THEATRE TUSCALOOSA ANNOUNCES 2007-2008 SEASON
Tuscaloosa – Theatre Tuscaloosa Artistic Director Tina Fitch has announced a five show
season for 2007-2008 to begin in September.
Fitch said, “I’m thrilled with the final line up for next season. I think the shows
we’ve selected will offer the community a wide range of entertainment from musicals to
interesting new plays running the gamut from side-splitting comedy to moving drama.”
The season opens September 7 with the return of “The Sanders Family” in
SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN HOMECOMING.
“Since we produced the first installment of “Smoke on the Mountain” several
years ago, we’ve been asked time and again to bring the show back,” said Fitch. “Well,
rather than just rehashing old material, we’re bringing back the family and Rev.
Oglethorpe in an entirely new show.”
The Sanders family & Reverend Oglethorpe return to Mt. Pleasant Baptist just
after the Great War in ‘45. Dennis is called to be the church’s new pastor; Mervyn and
June join Denise and her husband in starting the baby boom. God’s in His heaven and
all’s right with the world. Join in the “Homecoming” as we share side-splitting and
heart-warming stories and lots of toe-tapping Bluegrass Gospel favorites. Production
dates are September 7 through 16, 2007.
Beautifully written and deeply moving, A LESSON BEFORE DYING is an
inspiring new play about the friendship of two black men - one wrongly condemned to
die and one who's persuaded to impart something of himself - his education and pride.
Theatre Tuscaloosa is thrilled to welcome home from New York and regional theatres
across the country, Stephen Williams, who was seen at Theatre Tuscaloosa as Jim in Big
River and the Wolf in Into the Woods, to star in the role of troubled teacher Grant
Wiggins. Production dates are November 30 through December 9, 2007.
DEARLY DEPARTED opens as Bud, the patriarch of the Turpin family, is dead.
His wife, Raynelle who has suffered for years in silence wants “mean and surly”
engraved on his tombstone. Enter the family of misfits: Ray-Bud, the drunk, Junior, the
son in financial ruin, his wife who suspects Junior’s infidelity in the family car, their clan
of monster children, Delightful, the depressed overeating daughter, and the Biblethumping sister Marguarite. Funeral parlor pandemonium ensues as Turpin family
skeletons float to the surface. Come pay your respects to this irresistibly delicious
southern comedy. Production dates are February 8 through 17, 2008.
In MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS, film mogul David O. Selznick has just
shut down production of his dream movie, Gone With The Wind. The script must be
rewritten in five days. He summons screenwriter Ben Hecht, and pulls director Victor
Fleming, off the set of The Wizard of Oz, The perfect guys for the job. But there's one
problem - Hecht hasn't read the book. Locked in Selznick's office, subsisting on peanuts
and bananas, this veteran team, with Selznick playing every role, creates the movie
masterpiece and rewrites Hollywood history. It's a screwball comedy you won't want to
miss! Production dates are May 2 through 11, 2008.
Rounding out the season is HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT
REALLY TRYING. Winner of seven Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, HOW TO
SUCCEED is a satirical musical comedy of big business and all it holds sacred including
the triumph of the common man. The hero is a window washer named J. Pierrepont Finch
who decides to begin his rise up the corporate ladder after reading a book entitled ‘How
to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’. Following the instructions of the book,
Finch lands a job in the mailroom at the World Wide Wicket Company. Finch quickly
gains promotions and outsmarts his rival, Frump - who also happens to be the boss’s
nephew. Finch then gains the love of Rosemary, a secretary at the company. In the end
the book can no longer help him and he is forced to rely on his own wits and performs so
admirably that he is promoted to Chairman of the Board and also gets the girl!
Production dates are June 20 through 29, 2008.
Theatre Tuscaloosa, one of the largest community theatres in the state, works in
partnership with Shelton State Community College to provide quality theatrical
experiences for the citizens of West Alabama through performances, workshops and
classroom instruction. By combining the talent and resources of the non-profit theatre
company with the facilities and administrative support of “Alabama’s Community
College of the Fine Arts,” Theatre Tuscaloosa and Shelton State Community College
have created a partnership model that has enriched the lives of countless of Alabamians.
Season subscription tickets for 2007-2008 range in price from $43 for students
to $62 for seniors and $77 for adults. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the
Theatre Tuscaloosa Box Office at 205-391-2277.
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THEATRE TUSCALOOSA 2007-2008 SEASON SUMMARY
September 7 through 16, 2007
SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN HOMECOMING
Written by Connie Ray
Conceived by Alan Bailey
Musical Arrangements by Mike Craver
November 30 through December 9, 2007
A LESSON BEFORE DYING
Book by Ernest J. Gaines
Adapted by Romulus Linney
February 8 through 17, 2008
DEARLY DEPARTED
By David Bottrell and Jessie Jones
May 2 through 11, 2008
MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS
By Ron Hutchinson
June 20 through 29, 2008
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser