Playhouse On Park Announces Season Eleven

The theme of Season 11 is Women: "It is basic human nature to want your voice to be heard, starting with your first cry as a newborn infant. Throughout history, there have been times when women were pushed to the background and made to feel inferior - but no more. Women have found their voices and demand to be heard. Season 11 is giving women the opportunity to tell their story; stories of family, hope, pain, and love. Whether told through comedy, song, or thought-provoking spoken words, experiences will be shared. Strong women will be taking the stage and claiming their place; not just in theatre but in the world" (Co-Artistic Director Darlene Zoller).

This season is extra special because we have added a deeply discounted Thursday preview matinee, as well as Tuesday and Saturday matinees.

Season Eleven opens with Dan Goggin's NUNSENSE, a hilariously funny musical comedy, featuring a troupe of dancing, singing nuns. It follows the crazy antics of five nuns from the Little Sisters of Hoboken convent. When their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, accidentally serves some tainted soup, poisoning 52 of the sisters, the five surviving nuns must band together to raise funds for their burials. The score pulses with merriment and an unabashed desire to make you laugh, with songs and spontaneous comic interludes paced at breakneck speed. Playhouse Co-Artistic Director Darlene Zoller is slated to direct and choreograph this show, running September 18 - October 13, 2019.

Running October 30 - November 17, 2019 is Barbara Lebow's A SHAYNA MAIDEL. Dawn Loveland Navarro (Intimate Apparel) will direct this poignant drama of survival and strength about two sisters trying to reconnect after years of separation brought on by the Holocaust. Although born in Poland, Rose, now in her twenties came to the United States with her father, Mordechai, at the age of four and is now completely "Americanized." The plan had been for Rose's mother and sister to join them. However, only the sister survived their ordeal in the concentration camps. This has brought a burden of guilt to the aging Mordechai as he awaits the arrival of his elder daughter. A SHAYNA MAIDEL explores family, faith, and forgiveness in the pursuit of a better future.

Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman's TENDERLY: THE Rosemary Clooney MUSICAL will run January 15 - February 2, 2020. It's a loving re-creation of 20 or so of Rosemary Clooney's popular songs and a fresh, remarkably personal picture of the woman whose unparalleled talent and unbridled personality made her a legend. With her signature songs woven in and out, we learn both the story of her successes on film, radio, and TV, as well as her struggles in her personal life. Susan Haefner, who originated the title role, will be starring as Rosemary Clooney. Kyle Brand will direct.

This isn't your grandmother's Austen! Kate Hamill's "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE" is bold, surprising, boisterous, and timely. This play explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life. The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry, despite mounting pressure from society. But can she resist love, especially when that vaguely handsome, mildly amusing, and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn? Literature's greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical, or so full of life than it does in this effervescent adaptation. Running February 19 - March 8, 2020.

Co-Artistic Director Darlene Zoller's stop/time dance theater is back! This original show is complete with dancing, singing, and music, running from March 25 - April 5, 2020. The theme of their 17th season is "DIVAS!" Janet, Christina, Mariah, Whitney, Tina, Cher, Darlene... that is all you need to know!

UGLY LIES THE BONE runs April 22 - May 10, 2020. This play by Lindsey Ferrentino is set in 2011 at the time of the final space shuttle launch. Jess returns to her hometown of Titusville, Florida, during the closing of the NASA program. An improvised explosive device (IED) injured her while serving in Afghanistan, and she suffers from burns and skin grafts covering 30% of her body. Yet she's still the same strong-willed, determined woman who voluntarily served three tours in the army. Through the use of virtual reality video game therapy, she builds a breathtaking new world where she can escape her pain. As Jess advances farther in the game, she begins to restore her relationships, her life, and, slowly, herself. Playhouse Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Sean Harris will direct this piece.

IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU will be directed by Susan Haefner (Tenderly) and choreographed by Darlene Zoller. This musical, with music by Barbara Anselmi and a book and lyrics by Brian Hargrove, is a world where nothing is what it seems; religions collide, Machiavellian plots are revealed, promises are broken, secrets are exposed, and hope springs from the most unlikely of places. The charming, funny, and original new musical invites you to a wedding day that you'll never forget. IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU will run from July 1 - August 9, 2020.

New subscriptions are available for purchase. Individual tickets are now on sale. Contact the Box Office at 860-523-5900 x10 or visit www.playhouseonpark.org for more information. Playhouse on Park is located at 244 Park Road, West Hartford, CT 06119.

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