2012 Season Announced for The Phoenix Stage Company

The is one year old! The partners Ed Bassett, Agnes Dann and Sharon A. Wilcox, hosted a Tailgate Party at and around the theatre to celebrate their first anniversary on Sunday. The luau they held to announce their last season was a great time, so of course I had to attend. Since I don't own anything in sports team colors, I decided to go with my "I heart B'Way" t-shirt. There was the usual cooking contest for the favorite tailgate food recipe and the prizes made me wish I had entered. Throughout the afternoon, there were trivia questions that gave the winner the honor of announcing one of the shows to be presented next season. I knew the answer to the question, but raised my hand a second too late. Many of the actors that have appeared during the past year were in attendance, so I had lots of fun celebrity watching. I sat across from the actor who will be playing Edna in the upcoming Hairspray at the Warner. Near the outdoor grill where Sharon was cooking, I got to meet Mark Rees who played Grandpa Potts in at the Warner and I told him how wonderful he was in the role. I learned that rubber-legged Taylor Pedane (Vulgarian Goran in Chitty) has moved to Boston. I ate at a table with Val Vitalo who holds the record for appearing in the highest number of shows at the Phoenix. Hearing about the rehearsals for and seeing the progress being made on the set only heightened my excitement to see this unique show. A very good time was had by all and best of all they announced the entire 2012 season. All I can say is "Wow!" They will be presenting an amazing season that includes some well-known plays, a show with adult actors for children (yay!) and some musicals.  Season subscriptions are available now at the theare.

WRITER’S CRAMP (Or How Will Shakespeare got into Showbiz)

by Larry Glaister

January 21, 27, 28, February 3 & 4, 2012  at 8 p.m.
January 22 & 29, 2012 at 2 p.m.

A Bawdy Comedy in Two Acts! We all have experienced some of Shakespeare’s plays, but if you have ever wondered how Will got some of his ideas, this production may help explain that and give you a whole new outlook concerning the Bard of Avon. How did William Shakespeare rise from humble beginnings to become the great playwright? This play tells the true story with all the juicy details as discovered by an academic with questionable credentials. It’s 1585 and Will Shakespeare is unemployed and dreaming of being a poet. His wife Ann is more practical, recognizing that poetry equals poverty. She thinks about seducing a man who’s a better provider and Will thinks about finding the right phrase. Is this true love? Can Will succeed? All the answers will be provided in the end.

A READER’S THEATRE WEEKEND

February 17 & 18, 2012 at 8 p.m.
February 19, 2012 at 2 p.m.

One weekend - three different productions in a “Reader’s Theatre” format!  Titles to be announced.

THE LAST SUPPER

Music & Vocal Arrangements by Gary William Friedman Book & Lyrics by Thomas Mitz

Based on an original concept by Andy Krey

March 23, 24, 30 & 31, 2012 at 8 p.m.
March 25 & April 1, 2012 at 2 p.m.

The Last Supper has been thrilling audiences with its original theatrical approach of combining actors with a contemporary choir. It is the story of Leonardo da Vinci’s struggle to complete his famous mural. Actors portray Leonardo, Jesus, the twelve Apostles, an Angel and two women, while singers express the meaning and emotion of the action through song. The climax of the piece is a stunning moment where the mural is re-created on the stage.

THE ADVENTURES OF PETER COTTONTAIL

Adapted by R. Eugene Jackson

April 14, 15, 21 & 22, 2012 at 1 p.m. & 4 p.m.
A special "Theatre for Children" Presentation

Peter Rabbit lives happily in the Green Meadow, eating from Farmer Brown’s carrot and cabbage crops.  His sole concern is his name, Peter Rabbit.  He doesn’t like it.  Along with his friends — Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Old Mr. Toad, Johnny Chuck, and others, he sets out to discover a new and more appealing name.  Meanwhile, Granny Fox is so hungry for barbecued rabbit, she sends Reddy Fox to capture Peter.  Reddy makes a variety of plans to trap Peter, but he is clearly outfoxed by the rabbit.  But, in the end, it is Reddy Fox who helps Peter find his new name.

DIAL 'M' FOR MURDER

by Frederick Knott

May 5, 11, 12, 18 & 19, 2012 at 8 p.m.
May 6 & 13, 2012 at 2 p.m.

