2021-22 Season

Grease

October 1-31, 2021    Springer Stage

Musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey

Greaser Danny and good-girl Sandy fall for each other during a carefree summer fling. But when the school year begins, Danny is torn between his feelings for Sandy and his image with the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies. Follow the story of 10 teenagers as they traverse through love, peer pressure, and high school. 

The Lion in Winter

Oct 15 – Nov 14, 2021   Playhouse Stage

By James Goldman

Sibling rivalry, adultery, and dungeons – The Lion in Winter, by James Goldman, is a modern-day classic. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action – the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family, who are locked in a free-for-all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom. The queen, and wealthiest woman in the world, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband, King Henry II. Let out only for holidays, the play centers around the inner conflicts of the royal family as they fight over both a kingdom and King Henry’s paramour during the Christmas of 1183. As Eleanor says, “Every family has its ups and downs,” and this royal family is no exception.

Elf The Musical

Nov 19 – Dec 30, 2021   Springer Stage

Book by Thomas Meehan & Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Based on the New Line Cinema film by David Berenbaum.

Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh realities that his father is on the naughty list and his half-brother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Dickens’ Christmas Carol

Dec 3 – 30, 2021  Playhouse Stage

By Charles Dickens and Mark Landon Smith

From the author of the popular Faith County and An Evening of Culture – Faith County II comes a completely different adaptation of the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. From the bonny shores of England comes the Styckes-Upon-Thump Repertory Theatre Company, a stuffy old travelling troupe embarking on their fifteenth annual farewell tour of the Dickens’ tale. The company includes Sir Selsdon Piddock, the consummate actor, in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, with Mrs. Bettina Salisbury, Dame Rowena Middleton-Lewis, Mrs. Cordelia ffoliet-ffolkes ffortescue Woods, Teddy Shub and Elyot Crummels in multiple supporting roles. Sweet Cynthia Imbry, the general understudy, suddenly finds herself thrust onstage to perform a role she’s ill-prepared for! Bettina, the company diva, pretends to be ill, certain the production will be cancelled. However, much to her shock and rage, the show does go on without her! Roles are shuffled at the last minute and poor Cynthia finds herself center stage. The play begins but mid-way through the theatre doors open and in rushes Bettina, determined to reclaim her roles. Mayhem ensues as this professional company scrambles to keep the show going and everything that could possibly go wrong does, to hilarious, ridiculous results!

DEATHTRAP

Jan 14 – Feb 13, 2022   Playhouse Stage

by Ira Levin

Comfortably ensconced in his charming Connecticut home, Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers, is struggling to overcome a dry spell which has resulted in a string of failures and a shortage of funds. A possible break in his fortunes occurs when he receives a script from a student in the seminar he has been conducting at a nearby college—a thriller that Sidney recognizes immediately as a potential Broadway smash. Sidney’s plan, devised with his wife’s help, is to offer collaboration to the student for co-credit. Or is it? DEATHTRAP provides twists and turns of devilish cleverness, and offers hilariously sudden shocks in such abundance that audiences will be spellbound until the very last moment.

This show contains violence and limited use of strong language. We encourage you to use your judgment based on your child’s age and maturity level.

Ring of Fire

Jan 21 – Feb 20, 2022   Springer Stage

Created by Richard Maltby, Jr. 
Conceived by William Meade
Adapted from the Broadway Production by Richard Maltby, Jr. & Jason Edwards
Orchestrations by Steven Bishop & Jeff Lisenby 
Additional arrangements by David Abbinanti

From the songbook of Johnny Cash comes this unique musical about love and faith, struggle and success, rowdiness and redemption, and the healing power of home and family. More than two dozen classic hits—including “I Walk The Line,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and the title tune—performed by a multi-talented cast, paint a musical portrait of The Man in Black that promises to be a foot-stompin’, crowd-pleasin’ salute to a unique musical legend! Though he is never impersonated, Johnny Cash’s remarkable life story is told through his music, climaxing in a concert that will both move and exhilarate!

Sweet Delilah Swim Club

Feb 25 – March 27, 2022   Playhouse Stage

by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

Five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids, and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage, the “Sweet Delilah” on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to catch up, laugh, and meddle in each other’s lives. 

Hairspray

March 4 – April 3, 2022   Springer Stage

Written by Thomas Meehan, Mark O’Donnell
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

It’s 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland, and quirky, plus-sized, teenage Tracy Turnblad has one dream: to dance on The Corny Collins Show. When she gets put in detention with the African-American students in the school, they teach her some of their dance moves, and her new found groove wins her a spot on Corny’s show. Overnight, Tracy transforms from a nobody into a star, and uses her newfound influence to advocate for racial integration on the television show. Tracy faces scrutiny and bullying from the network producer, Velma, and her popular, but vicious, daughter, Amber. With the help of the teenage heartthrob Link, host Corny Collins, and Motormouth Maybelle (the host of ‘Negro Day’), Tracy overcomes the odds and succeeds in her mission to integrate The Corny Collins Show. 

