Love abounds in RMTC's 2017-18 season with young Shakespeare, hit musical Once

The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is hoping audiences will swoon for its 2017-18 season — the 60th for Manitoba's largest theatre, and one centred around stories of "life, love and the power of second chances," RMTC says.

"Our citizens dreamed into existence Canada's first regional theatre, and we have spent the best days of the last 60 years in its visionary embrace," RMTC artistic director Steven Schipper said in a media release.

Here's what's coming up next season:

At the John Hirsch Mainstage:

Shakespeare in Love (Oct. 19-Nov. 11): Based on the 1998 movie (which won multiple Oscars, including one for screenwriters Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman), this stage adaptation of the story of a young playwright named Shakespeare in — well, love — was a hit at last year's Stratford Festival.

A Christmas Carol (Nov. 23-Dec. 16): Manitoba playwright Bruce McManus's adaptation of the Dickens classic premiered at RMTC back in 2005, and it makes a return just in time for next Christmas. Local favourite Robb Paterson will lead an all-local cast in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, Schipper told CBC Radio's Weekend Morning Show.

Once (Feb. 15-March 10, 2018): Another screen-to-stage adaptation, this time of the 2007 hit about a busker finding love and the power of music. Celebrated Irish playwright Enda Walsh wrote the stage adaptation, which became a Broadway hit and multiple-Tony Award winner. As an added draw, during the intermission of the show — which is set in an Irish pub — audiences will be able to enjoy a pint onstage, Schipper said.

The Humans (March 22-April 14): The story of the dysfunctional family dinner has been told before. But Lebanese-American playwright Stephen Karam's play is one of the most acclaimed in recent years, becoming a Pulitzer Prize finalist and earning a Tony Award for best new play last year.

Morning After Grace (April 26-May 19): American playwright Carey Crim impressed with her play 23.5 Hours, which ran earlier this season at the RMTC Warehouse. She's back at RMTC with this comedy about seniors who find each other — and love — after hooking up at a funeral.

• REVIEW: Compelling doubt lingers in RMTC's 23.5 Hours

A January 2018 production at the Mainstage has yet to be announced.

At the Tom Hendry Warehouse:

Nine Dragons (Oct. 26-Nov. 11, 2017): This is the world premiere of a new play by Canadian playwright Jovanni Sy, which follows a detective in 1920s Hong Kong trying to solve a series of murders — and promises to bring some welcome diversity to the RMTC stage. B.C.'s Gateway Theatre and Calgary's Vertigo Theatre will co-produce.

Outside Mullingar (Feb. 1-17, 2018): Next year's Master Playwright Festival will celebrate American writer John Patrick Shanley, best known for his play Doubt: A Parable, about abuse in the Catholic church. This 2014 play focuses on two farmers in the Irish countryside looking for love.

Di and Viv and Rose (March 8-24): This feel-good play by British writer Amelia Bullmore explores the lives of three women who befriend each other in university and their lifelong bond.

Heisenberg (April 12-28): Sorry, Breaking Bad fans, it's not about your favourite meth manufacturer. This play by Brit Simon Stephens (another playwright returning to RMTC for a second consecutive season, following The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) explores the unexpected chemistry between a 75-year-old British butcher and a 40-something American.

• REVIEW: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time played with emotional bite