2011-2012 Season Announcement
PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – Aug. 12-Sept. 4
Before there was “Mad Men” there was this Pulitzer Prize- winning musical where power, sex, ambition, and greed are all in a day’s work at the office. A window washer climbs the corporate ladder with the help of a trusty manual, but when a saboteur attacks and the book doesn’t have the answer, he’ll have to depend on his own wit and creativity to survive.
Limited Engagement – Special Project
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour – Sept. 8- Sept.10
A re-staging of the highly successful 2004 collaboration with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra- this show is not part of the regular season but a special offering for Playhouse and Symphony subscribers.
Tom Stoppard’s black comedy about Soviet dissidents incarcerated in a mental hospital.
Gem of the Ocean – Sept. 23 – Oct.16
This drama is the first of ten plays in August Wilson’s Century Cycle chronicling the African American experience by each decade of the 20th century. When the wrong man is accused of a crime it sparks a chain of events that drive a community deeper into turmoil and sets the man responsible on a soaring lyrical journey to redemption.
Annie – Nov. 18 – Dec. 23
The classic tale of the orphan girl with gumption who must endure a crude orphanage until she melts the heart of the wealthy Oliver Warbucks.
Next to Normal – Jan. 20, 2012 – Feb. 12, 2012
Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this contemporary musical is about a suburban family who go to great lengths to hold their world together while grappling with mental illness.
God of Carnage – Mar. 16 – Apr. 1
A playground scuffle between two boys brings their parents together in an attempt to resolve the matter. The meeting begins with all on their best behavior but tensions mount, fuses blow, and the couples devolve into increasingly childish behavior. 2009 Tony Award Winner for Best Play.
A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline – May 11 – June 3
A tribute to the life and music of the country legend, from her humble start in the Shenandoah Valley, to the Grand Ole Opry, to the tragic loss of a superstar at a young age.
Xanadu – June 29 – July 22
A Greek muse descends from the heavens to 1980s Venice Beach, California to inspire a struggling artist to create the first Roller Disco. An electrifying musical tale of forbidden love with chart-topping tunes.
THE CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE
Disney’s Camp Rock: The Musical – Aug. 26 – Sept. 18
When a rival summer camp threatens the very existence of Camp Rock, campers must band together to prepare for the ultimate showdown. Based on the Disney Channel Original Movies Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.
Avenue Q – Oct. 7 – Oct. 30
This Tony Award-winning musical with crass but charming puppets is the tale of a bright-eyed college graduate and his neighborhood of new friends in New York.
Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge – Nov. 25 – Dec. 23
Christopher Durang’s comedic spin on A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life.
Aesop’s Fable-ous Christmas Tree – Dec. 3 – Dec. 18
When Aesop is given a Christmas spin, you’ll find six birds a‘racing (a la The Tortoise and the Hare) and eight reindeer learning that “necessity is the mother of invention.” A dozen vignettes feature all of your favorite Christmas characters and blend humor, rhythmic elements, rapping, puppetry, poetry, song, and storytelling to create a fast-paced, fun-filled show that will delight the child in everyone. Written by Resident Company Member Michael Gravois.
In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play – Jan. 13, 2012 – Feb. 5, 2012
Sarah Ruhl’s drama/comedy set in the 19th century at the dawn of the age of electricity about an unusual new therapy to treat “hysterical” women. When a doctor introduces this treatment into his home, a conflict of sexual repression and emancipation ensues. A 2010 Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Spring Awakening – March 2 – March 25
Winner of eight 2007 Tony Awards, this bold musical set in the late 19th century featuring 21st century music follows a dozen teenagers as they come of age in a puritanical society.
Noel Coward’s Present Laughter – April 20 – May 13
A popular and pampered actor juggles his career, family, and a string of admirers in this comedy.
Tuna Does Vegas – June 8 – July 8
When a conservative radio host announces on the air that he and his wife will renew their marriage vows in Sin City, all of the residents of Tuna, Texas’s third smallest town, come along for the ride. Favorite characters from past ‘Tuna’ productions return and new ones are introduced by a cast of two actors.
POTS@THEWORKS
The Club – Jan. 6 – Jan.29
Members of a stuffy, all male club, circa 1905, tap dance and sing 14 songs of the era, all indicative of male smugness and superiority.
Race – July 6 – July 29
David Mamet’s searing drama about America’s most controversial topic. Two lawyers defend a wealthy white executive charged with raping a black woman. When a new legal assistant gets involved in the case, the opinions that boil beneath explode to the surface.
