Civic Theatre of Allentown Announces RENT For May 2010

Civic Theatre Of Allentown's 82nd stage season has been finalized, and we're thrilled to officially announce that the biggest musical of the past 15 years is coming to Civic's stage. Civic will produce Rent in May of 2010, less than two years after the Broadway production closed a blockbuster run that placed it among the top ten longest-running shows in Broadway history.

"I am beyond excited to have the rights to Rent," says Civic Artistic Director William Sanders, who hand-picked the shows for the coming season, "this show means an immense amount to so many people, myself included."

Here are the shows and their descriptions (season subscription info is included on the second page of this document):

Abe Lincoln in Illinois - October 9-25, 2009. Written by Robert E. Sherwood in 1938, Abe Lincoln in Illinois chronicles the life of President Abraham Lincoln from his childhood through his final speech in Illinois before he left for Washington. The play also covers his romance with Mary Todd and his debates with Stephen A. Douglas, and uses Lincoln's own words in some scenes. Sherwood received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938 for his work. Raymond Massey portrayed Lincoln; he repeated his role in the 1940 film version. In 1993, the play was revived on Broadway with Sam Waterson in the role.

A Christmas Carol - December 4-19, 2009. Our 20th Anniversary production of what's become one of the Lehigh Valley's favorite holiday traditions! Expect familiar elements from productions past and new twists to move us into the future, along with reunions of the thousands of actors and crew who have brought Dickens' classic tale to life on our stage.

Little Shop of Horrors - February 19 - March 7, 2010. Everybody's favorite musical about a blood-thirsty plant gets a long-overdue Civic treatment. Little Shop of Horrors is one of storied writing duo Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's most treasured accomplishments; it won both the Drama Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Musical (both in 1983). This rock musical, with music composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, is guaranteed fun for audiences of all ages.

Rent - May 7-23, 2010. Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of AIDS. On Broadway, Rent gained critical acclaim and won a Tony Award for Best Musical. The seventh-longest-running Broadway show of all time, this production will be among the most epic and exciting ever seen at Civic.

Please note that all of the shows listed above will be produced in Civic's 19th Street Theatre.

Season subscriptions for Civic's 09-10 season will go on sale on Monday, August 10th. Tickets will then go on sale to the public on Tuesday, September 7th.

COMING BACK TO CIVIC: Online ticket sales! Civic's new ticket program will make buying tickets easier than ever before, and it will be up and running just in time for subscription sales on the 10th. More information will soon be posted on www.civictheatre.com.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!