Lyric Music Theater Announces 66th Season

Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer Street, South Portland will be presenting four musicals and a classic play in their 2018-2019 season. All five shows are being performed on the Lyric Stage for the first time and include family friendly classics, romantic drama, uproarious comedy, murder and mystery, and an epic, classic tale, something for everyone.

Lyric's season opens with "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" directed by Jamie Lupien Swenson. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, a group of six tweens (and some special guest spellers) spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words in the spelling championship of a lifetime. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box! "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" runs September 14-30 with an ASL interpreted performance on September 15.

Next up, the holiday classic Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" directed by Sean Senior. A Christmas card comes to life with this story of a song-and-dance-team putting on a show in a magical Vermont inn and falling for a stunning sister act in the process. White Christmas is full of dancing, laughter, and some of the greatest songs ever written! Lyric is giving everyone the gift they're dreaming of with this merry and bright holiday musical! "White Christmas" runs November 30-December 16 with an ASL interpreted performance on December 1 and a sensory friendly performance on December 15.

Agatha's Christie's "The Mousetrap" directed by John Blanchette starts 2019 with a bang. With its world record-breaking number of performances, "The Mousetrap" has been thrilling London audiences eight times-a-week since 1952. Seven strangers are stranded at Monkswell Manor during a blizzard. A police sergeant unexpectedly arrives, worried that a murderer-at-large is among the guests of the Manor. One of them is the killer and another one of them may be the next victim. Will the sergeant be able to solve the case before another "mouse" falls? "The Mousetrap" runs February 1-17, 2019 with an ASL interpreted performance on February 2.

Romance is heating up March with "The Bridges of Madison County" directed by Joshua Chard. Based on the best-selling novel, a forbidden love affair between a photographer and a housewife changes them forever. "The Bridges of Madison County" captures the lyrical expanse of America's heartland along with the yearning entangled in the eternal question" "What if...?" This sweeping romance about the roads we travel, the doors we open and the bridges we dare to cross will leave audiences breathless. Featuring soaring music by Jason Robert Brown, "The Bridges of Madison County" runs March 29-April 14, 2019 with an ASL interpreted performance on March 30.

Closing out the season is "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," based on the Victor Hugo Novel and the Disney film. This brand-new musical production is an epic and emotionally charged retelling of the famous love story of the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda, the scorned bell-ringer Quasimodo and the dashing Captain Phoebus, set in fifteenth-century Paris. The music's orchestral power and choral beauty, along with bold and dramatic theatrics create a powerful rendition of this timeless tale. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" runs June 7-23, 2019 with an ASL interpreted performance on June 8.

Links to purchase tickets and discounted flex passes and information about upcoming special events can be found on Lyric's website at www.lyricmusictheater.org or by calling the box office at (207) 799-1421.