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Good Theater, the professional theater company in residence at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, will be celebrating its 14th year with the 2015-2016 season. The year will include a world premiere plus two Maine premieres including SHEAR MADNESS the international hit that is the longest running American play in the history of theater.
The season kicks off with the launch of Good Theater on Tour, a new branch of Good Theater that will bring shows throughout Maine and New England. To celebrate this new endeavor, Good Theater will present several of the touring shows for three weeks (September 23-October 11). Subscribers will choose which show they want to see. The final list of shows being presented will be announced in June. One of the productions will be NO BIZ LIKE SHOW BIZ a musical revue featuring songs introduced or made famous by Mary Martin and Ethel Merman. The show stars Marie Dittmer, Lynne McGhee and Jen Means with musical direction by Victoria Stubbs. Artistic Director, Brian P. Allen, is the creator of the show.
Opening October 28 and playing through November 22, 2015 is the world premiere of MAMA'S BOY by Rob Urbinati. The play focuses on Marguerite Oswald, her sons, Robert and Lee Harvey, and Lee's wife, Marina. It is a fascinating new work about the woman behind the man who changed the course of history. This gripping and exciting piece will feature a major New York actress in the leading role.
The international success, SHEAR MADNESS, makes its Maine debut for an unprecedented eight weeks, January 27-March 20, 2016. A hilarious whodunit, SHEAR MADNESS has been delighting audiences in Boston for 35 years and at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC for 27 years.
Voted "Best Comedy of the Year" seven times by the Boston Globe and recipient of the title "Best Play of the Year" by both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Enquirer, SHEAR MADNESS has also received the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America and has been inducted into the Comedy Hall of Fame, the first play ever to receive that accolade. SHEAR MADNESS is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the longest running play in the history of the USA.
Closing the 14th season will be ACT ONE by James Lapine adapted from Moss Hart's autobiography running April 6-May 1, 2016. ACT ONE was on Broadway in 2014 where it received five Tony Award nominations including Best Play and Best Actor. This will be the largest play ever produced in Good Theater's history with more than a dozen actors playing 52 roles.
In addition to these main stage productions, Good Theater will offer its annual Broadway at Good Theater event December 2-6, 2015. This year the show will be a tribute to the Broadway and holiday songs of the 1930's. A Broadway guest star joins some of the best local performers for a concert of great music.
Also, as part of Good Theater on Tour, Will Rhys' one-man version of A Christmas Carol will be presented Thanksgiving weekend November 27-29. Rhys starred in Good Theater production of The Outgoing Tide and has received rave reviews for his adaptation and performance in A Christmas Carol.
Good Theater is expanding its schedule for season 14 with Wednesday evening performances every week and Saturday matinees every week except opening week. This will give patrons more choices and allow the company to sell more season subscriptions.
Season tickets begin as low as $66 for four main stage performances: Good Theater on Tour, Mama's Boy, Shear Madness and Act One. Contact the Good Theater box office for more information 207-885-5883 or log onto www.goodtheater.com.
