ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE, THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP & More Set for Peninsula Players' 2014 Season

Peninsula Players Theatre, America's oldest professional resident summer theater and Door County's theatrical icon, announces its 79th season, running June 17 through October 19, 2014. Nestled along Door County Wisconsin's scenic shore, the Peninsula Players has been enthralling generations of audiences in its 600-plus seat, all-weather pavilion since 1935, presenting hundreds of pre-Broadway tryouts, world premières, classic dramas, comedies and musicals.

The Peninsula Players season will open June 17 with the world première of "The Tin Woman" by Sean Grennan, creator of "Making God Laugh," which also had its world première at the Players. It's a heartfelt comedy about Joy, a woman who unexpectedly gets a new lease on life as the recipient of a donated heart. Joy struggles to accept her twist of fate while Jack's family adjusts to life without him. Laughs and emotions fly back and forth when Alice, Jack's mom, invites Joy to dinner after receiving a wholehearted thank you note from her. "The Tin Woman" will have a three week run closing July 6.

"Three years ago the Players presented the world première of Sean Grennan's 'Making God Laugh' to open the season," said Peninsula Players Artistic Director Greg Vinkler. "It was a warm and funny story that followed a family through the years as they celebrated various holidays. Audiences fell in love with the show. Soon after, Sean sent me a new script, 'The Tin Woman,' which I believe is an even richer, funnier and more moving play.

The Tin Woman (June 17 - July 6) by Sean Grennan. From the creator of Making God Laugh comes a world première in which a young woman's life is given an unexpected jump-start through the gift of a donated heart. Her yearning to meet the still-grieving family who made the donation results in an ending surprising for all. A funny, heart-warming comedy.

Agatha Christie And Then There Were None (July 9 - July 27). A classic whodunit from the Queen of Crime. Marooned at a lonely resort, each guest has a dark secret to hide and all fear dark shadows from their wicked past. Isolated and trapped, one by one they start to die. "One of the most ingenious thrillers in many a day." Time Magazine

The Mystery of Irma Vep - A Penny Dreadful (July 30- August 17) by Charles Ludlam. This uproarious comedy takes audiences on a hilarious journey from an austere English manor to the exotic pyramids of Egypt. A mix of Rebecca, Wuthering Heights, and The Mummy's Curse with a sprinkling of madcap abandonment. Time Magazine and The New York Times both named The Mystery of Irma Vep one of the Best Plays of the year. Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning comedy.

Butler (Aug. 20 - Aug. 31) by Richard Strand. The Midwest Première of a very clever and amazingly sharp-witted Civil War drama. Major Benjamin Butler's first day at a Union hold-out fort in Virginia is greeted by a request for sanctuary from the very smart and very stubborn Shepard Mallory, a runaway slave. A popular hit featured in the 2013 Players Winter Play Reading Series, The Play's the Thing.

Always ... Patsy Cline (Sept. 3 - Oct. 19) Written and originally directed by Ted Swindley. This heartfelt musical revue tells the true story of the music legend's friendship with her devoted fan Louise and features more than 25 of Cline's endearing classics such as "Crazy," "Sweet Dreams" "I Fall to Pieces" and "Walking After Midnight." "Sweet Dreams Again" - USA Today.

Photo by Len Villano

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