Club is still accepting applications for the upcoming season’s Company in Residence, as well as for the Bill Millerd Artist Fund, a program that assists B.C. theatre artists with expenses related to training opportunities.

Below, find the entire 2020-21 lineup with dates and venues.

STANLEY INDUSTRIAL ALLIANCE STAGE

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
By Kate Hamill
Based on the novel by Jane Austen
Director Rachel Peake
September 10–October 11, 2020

ELF: THE MUSICAL
Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Based on the New Line Cinema film written by David Berenbaum
Director Stephen Drover
Choreographer Julie Tomaino
Music Director Ken Cormier
Starring Andrew McNee
November 5, 2020–January 3, 2021

NETWORK
Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall
Based on the Paddy Chayefsky film
In partnership with the Citadel Theatre and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
Director Daryl Cloran
Starring Jim Mezon
January 21–February 21, 2021

THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE
By Matthew Lopez
Director Sherry J. Yoon
March 18–April 18, 2021

ELVIS THE MUSICAL
By Sean Cercone and David Abbinanti
Musical Arrangements and Orchestrations by David Abbinanti
Based on a concept by Floyd Mutrux
In partnership with the Citadel Theatre
Director Ashlie Corcoran
May 13–July 4, 2021

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE

THE CULL
By Michele Riml and Michael St. John Smith
Director Mindy Parfitt
September 24–October 25, 2020

SCROOGE IN ROUGE
Book and Lyrics by Ricky Graham
Additional Material by Jeffery Roberson
Other Interesting Bits by Yvette Hargis
Original Music Composed by Jefferson Turner
Director Dean Paul Gibson
November 26, 2020–January 3, 2021

MADE IN ITALY
By Farren Timoteo
Director Daryl Cloran
February 4–March 7, 2021

CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND
By Lauren Yee
Featuring songs by Dengue Fever
Director Ashlie Corcoran
April 22–May 23, 2021

A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE
By Dean Regan
Director Mike Payette
June 17–August 1, 2021

NEWMONT STAGE AT THE BMO THEATRE CENTRE

DANCE NATION
By Clare Barron
In partnership with TBA
Director Meg Roe
October 8–October 25, 2020

THE TWELVE DATES OF CHRISTMAS
By Ginna Hoben
Director Barbara Tomasic
December 3, 2020–January 3, 2021

TEENAGE DICK
By Mike Lew
Director Ashlie Corcoran
Community Partner Realwheels Theatre
Richard III meets Mean Girls: this clever Shakespeare adaptation reimagines the protagonist as a teenager navigating the treacherous terrain of high school
February 18–March 14, 2021

ON TOUR

EVERY BRILLIANT THING
By Duncan Macmillan
With Jonny Donahoe
Director Ashlie Corcoran
Starring Naomi Wright
September 30–November 8, 2020

THE CULL
January 6–February 7, 2021

THE BIRDS & THE BEES
By Mark Crawford
Director Lauren Taylor
February 17–April 4, 2021