Footloose!
S E P T E M B E R 2 7 - 2 9
Fall Mainstage Musical FOOTLOOSE (1998)
Stage Adaptation: Dean Pitchford, Walter Bobbie
Music: Tom Snow
Lyrics: Dean Pitchford
Additional Music: Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, Jim Steinman
SYNOPSIS
The movie’s Oscar-nominated score is brought to life on stage with this coming-of-age musical celebrating love, rebellion, and the power of forgiveness.
INSPIRATION
Stage adaptation of the hit movie, now celebrating its 40th anniversary.
OF NOTE
Story inspired by a ban on dancing in Elmore City, Oklahoma
CRITICAL
ACCLAIM
“Footloose is all about fun and the carefree nature of being a teen, which of course is never fully appreciated at the time…it should do well, cornering not only the teenage market, but all those who remember the eighties with fondness too. — British Theatre Guide
Director: David Herendeen
Music Director: Matthew Mailman
Fall Spotlight
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (1998)
Music and Lyrics: Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Book: Bob Martin and Don McKellar
SYNOPSIS
When a devoted Broadway fan plays his favorite cast album, from the fictional show The Drowsy Chaperone, characters cometo life in this award-winning musical farce.
INSPIRATION
This comic spoof of old musicals was created by a group of creative friends for a Canadian stag party.
OF NOTE
Winner of five Tony Awards in 2006, including Best Book and Best Original Score.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“The perfect Broadway musical.” New York Magazine
Director: Karen Coe Miller
Music Director: Chuck Koslowske
N O V E M B E R 1 5 - 1 7
Fall Mainstage Opera
THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE (1956)
Music and Lyrics: Douglas Moore
Book: John Latouche
SYNOPSIS
An American rags-to-riches love story inspired by real-life characters in 19th-century Colorado, the opera explores universal truths abut love and loss.
INSPIRATION
The rise and fall of “Silver King” Horace Tabor and his wives.
OF NOTE
Commissioned and premiered by Central City Opera
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“The main pleasure for this listener Sunday night came from Douglas Moore's score…it is fluent, easy, inventive.
The New York Times
Director: David Herendeen
Music Director: Jan McDaniel
Spring Spotlight
HEAD OVER HEELS (2015)
Music and Lyrics: The Go-Go’s Book: Jeff Whitty, adapted by James Ma
SYNOPSIS
A bold musical comedy from the team that rocked Broadway with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening, set to the music of the iconic 1980s rock band
The Go-Go’s. The plot: a royal family embarks on a quest to save their kingdom from extinction only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within.
INSPIRATION
Music of the 1980s “girl group ” The Go-Go’s
OF NOTE
Debuted at Oregon Shakespeare Festival before making its Broadway premiere in 2018.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
The show is an ode to female independence with the winking spirit of a Shakespearean fairy and the neon edge of a rebellious ‘80s teenager, teaming up to beckon people into the woods. Forty years after The Go-Go’s’ formation, Head Over Heels does more than preserve the band’s iconic hits in amber. For two hours and 15 minutes, it’s enough to pull the world back into sync. Entertainment Weekly
Director: Karen Coe Miller
Music Director: Chuck Koslowske
TWINBILLOFONE-ACTOPERAS
F E B R U A R Y 2 1 - 2 3 Fields Schicchi
Spring Mainstage OPERA TWINBILL
STRAWBERRY FIELDS (1999)
Music: Michael Torke
Libretto: A.R. Gurney
SYNOPSIS: An elderly woman in New York’s Centra imagines the scenes unfolding around her are part of an elaborate opera she does not want to leave.
INSPIRATION: The garden-within-a-garden dedicated to John Lennon
CRITICAL ACCLAIM: “It is a moving work…tears in the audience flowed nearly as plentiful as on a good Madame Butterfly night.” New York Newsday
OF NOTE: This one-act opera was commissioned by Glimmerglass, NYC Opera and WNET’s Great Performances Series
GIANNI SCHICCHI (1918)
Music: Giacomo Puccini
Libretto: Giovacchino Forzano
SYNOPSIS: Scheming family members plot to change a wealthy relative’s will in Puccini’s comedy classic
INSPIRATION: An incident from Dante’s Divine Comedy
CRITICAL ACCLAIM: “One of the world’s best jokes immortalized in a masterpiece of a score ” Gramophone
OF NOTE: Lauretta’s heartfelt O mio babbino caro has become one of the most beloved arias in opera history
Director: Claire Choquette
Music Director: Jan McDaniel
Spring Mainstage Music
ANYTHING GOES (1934; 2022 Revision)
Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter
Book: Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse
SYNOPSIS
A Cole Porter classic, this musical comedy voyage of the S.S. American is packed with witty, madcap passengers who dance and sing elaborate numbers — including Anything Goes, You ' re the Top, It’s Delovely and I Get a Kick Out of You while romantic complications ensue.
INSPIRATION
The 1936 film starring Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“The genius of Anything Goes lies in the combination of seriously good music with a plot so gloriously inconsequential that a state of blithe, uncomplicated bliss is reached.” The Guardian
OF NOTE
The 1987 and 2011 Broadway revivals won a total of six
