BIRDIE, CHICAGO & More Play Theatre Memphis's 2011-12 Season

Theatre Memphis has decided on its play selection for the 2011-12 season and it includes a variety of entertainment that touches many performance bases. With musicals, comedy, drama, classics and new work, the season offers options to Memphis patrons.

The 400 seat Lohrey Stage will begin the season with Bye Bye Birdie, a lively and light-hearted take on America's idolization of the early rock star. Featuring popular songs like Put on a Happy Face, A Lot of Livin' to Do and Kids, this show captures the energy and exuberance of kids of all ages. The next production on the Lohrey Stage will be Jane Austen's, Emma, adapted for the stage by Jon Jory. In this retelling of the classic novel a young girl entangles herself in the act of matchmaking and unwittingly falls in love herself. The light-hearted period comedy The Importance of Being Earnest follows next in line on the Lohrey Stage with deception and misdirection at its core. The popular musical Chicago commands the middle of the season with its award-winning music about two women in the 1920's thrown into jail together by hapless circumstance and who end up joining forces to vie for fame and acquittal. The comedy Noises Off, a riotous romp of egos, incompetence, romance and chaos, follows as the lead in to the season finale. The Lohrey Stage season ends with the musical No, No, Nanette, dubbed "The Happiest Show in Town" with two of the most famous show tunes ever written: Tea for Two and I Want to Be Happy. A Christmas Carol will be performed as a special holiday offering for the 34th consecutive year at Theatre Memphis with Barry Fuller returning once again to portray Ebenezer Scrooge.

The Next Stage season includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning GlenGarry Glen Ross, a scalding drama about cutthroat real estate salesmen, written by David Mamet. A lighter fare is scheduled as the second Next Stage show with an original concert version of Stephen Sondheim songs. Sondheim Concert will be conceived and directed by Bennett Wood with musical direction by Gary Beard. Next on the schedule is a regional premiere of a new contemporary comedy by Annie Baker. Circle Mirror Transformation follows a group of strangers who take on acting classes looking to achieve something and the results are rarely what each was hoping for in their lives. The final offering on the Next Stage for 2011-12 will be Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. First published in 1890, this play is a modern domestic drama that was groundbreaking about the limited choices women had in that time.

Visit www.theatrememphis.org for a complete listing of the 2011-12 season.

Season memberships are available by calling 901.682.8323 and are $120 (which includes six tickets). All tickets are good to use on any performance and can be used in any combination on any show, excluding A Christmas Carol which is not part of the subscription package. Season members do, however, receive discounts on tickets to holiday offerings and special events. All shows are at 7:30pm Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays with matinees on Sunday at 2pm. Single ticket prices for adults are $28 for musicals and $23 for dramas/comedies, $15 for students with a valid ID with children under 12 admitted for $10.

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