Actors' Playhouse Adds NEXT TO NORMAL to 2011-12 Season

Actors' Playhouse announces the fifth production of the 2011 - 2012 Mainstage Season, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Next to Normal, which will be presented at the Miracle Theatre January 18 - February 12, 2012.

"The addition of this new musical enhances our already remarkable season," said Artistic Director David Arisco. "Next to Normal is the most powerful musical I've seen on Broadway in recent years. It single-handedly propels musical theatre into uncharted new territory. With a Tony Award-winning score and a Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Next to Normal solidifies the commitment of Actors' playhouse to produce the best in Contemporary Theatre, as exemplified by our recent production of August: Osage County."

The most talked about new show on Broadway by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal is the acclaimed, groundbreaking rock musical "that pushes Broadway in new directions" (Rolling Stone). With a thrilling contemporary score, Next to Normal is an emotional powerhouse of a musical about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other. It is about one woman's struggle with manic depression and the toll it takes on her family. Next to Normal's surging score is intense, emotional, and ultimately hopeful of how the family comes to terms with their past and faces their future.

Ben Brantley, in his New York Times review, raved, "Next to Normal is one of the bravest musicals to hit mainstream - a jolt of raw, contemporary pain, propelled by a rock 'n' roll pulse. It makes your heart swell."

Award-winning Artistic Director David Arisco will launch off the 2011 - 2012 "Can't Stop the Beat" Season by returning to the spotlight, starring as Edna Turnblad in Broadway's hottest musical comedy turned major motion picture Hairspray, playing October 12 - November 13, 2011. A joyous tribute to the '60's, this intelligent and hilarious new musical based on John Waters' 1988 cult classic has the best new Broadway score in recent years with music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman, and book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. It's 1962, and pleasantly plump Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire, to dance on the popular "Corny Collins Show". When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star, but she must use her new found power to vanquish the reigning teen queen, win the affections of her heartthrob Link Larkin and integrate a TV Network, all without denting her do'! The winner of eight Tony Award, including Best Musical, Hairspray is making its South Florida regional premiere at the Miracle Theatre.

Next Holiday Season, Scrooge can move over, as Jacob Marley gets a chance to tell his story on the Mainstage in Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol by Tom Mula starring Carbonell Award-winning actor Ken Clement. Audiences can join Marley in his heroic, behind-the-scenes effort to save old Scrooge's soul - and in the process save his own - in this delightful gem of a show playing December 7, 2011 - January 1, 2012. Chained and shackled, and condemned to a hellish eternity, Jacob Marley desperately attempts to free himself and escape his own chains, but first he must redeem Scrooge. This story of laughter and terror, redemption and renewal, is irreverent, funny, and a deeply moving twist on Dickens' classic, told with both warmth and infectious zest.

Following a successful revival and tour in the UK, Actors' Playhouse will present its 2001 eight Carbonell Award-winning hit Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, March 7 - April 8, 2012. The international musical sensation created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the authors of Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, is a fun, hip, colorful and tuneful adaptation of the well-known Biblical tale of Joseph. The melodious, contemporary score features familiar songs like Close Every Door To Me, Any Dream Will Do, and Go Go Go Joseph. A favorite among Actors Playhouse's many award-winning musicals, the return of this colorful show validates that everyone's a dreamer, and through Joseph, audiences will experience a legacy of pure entertainment for the entire family.

A laugh out loud South Florida premiere gears things up for Spring 2012. In Becky's New Car, onstage May 9 - June 3, 2012, playwright Steven Dietz maps out a very funny and touching trip about "the life not taken". Becky is married in her 40's and working at a car dealership, when one night, by chance, she's offered an opportunity to step into another life - and she takes it. This fresh, new, delightful and devious comedy is about life, love, marriage, and the detours everyone makes on their way to happiness.

One more exciting show is still in negotiation and will be scheduled for July 11 - August 12, 2012.

The best way to guarantee seats to this exhilarating new season is to become a valued Actors' Playhouse subscriber. Season subscriptions for the 2011 - 2012 Season are on sale now with prices ranging from $185 for preview performances, $239 for Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday matinees, $275 for Friday and Saturday evenings, and $279 for VIP Flexible/Anytime tickets for premium seats in any performance. Opening Night Subscription, which includes invitation to a Gala party and open Bacardi Bar, are $435. Miracle Maker donor subscriptions, including a gold lapel pin, two tickets to opening nights, donor acknowledgement, and two tickets to The 21st Annual Reach for the Stars Gala Auction are $1250. Subscriptions for children 18 years and younger with a full paid adult subscription, and college students, are $105 (restrictions apply). All prices include handling charges and fees. Group rates are available for fifteen people or more through the group sales department.

Actors' Playhouse subscribers receive guaranteed best seating and pricing, lost ticket insurance, generous membership benefits to Coral Gables' finest restaurants and discounts on single tickets, among other benefits. To become a part of the Miracle as an Actors' Playhouse subscriber, call 305.444.9293 or order online at www.actorsplayhouse.org.

Actors' Playhouse is the nonprofit resident theatre company and managing agent of the historic Miracle Theatre on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. Actors' Playhouse, which has brought home 66 regional Carbonell Awards for artistic excellence, is a Florida Presenting Cultural Organization and one of 22 major cultural institutions in Miami-Dade County. In addition to its Mainstage season, Actors' Playhouse offers a year-round season of Musical Theatre for Young Audiences, a National Children's Theatre Festival, a Theatre Conservatory and Summer Camp Program, as well as educational arts outreach programs for underserved youth, and has initiated a Young Talent Big Dreams contest for children in partnership with The Children's Trust.

 

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