Norbert Leo Butz Leads SOPAC 2010-11 Season of Theatre

South Orange Performing Arts Center is located at One SOPAC Way, South Orange, NJ, 07079. For more details on the upcoming season, including a complete schedule and ticket information, visit SOPACnow.org, or contact the SOPAC Box Office at 973.313.2787 (ARTS)

SEASON FIVE: THEATRE @ SOPAC

Menopause The Musical ®
The Hilarious Celebration of Women and The Change!®

Theater

Fri, Sep 17 - Sun, Oct 31

Tue - Sat at 8pm
Sat & Sun at 2pm

Tickets: $45

Set in a department store, where four women with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra meet by chance, the musical pokes fun at things such as hot flashes, memory loss, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats and eating binges. Menopause The Musical® is a 90-minute production which includes 25 re-lyricized tunes from the ‘60s and ‘70s and culminates with a salute to women who are experiencing The Change. Come see what nearly 11 million fans all over the world are laughing about!

Norbert Leo Butz & Friends
Broadway Music, Theatre
Thursday, Nov 18 at 8pm
Tickets: $45, $35
Presented by SOPAC and Midtown Direct Rep

Join Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz for an exciting evening of Broadway show tunes and Southern roots music. An eclectic mix of musicians from Broadway pits and rock and roll dives join Butz onstage as he performs the music that inspired him to become a singer: bluegrass, blues, country, and of course Broadway.

A Great Big Miracle
By Ben H. Winters
Presented by SOPAC and Midtown Direct Rep
Holiday, Family
Sun, Dec 5 at 11am & 2pm
Tickets: $20

A Great Big Miracle is Ben H. Winters' smart, joyful, and just a little bit irreverent take on the story of Hanukkah. It's got Judah Maccabee - the random shepherd who becomes a virtuous warrior, wicked King Antiochus and his really mean army. And yes, it's got the whole candle and the eight nights thing. Narrated by a pair of Borscht Belt sheep, it's the Hanukkah story like you've never seen it before!

James Braly: Life in a Marital Institution
Presented by Meredith Vieira Productions
Theater, Comedy
Fri, Dec 10 at 8pm
Tickets: $30, $20

"If Walt Whitman had been straight, married, and hilarious he would have been James Braly." - The New Yorker

First comes love. Then comes marriage counseling. James Braly comes to SOPAC with his hilarious dissection of what thirteen couples counselors have called a passionate, bi-polar relationship. With one of New York City's sharpest wits, Braly dives head first into a tale of attraction, repulsion, reproduction, death, and the afterlife. 20 years of monogamy in one terrifying evening.

Jessica Kirson & Friends
Comedy
Sat, Jan 22 at 8pm

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake
Omaha Theater Company
Family, Theater
Sun, Feb 6 at 11am & 2pm
Tickets: $20

First there was the Mouse - then the Pig - now, here comes the Cat! Based on the newest installment in the zany "If You Give A . . ." book series, Omaha Theater brings this madcap world premiere production with music to the stage. The Cat asks his new friend Laura for some sprinkles, naturally they spill on the floor - and the hi-jinks ensue!

The audience takes a "world-wind" tour following the antics of the Cat as he travels to the beach, the gym, the mountain, the museum and the lake. Ultimately the Cat and Laura Make their way back home to where the sprinkles and another cupcake await them.

The Robber Bridegroom
Presented by Seton Hall Arts Council
Theatre
Fri, Feb 18 - Sun, Feb 27
Fri & Sat at 8pm
Sun at 2pm
Tickets: $15, $12 Seniors and Alumni, $8 Student and SHU Employees with ID, $5 Student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before showtime

As part of Seton Hall Arts Council's "Seton Hall Theatre" series. A rousing, bawdy Southern fairy tale set in eighteenth century Mississippi, "The Robber Bridegroom" is the story of the courting the only daughter of the richest planter in the country and a rascally robber of the woods. A rollicking country romp! Book and Lyrics by Alfred Uhry. Music by Robert Waldman.

