FOLIOPlayers by the Sea is announcing its 2016-2017 Season! This line up was chosen as a reflection of the community and culture, presenting a diverse range of exciting and thoroughly entertaining shows. Featuring Tony award winning productions, including Into The Woods, City of Angels, as well as two World Premieres from Local Playwrights, this season is sure not to disappoint!
To get the excitement underway, the season opener will be on the Mainstage as Players presents Into The Woods. From the pen of Musical Theatre legend Stephen Sondheim comes this thrilling and spell-binding collision of your favorite fairy tales. When a Baker and his Wife journey into the woods to reverse a curse cast upon them by the Witch that lives next door, they encounter Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack, and Little Red Riding Hood (just to name a few). This heartfelt and inventive musical, winner of 5 Tony Awards, reveals that wishes do come true, but at a price. Performances are September 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30 October 1, 2, 6, 7, 8.
Following on the Studio Stage is a new outrageous dark comedy from acclaimed playwright Robert Askins, Hand To God. The good children of Cypress, Texas are taught to obey the Bible in order to evade Satan’s hand. But when students at the Christian Puppet Ministry put those teachings into practice, one devout young man’s puppet takes on a shocking personality that no one could have expected. In this hilarious and high-octane comedy, a foul-mouthed sock puppet named Tyrone soon teaches those around him that the urges that can drive a person to give in to their darkest desires fit like a glove. Performances are November 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19.
For December, join us for Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge on our Mainstage. If you thought you knew A Christmas Carol like the back of your hand, think again! Gladys Cratchit (Mrs. Bob Cratchit) is harsh, binge-drinking, suicidal and completely over being “Mommy Dearest.” When the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future (an African American Woman with attitude and sass) keeps bringing Scrooge and his seasonal Tourette’s Syndrome to the Cratchit’s pathetic home, cheerless mayhem ensues! And to make matters worse, Scrooge and Mrs. Cratchit seem to be kindred souls falling in love. The classic tale of redemption and gentle grace is knocked aside and falls to the ground like a shattered ornament with acclaimed funny-guy Christopher Durang’s colorful parody. Performances are December 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11*, 15, 16, 17.
To begin 2017, Players presents Eurydice from the unique mind of Sarah Ruhl on our Studio Stage. This is the re-imagining of the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice journeys to the underworld where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, poetic dialogue and breathtaking spectacle, Eurydice is a fresh look at a timeless love story. Performances are January 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15*, 19, 20, and 21.
For February, Players presents the Tony Award Winning Musical City of Angels by Larry Gelbart, with lyrics by David Zippel and music by Cy Coleman. Swinging, sexy, smart, and funny! An ingenious spoof of 1940s Hollywood and whodunit films with side-by-side stories about the “real” world of a detective fiction writer and the “reel” world of a detective fiction writer and the “reel” world of his fictional gumshoe hero. One balances romance and rewrites, while the other slinks through a film noir netherworld of thugs and femmes fatales. It’s a colorful celebration of the 1940s, a witty detective thriller and a jazzy score that really kills. Performances on our Mainstage are February 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19*, 23, 24, and 25.
In March on our Studio Stage, Players presents the local premiere of the outrageously dark comedy, Killer Joe. What do Dallas, a hitman, a trailer and a chicken wing have in common? In this hilariously dark romp by highly acclaimed writer Tracy Letts (BUG, Superior Donuts, August: Osage County), family dysfunction takes an entirely new twisted meaning. When the dissolute Smith family hires a hit-man to off the matriarch for insurance money, their plan comes back to bite them in a bloody aftermath. Killer Joe is a tightly wound and lightning-paced story reveling in white trash stereotypes (and it’s okay — it allows you to revel in them, too!) Performances are March 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26*, 30, 31, and April 1.
Next on the Mainstage is the Southeastern premiere of The Walls by Lisa Dillman. A scholarly young woman, Carrie, must confront the issue of her mother’s untimely death and the possible consequences of her own complicated inheritance. In this time-bending play about the elusive nature of madness, our eyes are opened to the physical and social treatment of women over the decades and the effects of forced institutionalization. Performances are April 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30* and May 4, 5, 6.
Following on the Studio Stage, Players presents two world premieres from local playwrights, Kelby Siddons and Drew Brown, the winners of New Voices! After a yearlong development process, their full-length plays will be mounted and produced by Players by the Sea. Plays titles and synopses will be announced as information becomes available. The two plays will be presented in late May and June for four weekends: 1 play the first two weekends and 1 play the second two weekends. Performances are May 26, 27, June 1, 2, 3, 4* and June 9, 10, 11*, 15, 16 and 17.
To close the 51st season, Players presents audiences with the high energy rock musical American Idiot by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer featuring the music of Green Day. Johnny, Tunny and Will struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world. When the three disgruntled men flee the constraints of their hometown for the thrills of city life, their paths are quickly estranged when Tunny enters the armed forces, Will is called back home to attend familial responsibilities, and Johnny’s attention becomes divided by a seductive love interest and a hazardous new friendship. American Idiot is an energy fueled rock opera comprised of the songs found on Green Day’s breakout and Grammy Award-winning Album of the same name. Performances on our Mainstage are July 21, 22, 27, 28, 29,and August 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12.
For information and tickets, call (904)249-0289 or log onto www.playersbythesea.org.
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CONTACT:
Bradley Akers
Associate Director
Players by the Sea Theatre
bradley@playersbythesea.org | 904.249.0289 (o) | 904.403.9837 (c)
CONTACT:
Sadie La Manna
Communications Coordinator
Players by the Sea Theatre
sadie@playersbythesea.org | 904.249.0289 (o)
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