Monday, February 7, 2011

Murphys Creek Theatre announces its 2011 season!

MCT is pleased to announce a great line up of shows for the coming season. With an after school arts program, a summer Shakespeare conservatory, a full indoor season and the popular Theatre Under the Stars”, series at Munari winery, MCT is better than ever. And next Halloween we will be presenting a world premiere play based on collected local ghost stories.
The 2011 season will open with Ken Ludwig's hilarious comedy/farce, “Lend Me a Tenor”, playing March 18 through April 10. The play is set in Cleveland in 1934, and this September night is the biggest in the history of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company. World famous tenor Tito Morelli is to perform Otello, his greatest role, at the gala season opener. Saunders, the harried General Manager, hopes this will put Cleveland on the cultural map. Morelli is nowhere to be found; when he finally arrives drunk, it is too late for any rehearsal. Through a hilarious series of mishaps, 'Il Stupendo' is given a double dose of tranquilizers which mix with the booze he has consumed and he passes out. His pulse is so low that Saunders and his assistant Max believe he is dead. What to do? Saunders coaxes Max into Morelli's costume, intending to fool the audience with this fake 'Il Stupendo', blackface and all. Nervous amateur Max succeeds admirably, but Morelli revives and dresses for his second act. With two Otellos now in costume and two women en dishabille, each thinking she is with 'Il Stupendo', the farce spins out of control onstage and off. A sensation on Broadway and in London's West End, “Lend Me a Tenor” is guaranteed to leave your audiences teary eyed with laughter.
Opening the “Theatre under the Stars”, summer series at the Cornelia B. Stevenot memorial amphitheater is William Shakespeare's greatest love story, “Rome and Juliet”, playing Friday and Saturday nights at 8PM from June 24 through July 23. John Gallagher, who played, “Bottom”, in last summer's production of “A Midsummer Night's Dream”, returns from Paris to put his extraordinary talents to the task of directing this epic love story.
"Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!" Our second show in the summer series is the high energy musical comedy, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”, playing Fridays and Saturdays August 5 – September 10. Broadway's greatest farce is light, fast-paced, witty, irreverent and one of the funniest musicals ever written-the perfect escape from life's troubles. "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from time-tested, 2000 year old comedies of Roman playwright Plautus with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. The result is a non-stop laugh-fest in which a crafty slave (Pseudolus) struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan (Philia) for his young master (Hero), in exchange for freedom.
In just about every historical building in the mother lode there is a ghost story of some kind. As a community project, MCT is delighted to be collaborating with screenwriter and producer Suza Lambert Bowser who will be working with MCT Artistic Director Graham S. Green to collect, write and produce an original play based on local Ghost tales. “Ghosts in the Gold” plays Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sundays at 2 at the Black Bart Playhouse from September 30 through October 30
The last offering of the 2011 MCT Season is the beloved tale, “A Christmas Carol” adapted from the Charles Dickens novel. Faced with his own mortality, and the evil results of his misanthropic, miserly ways, Ebeneezer Scrooge is redeemed, reconciled with his nephew and his neighbors, and becomes a second father to his assistant's son, Tiny Tim. This holiday classic will be playing Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2 from November 25 – December 18 at the Black Bart Playhouse.
Murphys Creek Theatre performs at the Black Bart Playhouse, 580 S. Algiers Rd., Murphys as well as the Cornelia B. Stevenot memorial amphitheater at the Munari winery and vineyard, 2690 San Domingo Rd.. in Murphys. Save time and money by ordering season tickets. Available now, tickets range from $15 to $20 and are available through the website at www.murphyscreektheatre.org or by calling (209) 728-8422. 

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