Local News: Playhouse 1960 unveils 2008 Mainstage Season

Posted by: thenardieron 2008/1/5 11:30:00 3226 reads Playhouse 1960, a non-profit, community based theater located in Houston, Texas, is happy to announce their Main stage season for 2008. This season’s selection offers a balance of comedies, drama, musicals and classic plays that are sure to delight and entertain. This years season kicks off with..

(audition dates included)

Arsenic and Old Lace
-by Joseph Kesselring, comedy-drama,
Jan 25—Feb 16

The play, a clever combination of the farcical and the macabre, centers on two elderly sisters who are famous in their Brooklyn neighborhood for their numerous acts of charity. Unfortunately, however, their charity includes poisoning lonely old men who come to their home looking for lodging.

The Underpants
- Carl Sternheim, Adapted by Steve Martin
farce, March 7—March 29

a wild satire adapted from the classic German play about Louise and Theo Markes, a couple whose conservative existence is shattered when Louise's bloomers fall down in public.
Auditions: January 27, 28, 7 pm

Leading Ladies
-Ken Ludwig, comedy, April 18—May 10

In this hilarious comedy by the author of LEND ME A TENOR and MOON OVER BUFFALO, two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing "Scenes from Shakespeare" on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash.
Auditions: March 9, 10 at 7 pm

Barrymore-
William Luce, comedy, May 16—May 31
Each act begins with a stunning entrance onto a stage that the 60 year old legendary actor has rented to prepare for a comeback performance of Richard III. Barrymore jokes with the audience, spars with an offstage prompter, reminisces about better times and does delicious imitations of his siblings Lionel and Ethel.
auditions, cast


Chicago,
musical, Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb, Book: Fred Ebb & Bob Fosse, June 6—June 29

Based on a 1926 play by Chicago Tribune reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, Chicago tells the story of Roxie Hart, a chorus girl who murders her unfaithful husband, then manages not only to avoid prison with the help of razzle-dazzle lawyer Billy Flynn, but uses the trial to propel herself to showbiz stardom along with another murderous chorus girl, Velma Kelly. A dark parable of American justice, Chicago is a sexy musical extravaganza that includes several show-stopping numbers such as "All That Jazz," "Razzle Dazzle" and "Class."
Auditions: April 20, 21 at 7 pm

Grease-, musical, Written By, lyrics and music: Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey, July 18—Aug 3

It's 1959 and Rydell High is filled with rebellious, thrill-loving students. In the midst of this scene, Sandy Dumbrowski enters as the new girl in school. It turns out that she and the leader of the Burger Palace Boys gang, Danny Zuko, have had a brief love affair the summer before. While Sandy stresses to her new classmates the emotional attachment she and Danny had, Danny stresses the physical aspects of their relationship. As the show goes on, the students at Rydell High have to deal with love, gang violence, teen pregnancy, and friendship. In the end, Sandy and Danny resolve their differences and end up happily together. Dancing in the show involves 1950s jazz styles.
Auditions: June 8, 9 at 7pm

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
-Tennessee Williams, drama, Aug 22-Sept 13

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is a story of an affluent Southerner, Big Daddy Pollitt, who is dying of cancer. The family gathers at the Mississippi mansion for his birthday, aware that this may be his last. Big Daddy does not know, however, because the family doctor, eldest son Gooper, and his wife, Mae, decide to keep the fact concealed from him. Will manipulative patriarch Big Daddy leave his plantation to his weasly son Gooper or his handsome alcoholic son Brick? And why doesn't Brick have a son of his own? Hot-blooded wife Maggie does her best to tempt Brick from his brooding and back into her bed.
Winner of the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Auditions: July 20, 21 at 7 pm

To Kill a Mockingbird
-Harper Lee, classic, Oct 3—Oct 25

All the familiar characters, the small town setting, and the major racial themes of Harper Lee's classic novel of To Kill a Mockingbird are compressed in this faithful adaptation of the novel to the stage. Scout is as spunky, warm-hearted, and curious about life here in the stage play as she is in the novel and film, and Atticus Finch is just as passionate an advocate for justice.
Auditions: August 24, 25 at 7 pm


Beauty and the Beast—

Music: Alan Menken, Lyrics: Howard Ashman & Tim RiceBook: Linda Wolverton,
—musical, Nov 21—Dec 14

Beauty and the Beast is the story of a prince who is magically transformed into a hideous beast by an old witch. In order to break the spell, he must learn to love and be loved. Based on the classic film, this stage version of Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast includes several new songs by Alan Menken and Time Rice including "No Matter What", "Me", "Home", "How Long Must This Go On?", "If I Can't Love Her", "Maison des Loon", and "Transformation".
Auditions: October 5, 6 at 7pm


Call 281-58-STAGE for more information:
Auditions are also posted on theatreport.

6814 Gant Rd
Houston, TX 77066
Visit online at
www.playhouse1960.com