Monday, January 18, 2010

Manatee Players announce new season

I'm really excited about the upcoming season at Manatee Players. Here's a few reasons why:

"Oliver."
"Guys and Dolls."
And "Singin' in the Rain."

Oh, and don't forget "The Drowsy Chaperone."

Makes one want to try out for them all. Oh, if only I had the time.

Look for all these shows and more during the 2010-2011 season, which was announced by the Players just a couple of hours ago. Here's more info on the season:

THE 2010-11 MAIN STAGE SEASON!

"SOUTH PACIFIC" – August 19 - September 5, 2010

Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Book by Oscar Hammerstein II, Joshua Logan Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "Tales of the South Pacific" by James A. Michener

Set in an island paradise during World War II, two parallel love stories are threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war. Nellie, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with a mature French planter, Emile. Nellie learns that the mother of his children was an island native and, unable to turn her back on the prejudices with which she was raised, refuses Emile's proposal of marriage. Meanwhile, the strapping Lt. Joe Cable denies himself the fulfillment of a future with an innocent Tonkinese girl with whom he's fallen in love out of the same fears that haunt Nellie. When Emile is recruited to accompany Joe on a dangerous mission that claims Joe's life, Nellie realizes that life is too short not to seize her own chance for happiness, thus confronting and conquering her prejudices.


"SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE" – September 23 - October 10, 2010

Book by James Lapine Music by Stephen Sondheim Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

One of the most acclaimed musicals of our time, this moving study of the enigmatic painter Georges Seurat won a Pulitzer Prize for its deeply insightful and highly personal examination of life through art and the artist. Act One follows the inarticulate Seurat as he fights a losing battle to maintain a relationship with his mistress Dot as he creates his painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” amid the scorn of the artistic community. The second act takes place 100 years later, introducing us to his American descendant, also an artist, burned out and uncertain of the path he must take.


"NUNSENSATIONS!" – October 28 - November 14, 2010

By Dan Goggin

NUNSENSATIONS! The Nunsense Vegas Revue takes the sisters on a brand new adventure. When a parishioner volunteers to donate $10,000 to the sisters' school if they will perform in a club in Las Vegas, Mother Superior is hesitant to accept. However, after being convinced by the other sisters that "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" Reverend Mother agrees. What follows is the most feather-filled, sequin-studded, fan dancing Nunsense show ever! Performing in "The Pump Room" at the Mystique Motor Lodge, the sisters experience "show-biz" like never before. You'll meet Sin-City Sue, find out who's Black and White with Her Money on Red, and try to win a new car with the "Holy Rollers Giant Slot Machine."


"OLIVER" - December 2 - 29, 2010

Music, Lyrics and Book by Lionel Bart Licensed by Arrangement with Oliver Productions, Ltd. and Oliver Promotions, Ltd.

Nothing works on the stage like a well-crafted tale, and OLIVER! is just such a show. Based on the Dickens novel, it will engage your audience with its pathos and drama, while delighting everyone with its outstanding musical numbers. Food, Glorious Food, I'd Do Anything, Where is Love?, Consider Yourself, As Long As He Needs Me, Who Will Buy and Reviewing the Situation are musical theatre classics. Dickens' characters are brought to life-perhaps larger than life-with all their facets glowing in this production.

"THE DROWSY CHAPERONE" - January 13-30, 2011

Music and Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar

A rare combination of unprecedented originality and blinding talent, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE boldly addresses a great unspoken desire in all of our hearts: to be entertained. If you've ever sat in a dark theatre and thought, "Dear Lord in heaven, please let it be good," this is the show for you!

It all begins when a die-hard musical-theater fan plays his favorite cast album on his turntable, and the musical literally bursts to life in his living room, telling the rambunctious tale of a brazen Broadway starlet trying to find, and keep, her true love.


"GUYS AND DOLLS" - February 17-March 6, 2011

Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows Music by Frank Loesser

Lyrics by Frank Loesser

Based on The Idyll of Sarah Brown and characters by Damon Runyon

Set in Damon Runyon's mythical New York City, this oddball romantic comedy - considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy-soars with the spirit of Broadway as it introduces us to a cast of vivid characters who have become legends in the canon: Sarah Brown, the upright but uptight "mission doll," out to reform the evildoers of Time Square; Sky Masterson, the slick, high-rolling gambler who woos her on a bet and ends up falling in love; Adelaide, the chronically ill nightclub performer whose condition is brought on by the fact she's been engaged to the same man for 14 years; and Nathan Detroit, her devoted fiancé, desperate as always to find a spot for his infamous floating crap game.


"SHOUT!" – March 24 - April 10, 2011

Co-Creator - Phillip George and David Lowenstein

Continuity - Peter Charles Morris

SHOUT! flips through the years like a musical magazine and takes you back to the music, the fashion and the freedom of the 60's! This smashing revue tracks five groovy gals as they come of age during those liberating days that made England swing! Join this non-stop journey through the infectious and soulful pop anthems and ballads that made household names of stars like Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield and Lulu. SHOUT! uses letters to an advice columnist, true confessions, quizzes and advertisements as a frame for terrific new arrangements of such chart-topping hits as "To Sir With Love," "Downtown," "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," "Son of A Preacher Man," and "Goldfinger." With its irresistible blend of hip-swiveling hits, eye-popping fashions and psychedelic dances from the 60's, this fun-filled musical will make you want to throw your head back and SHOUT!


"SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN" – May 5 - 22, 2011

Screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green Music by Nacio Herb Brown Lyrics by Arthur Freed Based on the MGM film (1952)

You remember the plot. You love the characters. You know "the song." It's no less than the stage adaptation of one of the most celebrated and beloved films of all time. 1920s Hollywood is the setting for this zany, light-hearted romantic comedy about the early days of sound film, when many a movie studio found itself scrambling to salvage the career of its chipmunk-voiced silent picture star.

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