Park Square Theatre's 2012-13 season is distinguished by area premieres -- including a Broadway hit about artist Mark Rothko -- and a new Sherlock Holmes adventure by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher.

Artistic director Richard Cook opens the season Sept. 21 with "Red," a portrait of Rothko that starred Alfred Molina on Broadway. Rothko's large, abstract works revealed a deep sense of seclusion and reflected his growing depression. The play is a fierce psychological portrait.

The theater shifts gears with "King Lear" on Oct. 26. Raye Birk, a longtime favorite at the Guthrie, will portray Shakespeare's tragic and complex monarch. Peter Moore will direct.

For the holidays, Park Square will remount the popular "2 Pianos 4 Hands," which sold out its 2010 run. Michael Pearce Donley and Peter Vitale return to portray pianists who act out several characters and play grand pianos. The show, which received excellent reviews, opens Dec. 7.

"Johnny Baseball," a new musical about the mythical hex on baseball's Boston Red Sox, opens Jan. 25. The play had its premiere at American Repertory Theatre outside Boston in 2010.

Leah Cooper will direct "Or," by playwright Liz Duffy Adams, opening March 1. It tells the story of England's first woman playwright, in 1666.

James A. Williams will play a central role in "Stick Fly," a play that just closed after a Broadway run. Playwright Lydia Diamond wrote this story about rivalries that arise when two sons bring home girlfriends to the family vacation home.

Hatcher's "Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club" concludes the season with a June 14 opening. Park Square's production of Holmes plays in 2008 and 2010 were wildly popular. Actor Steve Hendrickson will return in the title role.

Park Square's current season has been ambitious and successful. "Ragtime: The Musical" did record box-office in February. For more information on the 2012-13 season, see www.parksquaretheatre.org.