Playhouse in the Park - 2008
Season
All shows run 3 weekends Fri - Sun unless otherwise noted:
Friday and Saturday– 7:30pm
Sunday 2:30pm
Of Mice and Men
By John Steinbeck
Auditions: Nov 15 and 16
Performance: February 22 – March 9
Annie
Book by: Thomas Meehan
Lyrics by: Martin Charnin
Music by: Charles Strouse
Auditions: February 25 and 26
April 25 – May 11
Box Of Frogs Dessert Cabaret
Sat and Sun - May 17 & 18
2008 Summer Youth Theatre Camp Presents
A Year with Frog and Toad
Book and Lyrics by: Willie Reale
Music by: Robert Reale
Based on the Frog and Toad Books by Arnold Lobel
Auditions: May 19 and 20
7 Performances: June 6 – 10
Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday @ 7:30
Saturday – 2:30pm
Sunday – 2:00pm and 4pm
The Miss Firecracker Contest
By Beth Henley
Auditions: May 5 and 6
Performance: June 27 – July 13
Chicago
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. Music by John Kander.
Lyrics by Fred Ebb. Based on the play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins
Auditions: June 30 and July 1
Performance: August 29 – September 14
Dark of the Moon
By Howard Richardson and William Berney.
Auditions: September 1 and 2
Performance: October 17 – Nov 2
A Christmas Story
Based on the motion picture A Christmas Story, copyright 1983 Turner
Entertainment Co.
Adapted by Philip Grecian.
Auditions: Oct 13 and 14 - location TBD
Performance: Dec 5 – 21
Of Mice and Men
By John Steinbeck
February 22 – March 9
Auditions: Nov 15 and 16, 2007
This outstanding drama was very successful on Broadway and has become one of
the most consistently popular titles in the history of American theatre. A
tremendously moving character study of two drifting farmhands, George and
Lennie, who cope with their meager existence with delusions of living off
the "fat of the land," Lennie is a man-child, a little boy in the body of a
dangerously powerful man. They have just arrived at a ranch to enough money
to buy their own place, when Lennie unwittingly commits a horrible crime.
George must confront a moral question: How should he deal with Lennie before
the ranchers find him and take matters into their own hands?
Annie
Book by Thomas Meehan, Lyrics by Martin Charnin, Music by Charles Strouse
April 25 May 11
Auditions: February 25 and 26
Leapin' Lizards! The popular comic strip heroine takes centerstage in one of
the world's best-loved musicals.
"Annie" is a spunky Depression-era orphan determined to find her parents,
who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage run
by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. In adventure after fun-filled
adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan's evil machinations, befriends
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and finds a new family and home in
billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary Grace Farrell and a
lovable mutt named Sandy.
With its upbeat ending, a bright tuneful score which has become a part of
the nation's musical heritage, a cast of characters which includes many
scene-stealing roles for children, and a classic villainess audiences love
to hate, it's no wonder this heartwarming show has become an international
sensation.
2008 Summer Youth Theatre Camp Presents
A Year with Frog and Toad
Book and Lyrics by: Willie Reale
Music by: Robert Reale
Based on the Frog and Toad Books by Arnold Lobel
7 Performances: June 6 – 10
Auditions: May 19 and 20 Camp Dates: May 27 – June 6
Arnold Lobel's well-loved characters hop from the page to the stage in
Robert and Willie Reale's musical A Year With Frog And Toad. Conceived by
Mr. Lobel's daughter, Adrianne Lobel, A Year With Frog And Toad remains true
to the spirit of the original stories as it follows two great friends, the
cheerful and popular Frog and the rather grumpy Toad through four fun-filled
seasons. Waking from hibernation in the spring, they proceed to plant
gardens, swim, rake leaves and go sledding, learning life lessons along the
way, including a most important one about friendship and rejoicing in the
attributes that make each of us different and special. The clever book and
lyrics and snazzy music can serve as a great introduction to theatre for
youngsters, while keeping adults entertained as well A Year With Frog And
Toad is inventive, exuberant and totally enchanting.
The Miss Firecracker Contest
Beth Henley
Performance: June 27 – July 13
Auditions: May 5 and 6
A long-run Off-Broadway success, this explosively funny play again
demonstrates the author's unique gift for finding rich lodes of humor—and
simple wisdom—in the zany activities of small-town life.
In the small Mississippi town of Brookhaven, a few days before the Fourth of
July, Carnelle Scott (known locally as "Miss Hot Tamale") is rehearsing
furiously for the annual Miss Firecracker Contest—hoping that a victory will
salvage her tarnished reputation and allow her to leave town in a blaze of
glory. The unexpected arrival of her cousin Elain, a former Miss Firecracker
winner, complicates matters a bit, as does the arrival of Elain's eccentric
brother, Delmount. But aided by a touchingly awkward seamstress named Popeye
and several other cheerfully nutty characters, Carnelle perseveres—leading
to an ending of unparalleled hilarity, compassion and moving lyricism as all
concerned finally escape their unhappy pasts and turn hopefully toward what
must surely be a better future.
Chicago
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. Music by John Kander. Lyrics by Fred
Ebb. Based on the play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins
August 29 – September 14
Auditions: June 30 and July 1
Chicago is still one of Broadway s most popular and thrilling smash
hits. The winner of 6 Tony awards and a film that won the Oscar for
Best Picture, it s an electrifying tale of greed, murder and show-biz,
filled with hit tunes like "All That Jazz" and "Razzle Dazzle". Chicago also
features some of the best dancing on Broadway in recent years,
choreographed in the style of Bob Fosse. No wonder The New York Times called
Chicago, " The best musical in Town."
Dark of the Moon
By Howard Richardson and William Berney
October 17 – Nov 2
Auditions: September 1 and 2
This perennial favorite is based on the haunting ballad of "Barbara Allen."
Employing a large cast, imaginative settings in the Smoky Mountains and
hauntingingly beautiful old time mountain music, Dark of the Moon recounts
the story and song of an elfin witch boy who once beheld the beautiful
Barbara Allen and immediately fell in love with her. He is given human form
to woo and marry her on the condition that she remain true to him. The
superstitious townspeople come to resent their happiness and in a frenzy of
religious revival Barbara is led to betray her witch boy husband, breaking
the spell and end their love with tragic consequences. "Gusto, vitality,
humor, and a natural and easygoing way of introducing folk songs that add up
to an engaging evening on Broadway. There's a swing and spirit to the best
scenes that had some of the audience tapping its feet and humming." N.Y.
Post. "Weird, fascinating theatrical entertainment.... An enriching and
pleasurable experience." N.Y. World Telegram.
A Christmas Story
Adapted by Philip Grecian.
Based on the motion picture A Christmas Story, copyright 1983 Turner
Entertainment Co., distributed by Warner Bros. written by Jean Shepherd,
Leigh Brown and Bob Clark; and on the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay
Cash by Jean Shepherd.
Dec 5 – 21
Auditions: Oct 13 and 14 - location TBD
Humorist Jean Shepherd's memoir of growing up in the midwest in the 1940s
follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest to get a genuine Red Ryder BB
gun under the tree for Christmas. Ralphie pleads his case before his mother,
his teacher and even Santa Claus himself, at Goldblatt's Department Store.
The consistent response: "You'll shoot your eye out." All the elements from
the beloved motion picture are here, including the family's temperamental
exploding furnace; Scut Farkas, the school bully; the boys' experiment with
a wet tongue on a cold lamppost; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin;
Ralphie's father winning a lamp shaped like a woman's leg in a net
stocking; Ralphie's fantasy scenarios and more. A Christmas Story is
destined to become a theatrical holiday perennial. |