Cleveland's Classic Theater Company Announces Six-Show Season for 2018-19

Charles Fee, Producing Artistic Director of Great Lakes Theater (GLT), unveiled an ambitious, six-production array of classics to headline the company's 2018-19 season. Great Lakes Theater's fifty-seventh year is scheduled to run from September 2018 through May 2019 at Playhouse Square's Hanna and Ohio Theatres.

GLT will commence its 2018-19 season with the smash hit feel-good musical, Mamma Mia!,presented in rotating repertory with the the classic Jane Austen romantic comedy, Pride and Prejudice (September 28 - November 11, 2018). The 30th anniversary of GLT's production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic, A Christmas Carol (November 30 - December 23, 2018) will bisect the season. In the winter/spring, GLT will present Agatha Christie's gripping courtroom thriller, Witness for the Prosecution (February 15 - March 11, 2019) followed by Shakespeare's uproarious battle of the sexes The Taming of the Shrew (March 29 - April 14, 2019) and the Tony-winning rock 'n' roll tribute, Million Dollar Quartet (May 2 - 19, 2019).

Great Lakes Theater producing artistic director, Charles Fee, will direct Witness for the Prosecution in the coming season. GLT resident artist, Victoria Bussert will helm the company's pair of musical productions, Mamma Mia! and Million Dollar Quartet. Joseph Hanreddy directs Pride and Prejudice - a script that he adapted with J.R. Sullivan. The directors for GLT's 30th annual production of A Christmas Carol and The Taming of the Shrew will be announced at a later date.

Great Lakes Theater's 2018-19 season is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a generous public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Generous season support is also provided by The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.

Five of the company's 2018-19 season offerings (Mamma Mia!, Pride and Prejudice, Witness for the Prosecution, The Taming of the Shrew and Million Dollar Quartet), will take place in GLT's revolutionary, audience-friendly home at the Hanna Theatre, Playhouse Square, while A Christmas Carol will remain in its traditional Ohio Theatre setting.

Great Lakes Theater's award-winning home at the Hanna Theatre features a unique thrust stage configuration where the audience surrounds the performance - affording attendees a uniquely intimate theater experience in which no seat is further than 13 rows from the stage.At the Hanna, patrons select from a variety of seating opportunities that include traditional seats, club chairs, lounge/bar seats, banquette couches and private box seating. Boasting a fully flexible hydraulic stage, state-of-the-art theatrical systems and a visionary "Great Room" inspired design concept that integrates the artist and audience into a single unified environment, Great Lakes Theater's Hanna home is one of the most innovative theaters in the country.

Great Lakes Theater will continue to afford patrons extraordinary access to its production process at every Hanna Theatre performance in 2018-19. The Hanna's doors always open ninety minutes before each show allowing patrons to observe the complete pre-show preparation process of GLT's actors and technical staff. Elements such as stage combat rehearsals, dance calls, prop/scenic pre-sets, technical cue rehearsals and actor warm-ups will be conducted in full view of patrons, offering GLT audiences an unprecedented glimpse into the theatrical process. A complete list of pre-/post-show enhancement programming is available at www.greatlakestheater.org.

Subscriptions to Great Lakes Theater's 2018-19 season are on sale now. An adult subscription to Great Lakes Theater starts as low as $180. Student subscriptions begin at $39. For complete information, patrons should call (216) 640-8869 or visit www.greatlakestheater.org.

Single tickets will go on sale in July. Regular priced adult tickets will range from $15 - $91. Regular priced student/youth tickets for the Hanna Theatre are $13 ($26 for A Christmas Carol in the Ohio Theatre) and will be available for all performances. Further details and pricing specifics for single performance tickets will be announced in August.

Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland's classic company, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. The first resident company of Playhouse Square, GLT will celebrate its 37th year in downtown Cleveland this season. On its main stage and through its extensive education programming, Great Lakes Theater positively impacts the lives of over 100,000 adults and students annually.

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