LEND ME A TENOR, WHITE CHRISTMAS and More Make Up Fulton Theatre's 2014-15 Season

Marc Robin, the Artistic Director of the historic Fulton Theatre in downtown Lancaster, has announced the company's lineup for its 2014/2015 Mainstage Season and the first fully produced play of the Ellen Arnold Groff Studio Series. The lineup includes a hilarious farce, a holiday hit based on a classic Irving Berlin film musical, an Agatha Christie thriller, a Broadway hit that's a sexy game of cat and mouse, the Mel Brooks musical that took home the most Tony® Awards in history, a feel-good musical based on a Best Picture Oscar® Nominated Film, and perhaps the most magical musical of all time.

"I can't think of a more joyous season--there's fun at every turn. The plays and musicals I've chosen for next season are hugely popular," said Robin. "I wanted to listen to my audience and let them know they're going to have a good time. I really want the Fulton to be a place where people can go see a high level of quality theatre and for our audiences to feel like they are part of a special event. But mostly, I want our audiences to smile."

Fulton Theatre's 2014-15 Season is as follows:

A Laugh-a-Minute Comedy from York native Ken Ludwig
LEND ME A TENOR
By Ken Ludwig
October 7-26, 2014

The first show of the 2014/2015 Season has been hailed as one of the most hilarious plays of all time. It's 1934, and Tito Merelli, the world's greatest tenor, has come to Cleveland, to save its failing Grand Opera Company by singing Verdi's Otello. When Merelli becomes unexpectedly incapacitated, Max, the Opera Director's meek assistant, is tasked with finding a suitable, last-minute replacement. Chaos reigns as Max struggles with mistaken identities, inflated egos, a star-struck bellboy, an unexpected romance, and one very big costume to fill. It's a perfect fit for the grandeur of the Fulton Theatre and a most fun and enjoyable way to start the season!

Irving Berlin's Holiday Classic
WHITE CHRISTMAS
Based upon the Paramount Pictures Film
Written for the Screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, and Melvin Frank
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Book by David Ives and Paul Blake
November 18, 2014-January 4, 2015

One of the greatest holiday movies of all time makes its debut on the Fulton stage in an all-new live production. This gorgeously sung and epically danced extravaganza features one of the greatest scores ever created. A couple of singing and dancing World War II vets with romance in mind follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge, which has hit hard times and just happens to be owned by the boys' former army commander. So, the boys and their lady loves muster the troops to save the inn. As the snow falls, sparks fly! The whole family will love Irving Berlin's dazzling score which features some of the best songs ever written, including "Blue Skies," "I Love a Piano," "How Deep is the Ocean?" and of course the unforgettable title song. It's merry. It's bright. And it will snow inside the Fulton with Irving Berlin's White Christmas!

The Queen of Crime is back with her most twisted thriller!
Agatha Christie
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
January 27-February 15, 2015

The Queen of Crime is back with one of her most tangled tales of deception and murder. Ten suspicious strangers are trapped on an island off the coast of Devon. One by one they are accused of murder; one by one they start to die. In Agatha Christie's mystery/comedy And Then There Were None, statuettes of little soldier boys carefully arranged along the mantel of the house confining our suspects fall to the floor and break one by one--as victims in the house succumb to a diabolical avenger. A nursery rhyme tells how each of the ten "soldiers" met his death... until there were none. Audiences will keep guessing until the very end as tension and excitement build up to the shocking final moments.

The New Mel Brooks Musical
THE PRODUCERS
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Original direction & choreography by Susan Stroman
By special arrangement with StudioCanal
March 10-April 4, 2015

How do you make money producing a Broadway musical? Bialystock and Bloom have cracked the code! This smarmy Broadway producer and his mild-mannered accountant come up with a sure-fire scheme to make millions! First, sweet talk some little old ladies into giving you their life's savings. Then, find the script-you just need to find the most notorious flop in history that will close after the first performance. Only one thing could go wrong: the show is a smash hit! It's the winner of the most Tony® Awards in Broadway's history. It's Mel Brooks at his absolute best. It's bawdy, irreverent, funny, satirical, shocking, and naughty-all in the way that only Mel Brooks can deliver. The Producers is a madcap romp that features scene after scene of delicious, laugh-out-loud comedy, 16 wickedly witty new songs, and some of the most gloriously outrageous dance numbers to ever grace the Fulton stage.

