Ludwig's 'LEADING LADIES', 'TOM SAWYER' Among 2009 - 2010 Abbeville Opera House Winter Season Offerings

The historic Abbeville Opera House schedule for the upcoming Winter Theatre Season. For the past year, the one hundred year old theatre has been celebrating its Centennial Season and is now kicking off its 101st Winter Theatre Season with a new comedy called Leading Ladies. The Opera House production is being directed by Dr. Brad Christie, an Erskine College professor with scores of Opera House acting credits on his resume.

Leading Ladies, written by Ken Ludwig, author of the very popular Opera House production Lend Me a Tenor, is a brand new comedy that, according to Opera House Executive Director Michael Genevie, "will leave the audiences rolling in the aisles."

"This is one of the funniest new plays I've read in a long, long time,"says Genevie. "And we are delighted to have Brad Christie kicking off our 101st Winter Season as the director of this show.
This year, the Opera House is calling our 101st Season an all-family season of shows," says Genevie.

"All of the plays, in one way or another, deal with family relationships and are suitable for the entire family in many instances, especially several of the shows later in the season," says Genevie.

Leading Ladies is about two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, who find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing "Scenes from Shakespeare" on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, Pennsylvania is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren't nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo Falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady's vivacious niece, Meg, who's engaged to the local minister. Meg knows that there's a wide world out there, but it's not until she meets "Maxine and Stephanie" that she finally gets a taste of it.
The opening production of Leading Ladies runs October 2, 3, 9 and 10.

Following Leading Ladies will be Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Genevie has created an excellent adaptation of Mark Twain's classic novel about boyhood adventures that overflows with comedy, warmth, and slapstick energy. It brings to life an array of irresistible characters-the awesomely self-confident Tom, his best buddy Huck Finn, indulgent Aunt Polly, and the lovely, beguiling Becky-as well as such unforgettable incidents as whitewashing a fence, swearing an oath in blood, and getting lost in a dark and labyrinthine cave. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer will be directed by another familiar face, and a favorite actress to Abbeville Opera House audiences, Wendy Capps. The show runs November 6, 7, 13 and 14.

Opera House Musical Director Tony Dunlap will be directing the third production of Winter Theatre season in Abbeville, Forever Plaid by James Raitt. Forever Plaid is an affectionate musical homage to the close-harmony singing `guy-groups' that reached the height of their popularity during the 1950's. The play begins with the wondrous and wondering Plaids returning from the afterlife for one final chance at musical glory. Forever Plaid runs January 29, 30, February 5, 6, 12 and 13, 2010.

Cheaper by the Dozen is one of the freshest, funniest and most enduring "family" plays ever. Based on the autobiographical novel by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth, this is the mostly true story of famed efficiency expert Frank Bunker Gilbreth, a benevolent despot in his own home, managing to keep order and (sometimes) sanity despite the presence of twelve children. Gilbreth's wife, Lillian, provides balance to her lively household in this hysterically funny show that has become a classic of the American theatre. Performances for Cheaper by the Dozen are set for Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm and Saturday afternoons at 3pm on March 5, 6, 12 and 13, 2010.

The final production of the "all-family" season will be Little Women. The stage play is adapted from a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott and is set in the Alcott family home. The classic story follows the lives of four sisters-Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March-and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters. Little Women will bring to a close the 101st Winter Theatre Season at the Opera House with performances on April 16, 17, 23 and 24, 2010.

The box office is already opened for Season Tickets holders, according to Business Manager Kathy Genevie, and tickets will go on sale to the general public and for group reservations on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. For more information about the historic Abbeville Opera House visit the web page at theabbevilleoperahouse.com or call the box office at (864) 366-2157.

To post a comment, you must register and login.