DM Playhouse Adds The 39 Steps And Moonlight and Magnolias To Season

The Des Moines Community Playhouse announces two additional titles for the upcoming, 2011-12 season: "The 39 Steps," Oct. 21-Nov. 6, 2011, and "Moonlight and Magnolias," June 8-24, 2012.

Gunshots, murder, and dastardly plots; seductive spies, thrilling chases, and serious flirtation. They're all part of the rollicking comedy/mystery and Broadway hit, 'The 39 Steps." Based on the 1935 classic film by Alfred Hitchcock, "The 39 Steps" follows Richard Hannay as he sets out for a night of music hall entertainment only to be ensnared in a dangerous attempt to smuggle top-secret information out of the country.

Accused of murder by Scotland Yard, pursued by enemy agents, and carrying a secret that could save King and country, Hannay must solve the mystery of "The 39 Steps" in order to acquit himself and stop a war. Yet the most trying part of the whole tale are the women he encounters, especially Pamela, his unwilling companion to whom he ends up handcuffed during his daring escape.

Four actors and ingenious and inventive staging prove that anything movies can do, theatre can do more hilariously. The cast of four plays more than 140 characters, and some inanimate objects, in a 100-minute comedy thriller that's great fun for ages 9 to 90. "The 39 Steps" will run Oct. 21-Nov. 6, 2011.

"Moonlight and Magnolias" takes place in 1939, when all Hollywood is abuzz. Legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down production of his new epic, "Gone With the Wind." The screenplay, it turns out, just doesn't work. So what's an all-powerful movie mogul to do?

While fending off the film's stars, gossip columnists, and his own father-in-law, Selznick sends a car for famed screenwriter Ben Hecht and pulls formidable director Victor Fleming from the set of "The Wizard of Oz." Summoning both to his office, he locks the doors, closes the shades, and, on a diet of bananas and peanuts, the three men have just five days to fashion a screenplay. Only trouble is, Ben Hecht hasn't read the book and doesn't know the story!

The New York Daily News wrote of "Moonlight and Magnolias," "Frankly, my dear, this is one funny play... a rip-roaring farce... [with] witty, pointed dialogue and hilarious situations..." "Moonlight and Magnolias" will be presented June 8-24, 2012.

Previously announced shows in the 2011-12 Playhouse Mainstage Season include "Hairspray," July 15-Aug. 7, 2011; "The Producers," Sept. 9-Oct. 2, 2011; "To Kill a Mockingbird," Jan. 20-Feb. 5, 2012; and "Ring of Fire," Mar. 30-Apr. 22, 2012. Season tickets are now on sale at The Playhouse ticket office, and are $162 for adults and $108 for students. Season ticket holders can also purchase tickets ahead of the public, and at a special subscriber rate, for the family holiday event, "The Sound of Music," Dec. 2-30, 2011.

The Playhouse is Iowa's oldest and largest producing theatre. Located at the 42nd Street exit of I-235, the theatre has presented a full season of shows since 1919 and also offers a wide variety of educational experiences including classes for ages 4 to adult, theatre trips to New York, and volunteer opportunities onstage and backstage.

For more information about The Playhouse and upcoming shows, contact The Playhouse ticket office at 515-277-6261.

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