Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Sierra Repertory Theatre announces their fantastic 2015 line up

Sierra Rep 2015 Season to include Mary Poppins, Macbeth and more
Sierra Repertory Theatre announces its 2015 season, beginning with the musical Mary Poppins and concluding with a brand new adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Other highlights include new Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone starring SRT Artistic Director Scott Viets as the Man in the Chair, an exciting spring rock ‘n’ roll revue to be announced, everyone’s favorite The Music Man, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the country tribute Always, Patsy Cline, and a new comedy called Unnecessary Farce. Season Tickets go on sale September 2, with group and general admission tickets on sale October 1. Visit www.sierrarep.org or call 209-532-3120 for tickets and information.
The 2015 season opens with Mary Poppins, playing March 1 through May 3 at the East Sonora Theatre. And, yes, Mary will fly. The 2015 Season Gala performance will be held on February 28, with the pre-show reception at the Black Oak Casino Resort Hotel Banquet Room. For more information and reservations, contact Development Director Beverly Handelman at 209-532-0502 ext 111 or at bhandelman@sierrarep.org



Based on the Disney film and P.L. Travers’ famous children’s books, Mary Poppins follows the troubled Banks family after the delightful nanny arrives on their doorstep. Using a “practically perfect” combination of magic and common sense, she takes the children on memorable experiences, but even the grown-ups learn a lesson or two from the nanny who advises that “anything can happen if you let it.” Mary Poppins delighted Broadway audiences for over 2,500 performances and was nominated for seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. USA Today hailed the show as “Irresistible! A fresh fountain of youth that will make many a grown-up feel like a kid again!”
Sierra Rep’s first Fallon show is subject to availability and will be announced at a later date. The nationwide touring hit plays April 24 through May 31 and features four famous rock ‘n’ roll legends.
Paul Slade Smith’s Unnecessary Farce opens May 29 at the East Sonora Theatre and closes June 28. With two cops, three crooks, eight doors, a politician and a female accountant, this “smash hit” (ABC 53) promises to be Sierra Rep’s best comedy yet.
Seventy-six trombones and much more arrive at the Fallon House Theatre June 26 through August 16, heralding Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. Funny, warm, romantic and touching, this award-winning musical comedy has been entertaining. The Music Man follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band he vows to organize – despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen by curtain’s fall. The New York Times said of the musical, “As American as apple pie and a Fourth of July oration … a marvelous show, rooted in wholesome and comic tradition.”
William Shakespeare returns to Sierra Rep’s East Sonora Theatre August 21 through September 13. In medieval Scotland, a savage world of ghosts, witches and bloody battlefields, a dark prophecy leads a warrior and his wife past the point of no return. The searing exploration of the nature of evil and the bloody consequences of ambition, Macbeth is a nightmare journey through the souls of two extraordinary people to murder, madness and death. Breathtaking in its simplicity, spell-binding in its universal theme, this tragic masterpiece is Shakespeare’s leanest and most powerful play.
September 18 through October 18 sees unforgettable hits such as “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces” and more visit the Fallon House Theatre in Always, Patsy Cline. More than a tribute to the legendary country singer, the show is based on a true story about Cline’s friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger. The musical play, complete with down-home country humor, true emotion and even some audience participation, includes 27 songs in all. The show’s title was inspired by Cline’s letters to Seger, which were consistently signed “Love ALWAYS…. Patsy Cline.” The Los Angeles Times called the musical “a song-filled valentine.”
Sierra Rep has one great “Toledo Surprise” in store for it audiences with The Drowsy Chaperone, playing October 16 through November 29 at the East Sonora Theatre. Enter a magical world where critics are in awe and audiences are in heaven. It all begins when a die-hard musical fan dusts off his favorite cast album, a fictitious 1928 smash hit called “The Drowsy Chaperone.” The show bursts to life, and the audience is instantly immersed in the glamorous, hilarious tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day. Mix in a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not so bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and an intoxicated chaperone, and you’ve got a show soup dense with delicious delight! With one show stopping song and dazzling dance after another, New York Magazine called this 5-time Tony Award-winning show “The perfect Broadway musical.”
Closing the 2015 season, Charles Dickens’ classic tale A Christmas Carol lights up the Fallon House stage. The brand new adaptation by Sierra Rep co-founder Doug Brennan plays November 13 through December 20. Awakened on the last stroke of midnight, Ebenezer Scrooge encounters three visions – of his past, his present and his future – and takes a journey that awakens his heart to the true spirit of Christmas. It’s an engaging show filled with Dickens’ delightful gallery of characters – Scrooge, Marley, Cratchit, Tiny Tim and more – all sure to enchant the entire family.
For more information on season, group and individual tickets, call the Box Office at 209-532-3120 or visit www.sierrarep.org. Season Tickets go on sale September 2, and the general public can purchase tickets starting October 1.