The Producers
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Wednesday, February 15 – Sunday, February 19
Friday, February 24 – Sunday, February 26
Outrageous, hilarious, off the wall – The Producers is a musical that could only have come from the madcap mind of Mel Brooks! Max Bialystock, a down-on-his-luck theatrical producer, and Leo Bloom, his stage-struck accountant, hatch the ultimate scam: raise more money than you need for a surefire Broadway flop and pocket the difference. They find the perfect musical, guaranteed to offend everyone and close in one night - Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden. What could possibly go wrong? Featuring dancing storm troopers, dirty old ladies, wickedly witty songs, and more raucous comedy than should be allowed, The Producers is sure to offend anyone without a funny bone and bring nothing but childlike glee to everyone else. Fast, fierce, and shameless, The Producers is intended for a mature audience
Lend Me a Tenor
By Ken Ludwig
Wednesday, April 25 – Sunday, April 29
Friday, May 4 – Sunday, May 6
It’s September 8, 1934: opening night for Otello, the Cleveland Grand Opera Company’s gala season opener. The tickets are sold, the stage is set, and the orchestra is ready – but Tito Morelli – the greatest tenor in the world – is late! A chain reaction of mistaken identities, double entrendres, slamming doors, backstage shenanigans, misguided seductions, and love triangles ensues as this uproariously funny story spins out of control. A furiously paced screwball comedy with more than a touch of the Marx brothers, Lend Me a Tenor is a howlingly funny romp that guarantees a night of absolute hilarity!
Legally Blonde
Book by Heather Hach
Music and Lyrics by Laurence
O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin
Based on the novel by Amanda
Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture
Wednesday, June 6 – Sunday, June 10
Friday, June 15 – Sunday, June 17
Friday, June 22 – Sunday, June 24
OMIGOD! The hilarious MGM movie is now a smash hit musical! Perky, sweet, and strikingly blonde sorority girl Elle Woods is dumped by Warner, her college sweetheart, for someone more serious. Unwilling to give up on love, Elle follows Warner to Harvard Law School. Mocked for her positive outlook and girly wardrobe, Elle proves by her hard work and determination that being true to your self never goes out of style. This fresh and effervescent show is packed with fun and frolic and is absolutely enjoyable from start to finish. Don’t miss this all-singing, all-dancing, feel-good musical comedy – it’s so packed with pleasures it should be illegal! If you loved Hairspray, you’re gonna love Legally Blonde!
A Chorus Line
Conceived and Originally Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett
Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Edward Kleban
Wednesday, July 4 – Sunday, July 8
Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 15
Friday, July 20 – Sunday, July 22
On a bare stage in an empty theatre, casting for the chorus of a new Broadway musical is almost complete. It’s down to 17 finalists, but only 8 are
needed for the show. During the audition, the director asks the performers to talk about themselves. Each of the usually anonymous chorus members steps into the spotlight to tell their story, sharing their ambitions, heartbreaks, and struggles, speaking to anyone who’s ever put themselves on the line to land a job. The story of those who make it and those who don’t, the winner of every prize the theatre can offer, the dance sensation that rocked Broadway and conquered the world: Michael Bennett’s masterpiece, A Chorus Line.
Hello, Dolly!
Book by Michael Stewart
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Based on the play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder
Wednesday, August 1 – Sunday, August 5
Friday, August 10 – Sunday, August 12
Friday, August 17 – Sunday, August 19
“Some people paint, some sew…I meddle.” And just like that, we’re off on a whirlwind race around turn-of-the-century New York as we follow Dolly Gallagher Levi, a matchmaker, on her adventures. Hired to find a wife for Horace Vanderlgelder, the well-known half-millionaire, Dolly tinkers and interferes in the lives of those around her until everyone – Cornelius and Irene Malloy, Barnaby and Minnie, Ambrose and Ermengarde, and even Dolly and Horace themselves – end up with the right mate. Charged with high-energy choreography, glittering with joyful tunes (especially the unforgettable title tune), alive with the personality of one of the most fabulous characters on the musical stage, Hello, Dolly! is a delectable treat for musical theatre lovers of all ages.
The Most Happy Fella
Based on Sidney Howard’s They Knew What They Wanted
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Wednesday, August 29 – Sunday, September 2
Friday, September 7 – Sunday, September 9
Tony, a middle-aged vineyard owner, has everything a fella needs to call himself happy – except the love of a good woman. All that changes when he meets Rosabella, a young waitress in San Francisco. He falls for her at first sight, but she doesn’t remember him. After months of exchanging letters she asks Tony to send her a picture, but he is afraid she will not love him as he is so he sends a picture of his young, handsome foreman, Joe. Misunderstandings, mistakes, and a May-December love story fraught with deception yet full of romance unfold until the show’s happy conclusion. Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying) created his masterpiece with this touching love story. Full of soaring romantic melodies and catchy show-stoppers, (including “Standing on the Corner” and “Big D”) The Most Happy Fella is a melodic and lyric triumph that is wise to the ways of the heart.
All shows will be performed on the Main Stage of Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances begin at 8:00 pm.
Sunday performances begin at 3:00 pm.
