International City Theatre Announces 2018 Season of Plays

International City Theatre has announced its 2018 season of five plays at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, where ICT is the resident professional theater company.

A musical, an American classic, two dramas and a rip-roaring comedy will entertain, educate and inspire optimism at a time when many of us feel wearied by world events.

Season selections include the chamber musical Daddy Long Legs with music and lyrics by Paul Gordon and a book by John Caird; the West Coast premiere of Ugandan war-set Cardboard Piano by South Korean playwright Hansol Jung; Patrick Barlow's wildly inventive The 39 Steps, based on the novel by John Buchan, the Alfred Hitchcock movie, and an original concept by Nobby Dimon and Simon Corble; Tennessee Williams' first success, now considered a modern classic, The Glass Menagerie; and A Splintered Soul, a heart-wrenching yet optimistic examination of war refugees in America by Alan L. Brooks.

A detailed schedule follows:

Feb. 23 - March 11:
Daddy Long Legs - An intimate musical, with music and lyrics by Paul Gordon and book by John Caird, set in suffragette-era New England where a spirited orphan girl is sent to a prestigious college by a mysterious benefactor. Jerusha's heart-warming journey to independence, education and romance is chronicled in a wealth of witty letters and glorious songs. Based on the classic novel by Jean Webster that inspired the 1955 movie starring Fred Astaire.

May 4 - May 20:
West Coast premiere of Cardboard Piano - Against the backdrop of Uganda's civil war, the union of the daughter of an American missionary and a local teenage girl is disrupted by violence. Hansol Jung's haunting drama confronts the religious and cultural roots of intolerance, as well as the human capacity for forgiveness and love.

June 22 - July 8:
The 39 Steps - Hitchcock meets hilarious in this fast-paced comedy mystery thriller for anyone who loves the magic of theater. Train chases, plummeting planes and old-fashioned romance lead to a death-defying finale as a cast of four actors breathlessly reenacts hundreds of characters, locations and famous scenes from Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film of the same name. Winner of the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience. Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan, based on the Alfred Hitchcock movie and an original concept by Nobby Dimon and Simon Corble.

Aug. 24 - Sept. 9:
The Glass Menagerie - The iconic American classic that launched the career of American playwright Tennessee Williams, this autobiographical "memory play" captures the fragility and stifled yearning of characters clinging to hope against the harsh realities of a rapidly changing world. Confined to a tiny St. Louis apartment on the eve of World War II, the Wingfield family struggles to find beauty amid the rough circumstances that surround them.

Oct. 19 - Nov. 4:
A Splintered Soul -A gripping drama by Alan L. Brooks about war refugees haunted by the death of their loved ones - and by memories of the things they had to do to survive. It's 1947 in San Francisco, home to a group of resettled Holocaust survivors from Poland whose very existence depended on blurring the lines between right and wrong. How can these splintered souls adapt to a new life in a new land, where all the rules have changed?

Recognized by Long Beach as the City's resident professional theater company, International City Theatre is the recipient of over 350 awards, including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's prestigious Margaret Harford Award for "Sustained Excellence" and the LADCC's 2016 Polly Warfield Award for an "Excellent Season." In addition to its professional theater productions, ICT offers six community and educational outreach programs each year. The company's commitment to the community also includes ongoing collaborations with Long Beach's Black Manager's Association, Latino and Asian organizations and the NAACP. Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe called ICT "a cultural treasure."

All performances take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. For more information about ICT's 2018 season and to purchase subscriptions or single tickets, call (562) 436-4610 or visit www.internationalcitytheatre.org.

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