A RAISIN IN THE SUN, PYGMALION & More Set for Long Beach Playhouse's 87th Mainstage Season

On September 26, the Long Beach Playhouse opens its 87th Mainstage Season. This year's season is a celebration of authors and their finest works with classics including Pygmalion, The Mousetrap, A Raisin in the Sun and Around the World in 80 Days. The season opens with Lanford Wilson's comedy classic, Hot L Baltimore on September 26, 2015. The season curtain falls on August 6, 2016 with the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In between are six plays, including a two-weekend run of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.

"The Mainstage audience is becoming more and more diverse," said Andrew Vonderschmitt, executive & producing artistic director for LBP. "We have our longtime season ticket holders, whom we cherish. Over the last few years, they've been joined by college students, more people of diverse backgrounds and newcomers to the theater experience. We are thrilled.

"The works this season have one thing in common: They are among the best in the catalog of each playwright," Vonderschmitt continued. "The Mousetrap, is considered Agatha Christie's best work and our closing musical is How to Succeed in Business without Even Trying won a Pulitzer Prize for the script and the music and lyrics. It's a season filled with offerings of the highest caliber."

2015 - 2016 Mainstage Season

The Hot L Baltimore by Lanford Wilson

September 26 - October 24, 2015 - Meet the residents of a run-down hotel facing eviction, each of these individuals are searching for that missing part of their being, reflected by the incomplete and burnt-out neon sign that gives this insightful slice-of-life masterpiece its title.

Hay Fever by Noel Coward

November 7 - December 5, 2015 - A quiet weekend getaway turns into a battlefield of intellectual warfare. This hysterically witty British whirlwind will keep you breathless from laughter.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Gregory Cohen

December 12 - 20, 2015 - Returning for its fourth incarnation at Long Beach Playhouse, this quick-paced, highly theatrical re-telling of Charles Dickens' classic tale will be the party to set you and your loved ones on the path to holiday cheer.

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

January 16 - February 13, 2016 - A spine-tingling who-dunnit with all of the classic earmarks you've come to expect from the "Queen of Mystery."

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

February 27 - March 26, 2016 - Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. The play is a sharp lampoon of the rigid British class system of the day and a commentary on women's independence.

Around the World in 80 Days adapted by Mark Brown, from the novel by Jules Verne

April 9 - May 7, 2016 - Phileas Fogg's hot-air balloon takes on a global collection of unforgettable characters in this re-imagining of Jules Verne's classic adventure.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

May 21 - June 18, 2016 - When the family patriarch dies, a poor African-American family living on Chicago's South Side, must decide what to do with the soon-to-arrive insurance settlement. Family tensions rise as the future is weighed. Questions of race and politics and historical awareness are seamlessly interwoven in this touching and wrenching family drama.

How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying Book by Abe Burrows and Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser

July 2 - August 6, 2016 - Join J. Pierrepont Finch as he meteorically rises from lowly window washer to high-powered executive in this rousing musical satire - featuring such familiar hits as "I Believe in You" and "Brotherhood of Man."

Season tickets are available now, ranging from $86 for Students and $170 for Opening Nights. Single tickets will be available for purchase August 15th.

Tickets are available at www.lbplayhouse.org, or by calling 562-494-1014, option 1.

Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA, 90804, right across from the Long Beach Recreation golf course. The Playhouse is community-supported theatre with programs and events that cut across age, gender, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.

Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The box office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 3:00-8:00 pm & Sundays from 1:00-2:00 pm on scheduled matinees only. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.lbplayhouse.org or call 562-494-1014.

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