THE RAINMAKER, GHOSTS, BACH AT LEIPZIG and More Set for People's Light & Theatre's 2013-14 Season

People's Light & Theatre announces its 39^th season with eight productions that will stir emotions, warm hearts, and inspire the music lover in you. The season opens with Philadelphia native N. Richard Nash's breakthrough hit The Rainmaker, followed by The Devil's Music which has received raves throughout New York, Connecticut and Florida for Miche Braden's incredible performance as Bessie Smith. Highlights include a dance-filled adaptation of Jane Austen's romantic Pride & Prejudice, Itamar Moses' innovative comedy, Bach at Leipzig, and the revival of our multi award-winning holiday panto, Cinderella. Our season also includes Dear Elizabeth, Sarah Ruhl's lyrical and whimsical portrait of the relationship between acclaimed American poets, Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop and Henrik Ibsen's scandalous Ghosts.

Subscription packages are now on sale and include the 7-Play Series, the Discovery Series, as well as additional flexible packages. Subscribers also have the exclusive benefit of purchasing tickets now to Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, a musical tribute to this fascinating American icon. People's Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA. For tickets call 610.644.3500 or visit PeoplesLight.org.

7-PLAY SUBSCRIPTION SERIES:

THE RAINMAKER

By N. Richard Nash

Directed by AbiGail Adams

September 18-October 13, 2013

Main Stage

A fast-talking charmer with promises of rain changes the lives of a farm town starved for water and a woman starved for love. Romantic. Tender. Uplifting. Philadelphia native N. Richard Nash's breakthrough hit about the power of faith in hard times is "a down-to-earth piece of unstinting humanity." (Los Angeles Times)

THE DEVIL'S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF Bessie Smith

Book by Angelo Parra, Musical Direction & Arrangements by Miche Braden

Concept, Musical Staging & Direction by Joe Brancato

October 16-November 24, 2013

Steinbright Stage

Miche Braden stars as Bessie Smith, the legendary "Empress of the Blues" who blazed the trail for a century of performers from Aretha Franklin to Adele. Mixing classics like "Need a Little Sugar In My Bowl" and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" with stories from her rebellious, astonishing, and painful life, The Devil's Music is an intoxicating musical journey into a transcendent and tortured soul.

CINDERELLA: A Musical Panto

Book by Kathryn Petersen

Music & Lyrics by Michael Ogborn

Directed by Pete Pryor

November 20, 2013-January 12, 2014

Main Stage

Our holiday tradition continues! Heralded by The Philadelphia Inquirer as "the Jupiter" of our musical pantos, the multiple-award winning Cinderella returns to delight audiences ages 5 to 105. With a taste of vaudeville and a Dame-full of magic this classic fairy tale is transformed into a hilarious and heartfelt event you can only experience at People's Light.

GHOSTS

By Henrik Ibsen

A Family Drama in Three Acts

A New Translation by Lanford Wilson

Directed by Ken Marini

January 15-February 9, 2014

Steinbright Stage

Author of A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen not only tackled scandals, he created them. Ghosts' scathing commentary on 19^th century morality sparked a fury when it was first produced. In this translation by American icon Lanford Wilson (Burn This), Ibsen's tale of mothers and sons, moral hypocrisy, and the dangers of secrets passed from one generation to the next remains as incendiary as ever.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE

By Jane Austen

Adapted for the stage by Joseph Hanreddy and J. R. Sullivan

Directed by Samantha Bellomo

February 26-March 30, 2014

Main Stage

One of the greatest will-they-or-won't-they love stories of all time! The battle of wits and will between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is as passionate and funny as ever in this new dance-filled adaptation of Jane Austen's masterpiece. Two hundred years after its first publication, the romance and youthful rebellion of Austen's classic novel "has rarely seemed so fresh and new." (StageSceneLA)

DEAR ELIZABETH

By Sarah Ruhl

A play in letters, from Elizabeth Bishop, to Robert Lowell, and back again

Director tba

Steinbright Stage

April 2-April 27, 2014

A lyrical, intimate, and moving portrait of two acclaimed American poets: Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Using her trademark intelligence and whimsy, Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House, Eurydice) breathes life into a relationship that defies category and delicately adapts Bishop and Lowell's correspondence into "a play that is exquisite poetry in itself." (Connecticut Arts Connection)

BACH AT LEIPZIG

By Itamar Moses

Directed by Pete Pryor

July 9-August 10, 2014

Steinbright Stage

"Imagine the Marx Brothers and Tom Stoppard collaborating on a play." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinal) In this innovative comedy by playwright and screenwriter Itamar Moses (Outrage, Boardwalk Empire), seven rival musicians resort to a hilarious battle of wit, bribery, and blackmail to win the most sought-after musical post in Europe. Set in 1722 Leipzig, Germany, "Moses uses an obscure historical incident as a jumping-off point for this funny, fiercely intelligent romp." (Los Angeles Times)

ADDED BONUS FOR SUBSCRIBERS

7-play subscribers may add this production to their package and receive a 15% discount, as well as secure the best seats.

WOODY SEZ: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie

Devised by David M. Lutken with Nick Corley and

Darcie Deaville, Helen J. Russell and Andy Teirstein

Directed by Nick Corley

May 7-May 25, 2014

Main Stage

"This Land Is Your Land." "This Train Is Bound For Glory."Woody Guthrie showed you can strum a revolution and do it with joy. In this toe-tapping event for all generations, four actor-musicians play fifteen instruments, perform twenty-five of Guthrie's songs, and celebrate the fascinating, beautiful, and sometimes tragic life of this American icon who inspired Dylan, Springsteen, Difranco, and an entire songwriting tradition.

DISCOVERY SERIES

This series includes Cinderella: A Musical Panto, as well as Pride & Prejudice and Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie.

Subscriptions to the 2013-2014 season are available at a significant savings! 7-Play Series prices range from $147-$245. Productions include: The Rainmaker, The Devil's Music, Cinderella, Ghosts, Pride & Prejudice, Dear Elizabeth, and Bach at Leipzig.

Subscriptions to the Discovery Series are available for youth ages 17 and under for $69 and $78. Adult tickets are $90 or $114. The three-show subscription includes: Cinderella, Pride & Prejudice, and Woody Sez.

The box office is now open for subscription sales. For information or to purchase subscriptions, call 610.644.3500 Monday - Sunday, 12pm - 6pm or visit PeoplesLight.org. Actors, prices, performance dates and times are subject to change. Additional service charges will apply. Service charges are non-refundable.

Single tickets range in price from $26 - $46 (Except Cinderella) to $40-$50 (for Cinderella) and will go on sale August 19^th. For all three productions in the Discovery Series we will have select Access Nights, during which all tickets will be half-price. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more (15 or more for Cinderella). For more information, or to purchase group tickets, call 610.647.1900 x134 or email charles@peopleslight.org.

People's Light, a professional, not-for-profit theatre in Chester County, Pennsylvania, makes plays drawn from many sources to entertain, inspire, and engage our community. We extend our mission of making and experiencing theatre through arts education programs that excite curiosity about, and deepen understanding of, the world around us. These plays and programs bring people together and provide opportunities for reflection, discovery, and celebration. Founded in 1974, we produce seven to nine plays each season, in two black box theatres with 340 and 160 seats respectively, mixing world premieres, contemporary plays, and fresh approaches to classic texts for our 7-Play and Discovery Series.

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!