THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, DISTANT MUSIC, and More Featured in Stoneham Theatre's 2012-13 Season

Stoneham Theatre is opening season 13 with a statement of who they are. Stoneham Theatre…suburban theatre with a twist. "In the past, we haven't really featured the fact that we are in the suburbs," Artistic Director Weylin Symes shared, "because it has seemed to cause confusion. I think for some reason people don't expect the level of professionalism or they expect to see different programming. But we are proud of our community and the work that we do here. Our 13th season is the perfect time to share that."

So what's the twist? Associate Artistic Director Caitlin Lowans has the answer. "The twist is the type of shows we do in this great nostalgic building. You wouldn't expect to see such an eclectic array of shows and not be in the city. There are also a lot of twists this season that people are going to be really excited about."

Stoneham Theatre's 13th season opens in just a few weeks, September 13th to be exact, and it promises to be Stoneham's best season yet. Opening with the Boston premiere of Lumberjacks in Love, Symes says that season 13 "brings several shows that you would not be able to see anywhere else. We couldn't be more excited."

Stoneham Theatre's 13th Season:
· Lumberjacks in Love (September 13 – 30) a new musical comedy! Lumberjacks in Love is the tale of five burly bachelors, 200 miles from the nearest woman…or so they think. When Slim accidentally orders himself a mail order bride, their simple, shanty lives turn upside down. With bluegrass and folk music played on "homespun" instruments by the actors themselves, this Boston premiere from the creators of Season 7 favorite, Guys on Ice, is sure to be an audience favorite.

· Double Indemnity (October18 – November 4) Walter Huff has been an insurance man for 15 years. When the wrong woman approaches him with the right scam, he can't resist. In 1944, Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler, Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray invented film noir with the movie Double Indemnity. Now see it reinvented for the stage in this new thrilling adaptation.

· It's A Wonderful Life (November 23 – December 23) Alone on top of a bridge that overlooks his beloved Bedford Falls, George Bailey has convinced himself that his life and his work has been for nothing. Can the small victories and common decency of one man change an entire town? George will find out when he's visited by a guardian angel, which will show him what life would have been like without him. See this new adaptation of a Christmas staple.

· Distant Music (February 28 – March 10) Spend a night with Dev. Like most Irish barkeeps, Dev is an avid eavesdropper with an overdeveloped gift of gab. Pull up a stool at Cambridge's (semi-fictional) Poulnabrone Pub and listen in as Dev pours drinks for a nun and a Harvard professor, both looking for the inspiration and guidance to change their lives on a snowy Day of Epiphany. Distant Music combines the fine art of conversation, a distinct sprinkling of Irish humor and local brew served fresh from the stage.

· Thoroughly Modern Millie (April 18 – May 12) Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of small-town girl who comes to New York City to marry for money instead of love-a thoroughly modern aim in 1922. It's a New York full of intrigue and jazz-a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever. Millie captures the bright lights and big dreams of the Roaring '20s and the essence of young love. This toe-tapping musical is guaranteed to have you smiling.

· These Shining Lives (June 6 – June 23) At its height in the 1920s, The Radium Dial Corporation employed some 4,000 girls and produced thousands of watches with brightly lit dials. These were jobs for girls that had never worked before. They didn't just make money; they made friends. But the radioactive paint they were using made them terribly ill. This is the story of four women who rejoiced in their new-found camaraderie and found the courage for each other to stand up to the employers that recklessly permitted them to endanger their lives for a penny and a half per dial.

· The Marvelous Wonderettes (July 5 – July 28) Spend an evening at Springfield High circa 1958. The Marvelous Wonderettes is a funny, sweet, frothy musical revue that features pretty much every hit song you can imagine from the 50s and 60s, including Mr. Sandman, Lollipop, It's My Party, Leader of the Pack, It's in His Kiss, Respect, and on and on.

 

 

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