
Festival kicks off the season with ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ from Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (the composer of Disney's ‘Aladdin’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, and ‘Tangled’) and directed by Artistic Director Jaclyn Johnson. Seth Kaltwasser, Festival’s former Development Director, returns to perform as Seymour. This classic from 1982 has been a hit on and off Broadway, and a film version made Hollywood sing in 1986. Delighting audiences all over the world for over 30 years, this rock musical will have you engulfed in fun. This show opens as Festival celebrates its 25thAnniversary on Saturday, June 20 at 7:30 PM and preview night will be Thursday, June 18 at 7:30PM.
On July 4 2:00 PM Festival will open the fast-paced, hilarious ‘Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]’ written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield. This bit of comic gold features three overachieving actors attempting to perform renditions of all thirty-seven of Shakespeare’s plays in just ninety-seven minutes. Witty and physical, it is sure to leave audiences aching from laughter, be they Shakespeare lovers, haters or know nothing about Shakespeare. This show will be performed in the street level performance space, the Elbow Room, and has limited seating.
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ will be Festival’s third production in the summer rotating repertory and will open on Saturday August 1 at 7:30 PM. Directed by Mark Baer, who most recently directed Festival’s opening musical last year, ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum’, this show is one of American theatre's best loved plays from the dramatic artistry of Tennessee Williams. The play centers on one of theatre's most iconic women, the fading Southern belle, Blanche DuBois, played by Artistic Director, Jaclyn Johnson.
“Tennessee Williams has more in commen with Shakespeare, his words are poetry; characters live very close to the surface. They speak their thoughts and feelings as they feel and think them and that’s what makes watching and performing Tennessee Williams’ plays an intense, emotional experience.” says Baer.