Way Off Broadway Theatre Announces 2011 Season

The 2011 Season is going to be the biggest years ever for The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre as some of the most popular shows in theatre history take to its stage. Since Way Off Broadway first opened in 1995, the theatre has been a leader in the area's performing arts community and has brought many premiere productions to Frederick, as well as western Maryland.

In the last two years alone, Way Off Broadway produced the area premieres of Mel Brooks' The Producers, the jukebox musical based on the music of Elvis Presley, All Shook Up, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It was also one of the very first theatres in the country to produce a regional theatre production of the musical comedy The Wedding Singer. The 2011 Season will bring another first to WOB with its production of one of the most successful Broadway shows of all time, Hairspray.
Hairspray is not the only big name show in Way Off Broadway's 2011 line-up. Two of the most beloved musicals will kick off the season. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will begin the year, followed by Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific in the spring. The Broadway blockbuster, Hairspray, will settle in for a summer run. With the fall bringing the razzle and dazzle of Chicago, one of the longest running shows currently on Broadway and most requested by WOB audiences. The season will conclude, as is tradition, with an original Christmas variety show.
"This year will rival any season Way Off Broadway has ever produced," says Bill Kiska, Way Off Broadway's Executive Producer. "WOB is the place to be in 2011. And we certainly can't forget about our Children's Theatre. We have something for everyone."

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
January 21 -March 19, 2011
The Biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to vibrant life in this delightful musical parable. Joseph, his father's favorite son, is a boy blessed with prophetic dreams. When he is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and taken to Egypt, Joseph endures a series of adventures in which his spirit and humanity are continually challenged. This irresistible musical about the trials and triumphs of Joseph paints a picture of betrayal, prophecy, and forgiveness. Set to an engaging cornucopia of musical styles, from country-western to bubble-gum pop and rock 'n' roll, this Old Testament tale emerges both timely and timeless.

SOUTH PACIFIC
April 1 - June 11, 2011
Set in an island paradise during World War II, two parallel love stories are threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war. Nellie Forbush, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with a mature French planter, Emile. Nellie learns that the mother of his children was an island native and, unable to turn her back on the prejudices with which she was raised, refuses Emile's proposal of marriage. Meanwhile, the strapping Lt. Joe Cable denies himself the fulfillment of a future with an innocent Tonkinese girl with whom he's fallen in love out of the same fears that haunt Nellie. When Emile is recruited to accompany Joe on a dangerous mission, Nellie realizes that life is too short not to seize her own chance for happiness, thus confronting and conquering her prejudices.

HAIRSPRAY
June 24 - August 27, 2011
Hairspray delights audiences by sweeping them away to 1960's Baltimore, where the 50's are out -- and change is in the air. Loveable plus-size heroine, Tracy Turnblad, has a passion for dancing, and wins a spot on the local TV dance program, The Corny Collins Show. Overnight she finds herself transformed from outsider to teen celebrity. Can a larger-than-life adolescent manage to vanquish the program's reigning princess, integrate the television show, and find true love (singing and dancing all the while, of course!) without mussing her hair? Another first for Frederick at Way Off Broadway!

CHICAGO
September 9 - November 5, 2011
In roaring twenties Chicago, Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband to take the rap . . . until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess," Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines. Both are out for fame, fortune, and an acquittal. A sharp, edgy, satiric masterwork that centers on the corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the idea of the "celebrity criminal." Currently, one of the longest running shows on Broadway, Chicago is set to razzle dazzle WOB audiences!

CHRISTMAS TIDINGS
November 18 - December 30, 2011
The holiday season is always one of the most fun and exciting times at Way Off Broadway. The joy of the season returns to the theatre with this year's original musical production of Christmas Tidings. Always the most popular show of the year, WOB's Christmas productions are fun for the whole family. Blending songs from Christmases past to present, Christmas Tidings will fill everyone with the holiday spirit. As always, we make certain to take time and remember what the true meaning of Christmas is with a recreation of the Nativity. Not only is the Christmas show the most popular show of the season, it also sells out the quickest. Get your tickets early for this one, so you can celebrate the holidays with family and friends right here at Way Off Broadway.
Way Off Broadway has performances every Friday and Saturday evening; matinees on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday of each month; and special Sunday evening show only performances each month.
Season Subscriptions, as well as individual tickets are now on sale and may be purchased by visiting the theatre or calling the Box Office at (301) 662-6600. For additional information on Way Off Broadway, including its Children's Theatre, Youth Theatre acting classes, and special events, visit www.wayoffbroadway.com.

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre has been a leader in the region's performing arts community since it first opened in 1995. Under the direction of the Kiska Family since 2002, WOB has produced such productions as A Funny Thing . . . Forum, Guys & Dolls, Steel Magnolias, Oklahoma!, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, The Odd Couple, A Chorus Line, The Sound of Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Evita, and Cats, as well as the regional and area premieres of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl - The Musical, Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles, the musical comedy The Wedding Singer, and Mel Brooks' The Producers. Located along Route 40 West, the Golden Mile in Frederick, the theatre also produces a one-of-a-kind children's lunch theatre, as well as countless special events throughout the year.