Due to financial difficulties, for each of the past two seasons only four works were produced. The financial picture is improving.

Artistic director Loretta Greco said in a statement, "In December, we received a $500,000 bequest from two long-time subscribers, Mary Price Moffat and James Moffat. That's the largest gift Magic has ever received. It's a testament to 44 years of artistic adventure and our six past artistic directors who created such a rich heritage of great theatre in San Francisco. So thanks to our diligence and the Moffats' generosity, we're able to return to a five-play season. More work will be done to put our fiscal house in the order we want and need. But in the past 24 months, we've cut our outstanding debt in half, aligned our expenses with our revenues, and are on track to reduce our remaining debt even further this year."

Magic has committed to three of next season's five plays. They are:

Why We Have a Body
By Claire Chafee
Directed by Katie Pearl
"The comedy features Lili, a lesbian private investigator who stalks adulterous men, channels Joan of Arc, deals with a sister who robs convenience stores and an archeologist mother obsessed with the female brain. Premiered at the Magic in 1993 and garnered the San Francisco Dramalogue Award, the Bay Area Critics' Circle Award for original script and the George Oppenheimer Award for the most impressive debut of an American playwright."

Jesus in India
By Lloyd Suh
World Premiere
"Two years after the premiere of his hit play, American Hwangap, Lloyd Suh is back at the Magic with a contemporary parable imagining a wild stretch in the lost years of Jesus Christ. Teenaged and wayward, Jesus of Nazareth journeys to the east with his friend, Abigail of Galilee, towards a spiritual haven full of Maharajas, music, and some really good weed." Bruja
By Luis Alfaro
Directed by Loretta Greco
World Premiere
"Alfaro's Oedipus el Rey (Magic 2010) won the prestigious Glickman Award, given to the best play premiered in the Bay Area. Bruja is a contemporary story, haunting and sensual, of a powerful and brave investigation of a sorceress scorned. It explodes one of the ancient myths most firmly embedded in our culture."

The two remaining productions, as well as dates for all five shows, will be announced in the spring. For season subscriptions, individual tickets and additional information, visit www.magictheatre.org.