Press Releases

CAST LIST FOR LEGALLY BLONDE!

Announcing the cast list for the 2012-2013 Season Opener, Legally Blonde

Elle Woods: Amy Polumbo
Vivienne Kinsington: Claire Hayner
Paulette Buonofuonte: Carla McDonald
Brooke Wyndham: Cassie Thompson
Margot: Bussy Gower
Serena: Alexis Grace
Pilar: Noby Edwards
Kate: Liz Sharpe
Judge: Claire Kolheim
DA Joyce Riley: Noelia Warnette-Jones
Emmett Forrest: Nick Lerew
Warner Huntington: Colin Morgan
Professor Callahan: David Foster
Kyle O’Boyle: Cary Vaughn
Featured Ensemble:
Christopher Calderazzo
Emily Draffen
Marc Gill
Chris Hanford
Lynden Lewis
Richie MacLeod
Justin Nelson
Shannon O’Hara
Standrew Parker
Eileen Peterson
Allison Stearns
Noelia Warnette-Jones
Corbin Williams

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Posted on Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

2012-13 Circuit Season Announcement!

The Circuit Playhouse Season is Set
The 50s, 60s, and confessions are recurring themes.

Playhouse on the Square has chosen the shows that will run at The Circuit Playhouse for 2012-2013. The season for the venue at 51 S. Cooper will open with Good People, a play about a single-mother struggling to make ends meet in Boston’s Southie neighborhood. Written by David Lindsay-Abaire, a Pulitzer Prize winner for Rabbit Hole, Good People revolves around the dynamic between the lead character and the former high school sweetheart who she thinks can turn her life around when they reconnect.
In October Zombies from the Beyond
, a quirky musical comedy set during the Cold War about the space race, involves buxom alien zombies who come to Milwaukee to collect male specimens to take back to their female-laden planet. The show spoofs everything from the movie musicals of the 50s to the grade-B space invasion films of the era with a score that is reminiscent of 50s pop.
For the holidays, Crumpet the crotchety elf returns in The Santaland Diaries done cabaret-style in The Circuit Playhouse’s Memphian Room. Crumpet recounts his experience working as a department-store elf. The more family-friendly Ken Ludwig’s Twas the Night Before Christmas
will run on the stage. ‘Night Before Christmas’ is the story of a mouse whose house gets skipped by Santa. The mouse and his two friends, an elf and a spunky little girl named Calliope, set out on wild adventures to keep it from happening again in this joyful tribute to the holiday season.
The season picks back up in January with Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop
, a re-imagining of the events that took place on the night before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s death at the Lorraine Motel. This production will be a collaboration between The Circuit Playhouse and the Hattiloo Theatre.
In the spring of 2013, The Circuit Playhouse will present the musical Debbie Does Dallas, which is loosely based on the adult film about a young woman who gets her chance to become a Texas Cowgirls cheerleader. When she does not have the money for the bus fare, she and her friends get creative in this show that is more send up than homage.
Donald Margulies’ Time Stands Still
will follow later that month. The play was nominated for two Tony Awards including Best Play in 2010 and is about an adventurous couple, a photojournalist and a foreign correspondent, that consider leading more conventional lives when they are injured on the job. The conflict arises when one of them is not so ready to give up.
The Circuit Playhouse season closes with The Lyons, subject to availability. It is a dysfunctional family drama with humor in the vein of August: Osage County in which a family gathers in the hospital room of its dying patriarch and unleashes years of secrets and resentments.
Two additional productions will be staged at TheatreWorks as part of the POTS@TheWorks Series. The Left Hand Singing
, a drama that begins during the Civil Rights Era and spans three decades to follow three families united by tragedy, will run in January 2013. In July 2013, POTS@TheWorks will feature the comedy 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, set in 1956 about the chaos that ensues when a homeland threat interrupts an annual quiche-off.

Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire
Aug. 31-Sept. 23
Zombies from the Beyond Book Music and Lyrics by James Valcq
Oct. 5- Oct. 28
Ken Ludwig’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
Nov. 23- Dec. 30
The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris. Adapted by Joe Mantello
Nov. 23 – Dec. 30
The Left Hand Singing by Barbara Lebow
Jan. 4, 2013 – Jan. 27, 2013
The Mountaintop by Katori Hall
Jan.18 -Feb. 10
Debbie Does Dallas Adapted by Erica Schmidt. Composed by Andrew Sherman. Conceived by Susan L. Schwartz.
March 1 – March 24
Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies
April 19 – May 12
The Lyons by Nicky Silver (Subject to Availability)
June 7 – June 30
5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood
July 5 – July 28

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Posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

One Year Later: Playhouse Thrives in Its New Home

Thank you, Memphis for a great first year! Come and join us for the First Anniversary Celebration of the new Playhouse on the Square on Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The free event open to the public will be held in the main lobby of the theatre and will feature a special toast to thank the community for its continued support of Memphis’ only resident professional theatre.

The journey to build a Midtown hub for the arts community began seven years ago. The facility at 66 S. Cooper opened officially on January 29th, 2010, made possible by the success of the theatre’s Breaking New Ground Capital Campaign. With the generous support of individuals and corporations as well as grants from the Jeniam Foundation, The Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation and many other local organizations, the completion of the state-of-the-art multipurpose facility was the realization of a shared dream.

Circuit Playhouse, Inc. Founder and Executive Producer, Jackie Nichols, reflected on the theatre’s progress since the opening of the new venue. “One year later, we have seen tens of thousands of patrons come through our doors experiencing the excitement of great theatre, dance, music, and opera. Thanks to all who have helped make this happen.” Because of you, Playhouse on the Square can deliver on its mission to bring a challenging and diverse repertoire of theatrical work that speaks to the intelligence, the soul, and the imagination of the Memphis community in new and innovative ways.

The staff, board of directors and artists who make up Playhouse on the Square would love for you stop by, have a drink, take a tour if you have not already seen the facility, and help us celebrate our first successful year in the new space!

Event: First Anniversary Celebration of the New Playhouse on the Square
Date: Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
Time: 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Location: 66 S. Cooper, Main Lobby

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Posted on Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

Press: Jerry Springer the Opera

Click here to download the Jerry Springer the Opera press release in PDF format.

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Posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2006