IN THE HEIGHTS, GUYS & DOLLS and More Set for Musical Theatre West's 65th Anniversary Season

Musical Theatre West celebrates its 65th Anniversary season with an outstanding line-up of classic and contemporary Broadway masterpieces.

The season opens with Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning production In the Heights (October 20 - November 5, 2017); the holiday classic White Christmas (December 1-10, 2017); followed by Frank Loesser's "Best Musical" Guys & Dolls (February 16 - March 4, 2018); George and Ira Gershwin's hilarious screwball musical comedy Nice Work If You Can Get It (April 6 - April 22, 2018); and the patriot new musical about the life and times of George M. Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy (July 6 - July 22, 2018).

Season subscription tickets are now on sale to the public, offering theatre-lovers the best seats. Season ticket prices range from $80 - $260 for all five shows. To order, call (562) 856-1999, ext. 4, or go to the Musical Theatre West Ticket Office.

The 2017-2018 season marks the 65th anniversary of Southern California's premiere musical theatre company. Since its inception as the Whittier Civic Light Opera in 1952, the company originally produced two shows a year for just two days each. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the group remained an all-volunteer effort, producing one show a year, moving to La Mirada in 1977 where it produced its full season of shows. During the 1980s and 1990s, the company added professional talent and produced regional premieres and even a world premiere.

In 1993 the organization officially changed to Musical Theatre West, which was followed by the move to the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach in 1997. This season marks the 20th anniversary of MTW's partnership with the Long Beach landmark theater. The company quickly became the largest arts producer in the Long Beach area, and has continued to present world and west-coast premieres, with some of Broadway's and televisions greatest performers, from Davis Gaines (Phantom of the Opera), Andrea McArdle (Annie), and Susan Egan (Beauty and the Beast), to Sally Struthers, Adrian Zmed, and Carol Lawrence, to name a few.

---

IN THE HEIGHTS

October 20 - November 5, 2017

Music: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Book: Quiara Alegría Hudes

Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Before there was Hamilton, there was Lin-Manuel Miranda's cutting edge musical masterpiece In the Heights. The winner of the 2008 Tony Awards for "Best Musical," "Best Score," "Best Choreography" and "Best Orchestrations," In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York's Washington Heights. A young storeowner watches the joys and heartbreaks of his tight-knit neighborhood as they pass through his bodega, and experience the hopes, dreams and pressures of life, discovering where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

Irving Berlin'S

WHITE CHRISTMAS

December 1 - 10, 2017

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

Film written for the screen by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank

Book by David Ives and Paul Blake

This holiday season discover the perfect gift for everyone on your list! Start with a timeless tale of joy and goodwill, fill it with classic Irving Berlin songs, and top it off with glorious dancing and lots of snow and you have Irving Berlin's White Christmas Based on the beloved film, the stage production features 17 of Irving Berlin's classics, from "Blue Skies" to "I Love a Piano" and the perennial classic "White Christmas." Veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have a successful song and dance following WWII. After meeting a stunning sister act, they follow the girls and their hearts to a magical Vermont Inn, owned by their old Army commander. Will spirit of the holidays bring together families old and new?

GUYS & DOLLS

February 16 - March 4, 2018

Book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling

Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser

Based on short stories by Damon Runyon

New York's most infamous crap game organizer, Nathan Detroit, is desperate for funds to secure a venue for his illicit gambling enterprise, so he wagers the perfect bet against high roller Sky Masterson: he must convince missionary Sarah Brown to have dinner with him in Havana, Cuba. While gambling with Sky's moves, Nathan must deal with his own situation - his 14-year fiancée, Adelaide, who's tired of waiting for a wedding. With money and hearts at stake in this game, there's no telling how the dice will land. Featuring Frank Loesser's spirited score, including "Luck Be a Lady" and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," Guys & Dolls is a sure bet for MTW audiences.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT

April 6-April 27, 2018

Playwright: Joe DiPietro

Composer: George Gershwin

Lyricist: Ira Gershwin

Adapted from: Oh, Kay! and based on material by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse

The hilarious song-and-dance Broadway spectacular pokes fun at the Prohibition era in a clash of elegant socialites and boorish bootleggers, all to the music of the Gershwins' glorious score. Charming and wealthy playboy Jimmy Winter meets rough female bootlegger BillieBendix on the weekend of his wedding to Eileen Evergreen, a self-obsessed modern dancer. Thinking Jimmy and Eileen will be out of town, Billie and her gang hide cases of alcohol the basement of Jimmy's Long Island mansion. But when Jimmy, his wife-to-be, and her prohibitionist family show up at the mansion for the wedding, screwball shenanigans ensue, with hijinks galore! Featuring such Gershwin masterpieces as "Someone to Watch Over Me." "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," and "I've Got a Crush on You," Nice Work if You Can Get It delivers the goods!

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY

July 6 - July 22, 2018 Music and Lyrics by George M. Cohen

Additional Music and Lyrics by Albert Evans

Book by David Armstrong

"Yankee Doodle Dandy," "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Over There," and "Give My Regards to Broadway" are only a few of the timeless classics by George M. Cohan. The quintessential songwriter, singer, showman and producer who paved the way for Broadway musical, Cohan's signature patriotic music and musical spectacle, brought audiences to their feet. Filled with show-stopping production numbers, lighting tap moves, and spirited music, Yankee Doodle Dandy brings to the forefront the story of the man who became the heart and soul of American music. Set against the colorful backdrop of Old Broadway, this story highlights the brash, colorful, cocky, charismatic and uncompromising man , from his humble beginnings with his hard-knock days with his family on the vaudeville circuit to his reign as the star-spangled 'King of Broadway.' Cohan's life was a roller coaster ride of professional highs and lows and personal triumphs and heartbreak. Featuring 25 songs, including some new music and adaptations of the classics, Yankee Doodle Dandy will have you humming your way home!

To post a comment, you must register and login.