Penny Seats Theatre Company Announces Its 10th Anniversary Season

The Penny Seats Theatre Company is thrilled to announce the line-up for its 10th Anniversary Season. Over the past decade, this Ann Arbor-based professional theatre company has brought audiences everything from wild musicals in the park to intimate horror shows in Gothic getaways. Over the years, the organization has grown in size and scope, and its newest season embraces the future while presenting shows that examine the past.

The year begins with a 10th Anniversary Gala on April 18, 2020. The Gala is a one-night-only, not-to-be-missed event at the Stone Chalet Inn, featuring performances from many of the group's best-loved artists and musicians. It will also feature a silent auction, fun activities, and delicious food and drink, as The Penny Seats launches into its second decade.

Returning to its perennial summer home in West Park, The Penny Seats' summer musical will be Roger Bean's Summer of Love. When a runaway bride discovers the countercultural revolution of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, the hippies and dropouts of Golden Gate Park teach her to "Make Your Own Kind of Music!" With such hits as "Crystal Blue Persuasion," "War," "One Tin Soldier," "Piece Of My Heart," "Spinning Wheel," and, of course, "San Francisco," this trip down memory lane explores the meaning of freedom and finding love in the most unexpected places. The show will be presented at West Park, July 9 - August 1.

October will see the third annual installment of The Penny Dreadful series. This year, The Penny Seats return to the foggy streets of Victorian London with Ripper by Jacob Marx Rice, playing October 15- 31 at The Stone Chalet. In the dark alleys of Whitechapel, a bold young woman reporter desperate to make a name for herself starts tracking a string of gruesome murders. When she accidentally finds herself face to face with the killer, they begin an elaborate and deadly game of cat and mouse. Can she stop him and become famous in the process, or will he rip the city, and her, apart? Wickedly playful and deliciously terrifying, Ripper asks how far you're willing to go for the story of the century. A Michigan premiere!

Finally, the 10th anniversary season will close with The Penny Seats' first ever holiday show! In December 2020, the group will present Joseph Zettelmaier's fairytale play The Winter Wolf. It is Christmas night in Cora's house. She is visited by her beloved grandfather, a man of high spirits and failing health. They sit around the fireplace and she listens to the legend of the Winter Wolf, a strange creature who serves as Time's hunter, stalking those who are in the winter of their lives. That night, the Winter Wolf comes for Cora's grandfather, but the young girl manages to trap it. What follows is a magical journey through the mysteries of time, as Cora learns how far one can go for the sake of love.

The Penny Seats is extremely proud to launch its 10th season in Ann Arbor. Tickets to the gala and all shows will be available at www.pennyseats.org.