Ford’s builds season around ‘misfits’

Ford’s Theatre Artistic Director Paul Tetreault didn’t go into season planning with, well, a plan. But when he was about midway through the process, he said, “I would step back [and] say all these kids are all sort of misfits.

“If you look at all the characters across the spectrum of the whole season . . . you’re talking about who I call ‘the others.’ They’re all misfits in their own way. They all have some way that they don’t fit in. And that’s a through-line to the whole season. . . . So many of us in the theater were the others, were the quirky kids on the outside. How do we tie that all together? I think that’s what our season is about. And how extraordinary people on the outside truly are.”

(Matthias Clamer/FOX) - Cloris Leachman

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‘The Laramie Project’

By Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project. Directed by Matthew Gardiner. Sept. 27 to Oct. 27.

The third installment in the Lincoln Legacy Project, this production of “The Laramie Project” will coincide with the 15th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s murder. The Lincoln Legacy Project, which launched in the fall of 2011, is aimed at sparking conversation about tolerance and equality — or, as is often the case, intolerance and inequality. The first Lincoln Legacy production was ­“Parade,” followed by last year’s “Fly.” “The issue of gay, lesbian and transgender people is something we’ve always wanted to address,” said Tetreault.

A series of free events will run in conjunction with the show, presented with partner organizations, including the Matthew Shepard Foundation, the Trevor Project and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Judy Shepard, Shepard’s mom, will take part in a free public Q&A. “One of the things Judy always talks about is we still have hate crimes happening,” said Tetreault. “And until there are no more hate crimes, she’s going to be out there pushing for equality and acceptance for people of all persuasions.”

‘A Christmas Carol’

By Charles Dickens, adapted by Michael Wilson. Directed by Michael Baron. Nov. 21 to Jan. 1, 2014.

This marks the fourth year this production of “A Christmas Carol” will be staged at Ford’s. For Tetreault, it’s a return to familiar territory: “I’ve been producing ‘A Christmas Carol’ for the past 20 years.”

‘Violet’

Music by Jeanine Tesori; book and lyrics by Brian Crawley. Based on “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts. Directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun; music direction by Jay Crowder. Jan. 24 to Feb. 23, 2014.

This musical — a mix of gospel, rock, bluegrass and country — follows Violet, a woman who was badly scarred as a child, on a trip across the civil-rights-era South. “The issues of race and how race resonates within our society is something we at Ford’s are very interested in,” said Tetreault. “Obviously it’s something Lincoln was interested in.”

‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’

Music and lyrics by William Finn; book by Rachel Sheinkin. Conceived by Rebecca Feldman; additional material by Jay ­Reiss. Directed by Peter Flynn; choreographed by Michael Bobbitt; music direction by Christopher Youstra. March 14 to May 17, 2014.

As a closer to a season that begins with “The Laramie Project,” “Spelling Bee” is “just this wild and great release,” said Tetreault. “And everyone has some story that connects them to a spelling bee.”