CATCO and CATCO is Kids Announce First Shows of 2017-18 Season

A Tony Award-winning musical is set to kick off CATCO's 2017-18 season next September.

The Columbus-based theater company announced Monday that it will perform "Fun Home," a musical based on a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel that explores themes of family, youth, sexuality and honesty. "Fun Home" won five Tony Awards in 2015, including Best Musical.

In a press release, CATCO producing director Steven C. Anderson expressed his excitement about the season opener, which features a cast of nine actors.

"CATCO is thrilled to be the first theatre company in Ohio to produce 'Fun Home,'" Anderson said. "This heartwarming musical and journey of discovery and self-exploration is a guidebook for helping us understand the people in our lives we are closest to -- our families and ourselves."

"Fun Home" will be performed from Sept. 13 through Oct. 1 in the Vern Riffe Center's Studio Two Theatre.

The release also announced the first show of CATCO is Kids' 2017-18 season, "Shakespeare and Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope."

The show, which will feature students enrolled in CATCO is Kids' summer camp, transports audiences to a galaxy far, far away, where the "Star Wars" story unfolds in Shakespearean style.

"Jedi. Lightsabers. Wookies. Darth Vader. All in iambic pentameter!" said Joe Bishara, CATCO's associate producing director, of the show. "This fun and accessible adaptation is a saga, abounding with all of the valor and villainy of Shakespeare's greatest plays."

"Shakespeare and Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope" will be performed Aug. 25 - 27 at the Lincoln Theatre.

Tickets for both shows will become available to CATCO subscribers in March. Subscription renewals will also be available at that time.

More information about CATCO and CATCO is Kids is available on the company's website.