Murder on the Orient Express

April 8 – May 8, 2022    Playhouse Stage

Written by Agatha Christie, Ken Ludwig

Famous detective Hercule Poirot is called back from Istanbul to London on urgent business. He intends to book a first-class compartment on the Orient Express, run by his former friend and colleague, Monsieur Bouc. The train is surprisingly full, but Bouc manages to secure Poirot a spot in the first-class cabin. While aboard the Orient Express, Poirot meets a host of peculiar characters: an aging Russian princess, her Swedish companion, a Hungarian countess, a Minnesota housewife, a Scottish colonel, an English governess, a French conductor, a disagreeable American businessman, and his anxious secretary. While aboard the train, the angry businessman, Samuel Ratchett, corners Poirot and demands Poirot to investigate a series of ominous letters that have been sent to Ratchett, threatening his life.

Something Rotten

April 15 – May 15, 2022   Springer Stage

Book by Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell
Music and Lyrics by Karey Kirkpatrick & Wayne Kirkpatrick

Set in the 1590s, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as “The Bard.” When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self, and all that jazz.

The Odd Couple (Female Version) 

May 20 – June 19, 2022   Playhouse Stage

by Neil Simon

Neil Simon’s revision of his hugely successful play, The Odd Couple, sees the lead characters transformed into Olive Madison and Florence Unger. Olive and their group of girlfriends are enjoying their weekly Trivial Pursuit night in Olive’s messy and ill-equipped apartment. As the game continues, Florence arrives, fresh from being dumped by her husband. Fearful that the neurotic Florence might attempt suicide, Olive invites her to move in as her roommate. However, Olive and Florence have VERY different personalities. Where Olive is messy, untidy, and unconcerned about the state of her apartment, Florence is obsessively clean, tidy, and obsessed with hygiene. Olive’s easy-going outlook on life soon clashes with Florence’s highly-strung neurotic tendencies, testing their friendship to the limit. When Olive organizes a double-date with the Costazuela brothers, their differences come to a head and sparks fly.

The Drowsy Chaperone 

June 3 – July 3, 2022    Springer Stage

by Bob Martin and Don McKellar

Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Book and Best Original Score, The Drowsy Chaperone is a loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical, featuring one show-stopping song and dance number after another. When wealthy widow Mrs. Tottenham hosts the wedding of the year, she gets a lot more than a write-up in the society pages. Mix in two lovers, 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 have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike 

July 1 – 31, 2022    Playhouse Stage

by Christopher Durang

Chekhov is alive and well in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where adult siblings Vanya and Sonia reside in their old family home, mourning their lost dreams and missed opportunities. When their often-wrong, fortune-telling maid warns of impending dangers, and their movie star sister, Masha, arrives unexpectedly with young, sexy, boy toy, Spike, the family is launched into a rollicking weekend of one-upmanship, exposed nerves, and a lot of broken mugs. With wit and absurdity, Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike blends Chekhov’s famous ennui with the modern-day toils and troubles of celebrity, social networking, and age into a laugh-out-loud comedy that will tickle your funny bone and stimulate your mind.

Wizard of Oz

July 15 – Aug 14, 2022    Springer Stage

Book by John Kane, Music by Harold Arlen and Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg

Relive the classic tale of Dorothy, Toto, and her friends as she’s swept away over the rainbow, and her journey to find her way back home. Don’t miss your chance to see this musical classic on the Springer Mainstage.

Around the World in 80 Days

Aug 12 – Sept 11, 2022    Playhouse Stage

Adapted by Mark Brown. From the novel by Jules Verne.

Stampeding elephants! Raging typhoons! Runaway trains! Unabashedly slapstick! Hold onto your seats for the original amazing race! Join fearless adventurer Phileas Fogg and his faithful manservant as they race to beat the clock! Phileas Fogg has agreed to an outrageous wager that puts his fortune and his life at risk. With his resourceful servant Passepartout, Fogg sets out to circle the globe in an unheard-of 80 days. But his every step is dogged by a detective who thinks he’s a robber on the run. Danger, romance, and comic surprises abound in this whirlwind of a show as five actors portraying 39 characters traverse seven continents in Mark Brown’s adaptation of one of the great adventures of all time.

Singin’ in the Rain

Aug 26 – Sept 25, 2022    Springer Stage

Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green
Songs by Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown
Based on the classic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Inc.

Singin’ in the Rain has all the makings of a Tinseltown tabloid headline – the starlet, the leading man and a love affair that could change lives and make or break careers! In silent movies, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are a hot item but, behind the scenes, things aren’t always as they appear on the big screen! Meanwhile, Lina’s squeaky voice might be the end of her career in “talking pictures” without the help of a talented young actress to do the talking and singing for her.