The Broadway Hit Based on the Oscar® Winning Film
THE FULL MONTY
Book by Terrence McNally
Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek
Based on the Motion Picture released by Fox Searchlight Pictures and written by Simon Beaufoy, Produced by Uberto Pasolini and directed by Peter Cattaneo
April 21-May 17, 2015

Just how far would you go to take care of the people you love? Based on the incredible film of the same name, this show has a warm heart at the center of all the fun. And, it is a blast! Often, musicals tend to depict a story and characters that are larger than life in surreal situations. But, this show is about "us." Real people in real situations facing real issues forced to decide on the best solutions for them.For a group of out-of-work steelworkers, the words "economic downturn" aren't just a headline in the news, they are reality. When the guys take notice of the cash that the local male exotic dancer, is raking in, they decide to up the ante. They put their pride, their apprehension, and their bodies-in all their shapes and sizes-on the line and show the world everything they've got! It's a beautiful story that challenges the heart of all of us. A show that "strips" down all defenses and demonstrates that family is first.

A Dazzling Spectacle to Engage Every Age
THE WIZARD OF OZ
by L. Frank Baum
with Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg
Background Music by Herbert Strothart
Dance and Vocal arrangements by Peter Howard
Orchestration by Larry Wilcox
Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Based upon the Classic Motion Picture released Owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and Distributed in all media by Warner Bros.
June 2-28, 2015

The greatest family adventure of all time and the most elaborate retelling of this treasured gem will close our 2014/2015 Season. With the biggest set, complicated flying, enormous puppetry, high-tech video, stage hydraulics, and a cast of over 50 performers, it is planned to be the biggest event of our season. Even if you have seen it dozens of times before, you have NEVER seen it this way. Join us Over the Rainbow for the spectacular finale of this very special season.

And, for the first time, the Fulton will stage a fully-produced three-week production as part of its new Ellen Arnold Groff Studio Series in the 4th Floor Studio Theatre. This series (which includes three staged readings to be announced and one fully-produced play) honors the passions of Fulton patron Ellen Arnold Groff, whose bequest has endowed the series. Subscribers can add this production to their subscription for a subscriber-only price.

VENUS IN FUR
by David Ives
February 17-March 8, 2015

This play has everything that Ellen Arnold Groff loved about theatre: smart writing, biting social commentary, big laughs, and topics that can be discussed long after the curtain call. A timid young actress's audition for a role in a new play based on the classic erotic novella, Venus in Furs, turns into a sexually charged game of cat and mouse. The lines between fantasy and reality, seduction and power, love and sex blur in this hilarious and sexy new comedy that was a smash hit on Broadway.

Subscription packages are available through the Fulton Box Office at 717-397-7425 or online at TheFulton.org/subscriptions.

The Fulton first opened its doors in 1852. 160 years later, this National Historic Landmark Theatre continues to entertain, educate and delight audiences, bringing live theatre, music, and more than 120,000 patrons into downtown Lancaster annually. Since its inception, some of the brightest stars of theatre, music and film have appeared on its stage, including Sarah Bernhardt, Mark Twain, Lionel Barrymore, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, W.C. Fields, George M. Cohan, Treat Williams and Lancaster's own Jonathan Groff.

Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Robin and Managing Director Aaron A. Young, the Fulton Theatre produces a mix of comedies, dramas and musicals, employing the talents of professional directors, designers, playwrights and actors from the local community, New York and across the country. The Fulton also offers acting classes for children, teens and adults as well as numerous outreach programs for youth across the region.