The international Irish dance phenomenon is back by popular demand in RIVERDANCE – The 20th Anniversary World Tour. Drawing on Irish traditions, the combined talents of the performers propel Irish dancing and music into the present day, capturing the imagination of audiences across all ages and cultures in an innovative and exciting blend of dance, music and song. Of all the performances to emerge from Ireland – in rock, music, theater, and song – nothing has carried the energy, the sensuality and the spectacle of Riverdance. Riverdance – The 20th Anniversary World Tour is composed by Bill Whelan, produced by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan, and comes directly to North America from a sold-out run across Europe and Asia.
The first collaboration of famed partners Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Oklahoma! set the American musical theatre standard. Set in Western Indian Territory just after the turn-of-the-20th-Century, the spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the backdrop for the love story between Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a beautiful farm girl. The road to true love is anything but smooth, but there is no doubt that these two romantics will succeed in making a life together. As the road to romance and the road to statehood converge, Curly and Laurey are poised to spend their new life together in a brand new state: O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A – OKLAHOMA!
Oklahoma runs April 18-22
FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS Circle Theatre (general seating) – World Premiere
Grand Prize Winner April 21 – May 7, 2017
Not even written yet new: A completely new work for our 2017 Festival of New Plays – our ninth biennial festival where the work of local playwrights is showcased. The 2014-15 winner, the romantic comedy Dorothy Parker Would Not Approve by Stacy Chapman, was the most popular in the history of the competition.
Who died? Will the killer be found? And will the playwright finish the script? After all, there is a read-through on Monday!
A theater group is holding auditions for a murder mystery called “Death of A Disco Dancer.” The usual suspects show up to audition, including Mia Monahan, the militant method actress; Amber Frost, the ditzy drama queen; Chad, the energetic actor who never gets a part in anything; Alan, the accomplished theater major who works at a fast-food place in the meantime; Troy May, the egocentric actor who always gets a role; his gorgeous assistant, Tantanya, who holds his imported bottled water and carries his portfolio; and Mrs. Needleman and her precious daughter, Julie, fresh from the Little Miss Pumpkin Pageant finals.
However, director Vivian Vinderlou and assistant director Reed Moore don’t have enough copies of the script for everyone, and, well, the script isn’t even finished. Fortunately, playwright Jim Culter arrives with a few more copies and a few more finished pages just as one of the actors mysteriously dies. As luck would have it, Jim brought Inspector Bonnie Brauvera to the auditions to serve as technical advisor for the play.
Leapin’ Lizards!
The world’s best-loved musical returns in time-honored form. Directed by original lyricist and director Martin Charnin and choreographed by Liza Gennaro, this production of ANNIE will be a brand new incarnation of the iconic original.
Featuring book and score by Tony Award®-winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, ANNIE includes such unforgettable songs as ‘It’s the Hard Knock Life,’ ‘Easy Street,’ ‘I Don’t Need Anything But You,’ plus the eternal anthem of optimism, ‘Tomorrow.’
The Backstage Bash, a night of entertainment, food, drink, and laughter at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, is set for Saturday, May 20, from 7:30-11 p.m. throughout the CTC’s 40,000 square feet of rehearsal halls, costume shop, green room, and other places rarely seen by audience members.
The event is designed to raise money for the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, now celebrating its 93rd season.
Circle Theatre (general seating) – Musical Event
June 2 – July 1, 2017 a CTC original based on the Shakespeare classic.
A Midsummer Night’s Disco is Shakespeare meets Donna Summer. A reimagined tale of our own creation of misplaced love under disco lights on boogie nights.
Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, passionately pursues the elusive Daisy Buchanan. Nick Carraway, a young newcomer to Long Island, is drawn into their world of obsession, greed and danger. The breathtaking glamour and decadent excess of the Jazz Age come to the stage in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, and in Simon Levy’s adaptation, approved by the Fitzgerald Estate.