This exciting melodrama had a highly successful run on Broadway and the road.  Tony Wendice has married his wife, Margot, for her money and now plans to murder her for the same reason. He arranges the perfect murder. He blackmails a scoundrel he used to know into strangling her for a fee of one thousand pounds, and arranges a brilliant alibi for himself. Unfortunately…the murderer gets murdered and the victim survives. But this doesn’t baffle the husband: He sees his hireling’s death as an opportunity to have his wife convicted for the murder of the man who tried to murder her, and that is what almost happens.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS

by Robert Harling

June 9, 15, 16, 22 & 23, 2012 at 8 p.m.
June 10 & 17, 2012 at 2 p.m.

The action is set in Truvy’s beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are “anybody” come to have their hair done. Helped by her eager new assistant, Annelle (who is not sure whether or not she is still married), the outspoken, wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoos and free advice to the town’s rich curmudgeon, Ouiser, (“I’m not crazy, I’ve just been in a bad mood for forty years”); an eccentric millionaire, Miss Clairee, who has a raging sweet tooth; and the local social leader, M’Lynn, whose daughter, Shelby (the prettiest girl in town), is about to marry a “good ole boy.” Filled with hilarious repartee and not a few acerbic but humorously revealing verbal collisions, the play moves toward tragedy when,in the second act, the spunky Shelby (who is a diabetic) risks pregnancy and forfeits her life. The sudden realization of their mortality affects the others, but also draws on the underlying strength—and love—which give the play, and its characters, the special quality to make them truly touching, funny and marvelously amiable company in good times and bad.

HARVEY

by Mary Chase

July 21, 27, 28, August 3 & 4, 2012 at 8 p.m.
July 22 & 29, 2012 at 2 p.m.

When Elwood P. Dowd starts to introduce his imaginary friend, Harvey, a six-and-a-half-foot rabbit, to guests at a society party, his sister, Veta, has seen as much of his eccentric behavior as she can tolerate. She decides to have him committed to a sanitarium to spare her daughter, Myrtle Mae, and their family from future embarrassment. Problems arise, however, when Veta herself is mistakenly assumed to be on the verge of lunacy when she explains to doctors that years of living with Elwood’s hallucination have caused her to see Harvey also! The doctors commit Veta instead of Elwood, but when the truth comes out, the search is on for Elwood and his invisible companion. When he shows up at the sanitarium looking for his lost friend Harvey, it seems that the mild-mannered Elwood’s delusion has had a strange influence on more than one of the doctors. Only at the end does Veta realize that maybe Harvey isn’t so bad after all.

ACCOMPLICE

by Rupert Holmes

September 8, 14, 15, 21 & 22, 2012 at 8 p.m.
September 9 & 16, 2012 at 2 p.m.

This truly unique thriller by the author of The Mystery of Edwin Drood broke box office records at the Pasadena Playhouse and thrilled Broadway audiences.

Accomplice begins as a straightforward English thriller in a country house. A sex-starved wife and her lover plan to murder her stuffy husband. The husband is murdered on stage, but reappears - this is actually a dress rehearsal for an out of town try out and the murder victim is the playwright and director. He, however, is plotting to murder his wife, the leading lady in his play, so that his affair with her leading man can proceed unimpeded. A surprise character comes out of the audience, revealing that something entirely different is actually going on: a cast member is being brilliantly and effectively set up in retaliation for his cruel actions which caused the suicide of a friend.

CABARET

Book by Joe Masteroff     Based on the play by John Van Druten &

Stories by Christopher Isherwood

Music by John Kander     Lyrics by Fred Ebb

October 13, 19, 20, 26 & 27, 2012 at 8 p.m.
October 14 & 21, 2012 at 2 p.m.

The scene is a night club in Berlin, as the 1920’s are drawing to a close. The Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience to the show and assures them that, whatever their troubles, they will forget them at the Cabaret. His songs provide wry commentary throughout the show. On the train to Berlin we find Cliff, a young American writer, and Ernst, a German who surprises Cliff by putting his briefcase among Cliff’s luggage at the German border. History is in the process of being made. Musical numbers include It Couldn’t Please Me More, Willkommen, Cabaret, Don’t Tell Mama and Two Ladies. We find Cliff on the train again, now leaving Berlin alone. He writes about Sally and the people of Berlin leading up to the Third Reich. It has been a tumultuous and heartbreaking era.

EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD

by Michael Carleton, James FitzGerald, & John K. Alvarez

Original music by Will Knapp

November 24, 30, December 1, 7 & 8, 2012 at 8 p.m.
November 25, December 2 & 9, 2012 at 2 p.m.

Instead of performing Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors decide to perform every Christmas story ever told -- plus Christmas traditions from around the world, seasonal icons from ancient times to topical pop-culture, and every carol ever sung. A madcap romp through the holiday season!

Contains some mild adult content and language.