Coming off of a streak of some of the most successful seasons to date, William Pullinsi, Artistic Director, announces Theatre at the Center's 20th anniversary season, filled with some of the most Popular Productions of all time and an area premiere. All of the 2010 season titles have marked, and will mark, a "first" for the history of Theatre at the Center. These shows include one of the funniest farces of all time, Theatre at the Center's first production ever in 1991, Noises Off. The production will run February 18 through March 21, with press performance on February 21. The endearing story of marriage and the first production of Theatre at the Center's fourth season starring Theatre at the Center's artistic director, I Do! I Do!, will run April 22 through May 23. The press performance will be April 25. For the first time ever, Theatre at the Center will produce the ever popular and inspirational Jesus Christ Superstar from July 8 through August 8. The press performance will be July 11. The first area premiere of the Tony Award winning Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will run September 9 through October 10. The press performance will be September 16. Rounding out the season will be It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, a musical version of the popular holiday favorite "Miracle on 34th Street", which will have audiences reminiscing of their first letters to Santa Claus. The production will run November 11 through December 12, with the press performance on November 14, 2010.
"The Funniest Farce Ever Written" is how the New York critics described the awesome hilarity and mind-boggling mayhem of Noises Off. This uproarious comedy will run February 18 through March 21, with press performance on Sunday, February 21 at 7 p.m. Noises Off follows the on and off stage antics of an inept acting troupe as they stumble from bumbling dress rehearsal to disastrous closing night. Everything that can go wrong does, as actors desperately try to hang on to their lines, their performances, and the furniture. Add a slippery plate of sardines and a slew of slamming doors and you have the most sidesplitting backstage comedy ever put on paper.
I Do! I Do! was the first two-person musical ever performed on Broadway, written by
Tom Jones and
Harvey Schmidt, the creative duo behind The Fantasticks and 110 In the Shade. This remarkably intimate, thoroughly romantic piece, allows audiences into the bedroom of Agnes and Michael, as they try to maintain passion and devotion through the joys and pains, trials and tribulations, setbacks and celebrations of their fifty year marital odyssey. In that time we watch them go through their wedding night jitters, raise a family, negotiate mid-life crises, quarrel, separate, reconcile and grow old together, all lovingly to the strains of a tuneful, charming score which includes the standard "My Cup Runneth Over." I Do! I Do! runs April 22 through May 23 and the press performance will be Sunday, April 25 at 7 p.m.
Jesus Chris Superstar, the groundbreaking theatrical masterpiece by legendary writing team
Andrew Lloyd Webber and
Tim Rice, will run July 8 through August 8 with a press performance on Sunday, July 11 at 7 p.m. The first collaboration between
Andrew Lloyd Webber and
Tim Rice to be performed on the professional stage, Jesus Christ Superstar illuminates the transcendent power of the human spirit with a passion that goes straight to the heart. The production features a stirring score including "Superstar", "Everything's Alright" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him". In Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus is portrayed as a prophet / rock star whose appeal stems as much from the crowd's energy as from his own inspirational message. Jesus' meteor-like rise in renown provides, as the title suggests, a parallel to contemporary celebrity worship. As his radical teachings are evermore embraced, Judas increasingly questions the enlightened motives of this new prophet, resulting in betrayal. In this production, Christ's final days are dramatized with emotional intensity, thought-provoking edge and explosive theatricality.
Based on the popular 1988 MGM film, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels centers on two con men living on the French Riviera - the suave and sophisticated
Lawrence Jameson, who makes his lavish living by talking rich ladies out of their money; and a small-time crook named Freddy Benson, who, more humbly, swindles women by waking their compassion with fabricated stories about his grandmother's failing health. After meeting on a train, they unsuccessfully attempt to work together only to find that this small French town isn't big enough for the two of them. So they make a bet: the first one to swindle $50,000 from a young heiress, triumphs and the other must leave town. What follows are a series of schemes, masquerades and double-crosses in which nothing may ever be exactly what it seems. This Tony Award winning musical will run September 9 through October 10. The press performance will be September 16 at 8 p.m.
Kris Kringle takes on the cynics among us in It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, a musical adaptation of the popular holiday favorite "Miracle on 34th Street". In his inimitable style,
Meredith Willson, the author of The Music Man and The Unsinkable
Molly Brown, tells the classic story of a white-bearded gentleman claiming to be the real Santa Claus as he brings about a genuine Miracle on 34th Street. Spreading a wave of love throughout New York City, this man inspires the city, fostering camaraderie between Macy's and Gimbel's Department Stores and convincing a divorced, cynical single mother, her somber daughter and the entire state of New York that Santa Claus is no myth. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas runs November 11 through December 19, with the press performance on Sunday, November 14 at 7 p.m.
Founded in 1991, Theatre at the Center is a year-round professional theater at its home, The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. Theatre at the Center is conveniently located off I-80/94, just 35 minutes from downtown Chicago.
Performances for the 2010 season are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and Thursdays at 7:30, and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. Also, for each show in the 2010 season, there will be one specific Tuesday performance at 10 a.m. Individual ticket prices range from $20 - $40, based on the performance date and time, seat location and are currently available for purchase. Season subscriptions to all of these timeless classics are available for $125. New for this season will be subscription series events. The first of these events, the Wine and Theatre Series, will allow guests to enjoy delectable wines from all over the world at Theatre at the Center's home, the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. An assortment of hors d'oeuvres will be served to compliment the wines. This Wine and Theatre Series can be conveniently added to season subscriptions for $75. The second, the Opening Night Series, guarantees subscribers the best seats for opening nights. Each show will be followed with a post-show reception with the cast and crew. This Opening Night Series can be added to the subscription for only $100. Finally, the Dinner Theatre series may be added to any subscription for only $105.25. Guests may enjoy pre-show special dinners conveniently located in The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, right across from the theatre lobby. To purchase season tickets, individual tickets call the Box Office at 219.836.3255 or Tickets.com at 800.511.1552. Group discounts, available for groups of 11 or more; and gift certificates, perfect for all special occasions are also available by calling the Box Office at 219.836.3255. For more information on Theatre at the Center, visit TheatreAtTheCenter.com.