Three Classics by Mercer Mayer
Omaha Theater Company
Family, Theater
Sun, Mar 6 at 11am & 2pm
Tickets: $20

How does the little boy get over that big alligator that lives under his bed? Or another child command his toy soldiers to protect him from the Big Nightmare that lives in his closet-or is it the Big Nightmare that needs to be protected? And what about the little girl who lassos the Silly Scary Thing that lives in her farm house attic, to show it to her parents? What would you do? Omaha Theater's original musical production is designed with vivid and imaginative costumes and scenery, where the Alligator under your bed, the Nightmare in your closet and the Thing in your attic become your best friend.

RED
A Tribute to Red Skelton
Starring Tom Mullica
Comedy, Family
Sat, Mar 19 at 8pm
Sun, Mar 20 at 3pm
Tickets: $35, $25

The Red Skelton Show was one of America's longest running television comedy shows. Join Tom Mullica as he brings Freddy the Freeloader, Clem Kadiddlehopper, the Mean Widdle Kid, Gertrude and Heathcliff to life in this loving tribute to the one and only comic genius - Red Skelton.

Kids from 8 to 80 will have a great time!

Jil Aigrot in Concert
The Voice of Edith Piaf in the Award-winning Film "La Vie En Rose"
Cabaret, Vocals
Fri, Mar 25 at 8pm
Tickets: $50, $40

Jil Aigrot, the singing voice of Edith Piaf in the movie, La Vie En Rose, is as passionate and magnificent in concert with her homage to Piaf as she is on film. She channels Piaf's sound and body language with natural grace, and between each song she talks to the audience in her own natural voice. In her superb program all of the great Piaf songs are not only relived but given a special magic with Aigrot's stunning voice.

Raised in the south of France, Aigrot specializes in the art of the French song. She grew up immersed in the music of Piaf, her mother's favorite. As a child who knew she would be a singer herself, she was impressed by Piaf's energy and touched by her emotionally charged lyrics. Piaf's love songs resonated with Aigrot, especially as a teenager. "This voice came out me very naturally ... When I was a student at the conservatory, I was told that my voice was not lyrical enough, that I should sing French pop songs."

Tartuffe
Presented by Seton Hall Arts Council
Theatre
Fri, Apr 1 - Sun, Apr 10
Fri & Sat at 8pm
Sun at 2pm
Tickets: $15, $12 Seniors and Alumni, $8 Student and SHU Employees with ID. $5 Student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before showtime.

As part of Seton Hall Arts Council's "Seton Hall Theatre" series. A sparkling version of the great French comedy about religious hypocrisy. By Jean Baptiste Molière. Translated by Richard Wilbur.

Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycle
Hudson Vagabond Puppets
Family, Theater
Sun, May 1 at 11am & 2pm
Tickets: $20

Take a microscopic look at the insect world on the big stage!

From her tiny egg we will follow the Monarch Butterfly as she grows through her caterpillar state and makes the amazing metamorphosis in the chrysalis and her incredible 1,500 mile journey to Mexico. With her insect companions she will learn about her symbiotic relationship with Milkweed. She depends on it for food, home, and her unique form of defense against predators.

RATED P
Theater
Thu, May 5 at 8PM
Fri, May 6 at 8PM
Sat, May 7 at 4 & 7PM
Sun, May 8 at 3 & 7PM
Join the cast & creative team for a talk back after every performance. Tickets: $45, $35

Book & Lyrics by Sandy Rustin
Music & Lyrics by Dan Lipton & David Rossmer
Starring Courtney Balan, David Josefsberg, Charlie Pollock & JoAnna Young
Directed by Jeremy Dobrish

We've nurtured this baby from staged reading to full production! After nearly a year of re-writes, revisions, and rehearsals, RATED P takes the leap from page to stage. Don't miss this hilarious and touching new sketch comedy show about parenthood. "RATED P is FABULOUS! Funny and poignant ... I can't wait to see the next step!" -SOPAC Audience Survey, August 2010

"Even my husband loved it ... and he doesn't like anything!" -Lady in the third row, August 2010

Midtown Direct Rep is SOPAC's New Resident Theatre Company dedicated to celebrating local Broadway talent.

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