AIDA, THE COLOR PURPLE Headline Circle Players' Newly Announced 63rd Season

Premiere Nashville productions of Aida and The Color Purple highlight the 63^rd season announced today by Circle Players, the community theatre that's been treating audiences to award-winning shows since 1949. In addition, the company will mount a production of The Piano Lesson, the August Wilson classic that was first produced by Circle Players in its 1993-94 season, the acclaimed musical Next to Normal (which is currently running in Memphis in its Tennessee premiere starring Belmont University graduate Ben Laxton and will be produced later this season by Boiler Room Theatre), and the regional premiere of Band Geeks, an all-youth production directed by Catherine McTamaney.

Dates have not yet been announced for Circle Player's five-show 2012-13 season. At present, Circle Players' productions are staged at The Keeton Theatre in Donelson; the company previously was the first theater company in residence at Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Circle Players' 2012-13 season includes:

- Aida: The winner of four Tony Awards in 2000, this musical with music by Elton John and Lyrics by Tim Rice is based on one of the grandest operas of all time. It is the timeless story of an enslaved Nubian princess and an Egyptian soldier. Their love is forbidden, but together, their devotion to each other ultimately triumphs over adversity and cultural differences. Directed by Ralph Gabriel.

- The Color Purple: This musical adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel is the intensely emotional story of young Cecilia, an abused 14-year old, who, with the help of a strong-willed mentor and female friend, learns to overcome her painful past and finds joy in life. Directed by Tim Larson, co-directed by Clay Hillwig.   

- The Piano Lesson: This winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama is August Wilson's sensitive story of a family's struggle to reconcile the past with the present. Set in the 1930s, at the center of the play is a carved piano, a reminder of the family's slave ancestors. Boy Willie comes to his sister's home in Pittsburgh intending to sell the piano to buy some land down home, but his sister stubbornly refuses. Directed by J.P. Schuffman.

- Next to Normal: An unusual, yet highly acclaimed, ground-breaking musical with a thrilling contemporary score. The story evolves around a family and its struggle to come to grips with the mental illness of the mother and wife. Directed by Paul Cook.

- Band Geeks: A regional premiere of an all-youth musical! Band Geeks! features music by Mark Allen, Gaby Alter and Tommy Newman, and lyrics by Alter and Newman. The book is by Newman and Greenberg. The concept is by Newman. This delightful show is a tribute to high school marching bands and misfits everywhere. With just nine members and dwindling funds, Elliott, the tuba playing band captain and his friend Laura devise a plan to unite the band and learn to embrace who they are-band geeks! A Southeastern premiere directed by Catherine McTamaney.

For information about the rest of Circle Players' 2011-12 season-it's 62^nd-which includes a special presentation of Titanic the Musical at TPAC's James K. Polk Theatre commemorating the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the legendary ocean liner; Brighton Beach Memoires (directed by Johnny Peppers, with a cast that includes Will Butler and Jennifer Bennett); and Hairspray (directed by Patrick Kramer), go to www.circleplayers.net.

pictured J.P. Schuffman and Catherine McTamaney