SIDE SHOW, LIBERACE! and More Set for Theatre Memphis' 2016-17 Season

Theatre Memphis has made its play selections for the 2016-17 season and they include a variety of entertainment that touches many bases. Featuring musicals, comedy, drama, classics and new work, the season offers options and regional premieres to Memphis patrons.

The 411 seat Lohrey Stage will begin the season with an all-time family favorite musical Beauty and the Beast, based on the Disney movie of the same name. The story tells of a monster who must win the pure love of woman to be returned to a human prince. The City of Conversation*, - just recently Off Broadway - will follow in the season line up as a social commentary on Washington, D.C. politics. A famous socialite hosts events where the government deals get done and that span six presidential administrations. In spite of her prominence, she must face off with her son's wife who is a political, conservative opposite. 39 Steps will next bring on a lighter note as a melodramatic comedy based on an Alfred Hitchcock film. Four actors play all the roles with romantic entanglement and lightning-fast quick changes. In March of 2017, Side Show*, a musical based on a true story from the 1930's of conjoined twins who gained fame for their performances but seek different goals in life, will be on the stage. Conflict emotionally separates them and only heartache brings them back together. A literary classic, Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof explores the relationships of wealthy Southern family as recurring motifs of social mores, greed, sexual desire and death are presented in the Mississippi Delta plantation home. Closing the Lohrey Stage season will be South Pacific which has never been performed on a Theatre Memphis stage. A wildly popular musical, the Rodgers and Hammerstein staple involves a World War II nurse who falls for a middle-aged French expatriate and she struggles with accepting his past. Along with another romance between a naval officer and an island native, the issue of racial prejudice is candidly explored. And of course, the family favorite, A Christmas Carol, will be performed as a special holiday offering in December for the 39th consecutive year at Theatre Memphis. Debbie Sings: Judy, Just for You will be a Summer Showcase Special show in July of 2016 featuring Theatre Memphis Executive Producer Debbie Litch in a one woman presentation of the performer Judy Garland, famous for her style and glamour. This is an encore presentation of an original production presented last year to Theatre Memphis donors as a "thank you" for their support. This re-staging is due to the overwhelming response received from those two performances.

The black box Next Stage season leads off with a return engagement of Liberace! featuring Gary Beard in a one man presentation of the performer famous for his charm, glitz and glamour. A huge hit as last season's Summer Showcase, this restaging reveals the real person behind the persona and is interwoven with a rollicking piano score spanning classical and popular music. The often comedic but no less authentic One Ham Manlet comes up next presented as an original work performed by the author, Ryan Kathman, who plays all the characters in an adapted version of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Following in the Next Stage will be the Jon Jory adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility. Sisters find themselves captivated by two very different men and when a scandalous past and a secret engagement come to light, the sisters must rely on themselves and each other. The final show in the Next Stage is Rasheeda Speaking*. Office politics and protocol are central in a confrontation between co-workers as contention, bigotry and gross generalizations are prevalent and issues come to a head via the prickly relationships.

Season memberships for the 2016-17 season will be available March 11, 2016 by calling 901.682.8323 and are $135 which includes six tickets. All tickets are good to use on any performance and can be used in any combination on any show, excluding A Christmas Carol, TM/PM cabarets and Summer Showcases which are not part of the membership package. Season members do, however, receive discounts on tickets to holiday offerings and special events. Memberships secured prior to April 12, 2016 will receive a $10 discount off the regular membership price. All shows are at 7:30pm Thursdays, 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays with matinees on Sunday at 2pm, unless otherwise designated. Single ticket prices for adults are $30 for musicals and $25 for dramas/comedies, $15 for students.

---

Dates for all productions are listed below:

Summer Musical Showcase

Debbie Sings: Judy, Just for You

Developed and directed by André Bruce Ward

Musical direction by Gary Beard

Performed by Debbie Litch

July 15 - 31, 2016

Lohrey Stage

The Beauty and the Beast

September 2 - 25, 2016

The City of Conversation - REGIONAL PREMIERE

October 21 - November 6, 2016

A Christmas Carol

December 2 - 23, 2016

Theatre Memphis' 39th Annual Production

39 Steps

January 20 - February 5, 2017

Side Show- REGIONAL PREMIERE

March 10 - April 2, 2017

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

April 28 - May 14, 2017

South Pacific

June 2 - 25, 2017

Next Stage:

Liberace!

September 30 - October 16, 2016

One Ham Manlet - ORIGINAL WORK

November 10 - 20, 2016

Sense and Sensibility

February 10 - 26, 2017

Rasheeda Speaking- REGIONAL PREMIERE

April 7 - 23, 2017

---

Theatre Memphis is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization located at 630 Perkins Extended (corner of Perkins and Southern) and is a community theatre whose mission is to provide outstanding theatrical experiences to enrich the lives of our audiences and participants. Visit www.theatrememphis.org for more information.

*Regional Premiere