Cody, Foster, Spangler and More Join The Cape Playhouse's 90th Season!

Broadway will come to The Cape Playhouse this summer as Hunter Foster, Jen Cody, Nick Spangler, and Kaitlyn Davidson come to the theatre in a season of Playhouse premieres and Broadway favorites. Erik Orton, Guest Artistic Director, today announced the casting for the historic theater's 90th Season in Dennis, MA. Six shows - a mix of comedies, dramas, and musicals - will play from June 7 - August 30, 2016.

The season kicks off with Neil Simon's irresistible comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers, the story of Barney Cashman, a seafood restaurateur who is deep in the throes of a midlife crisis. Bored with a humdrum existence, he musters the courage to join the sexual revolution before it's too late, by embarking upon a series of attempts to seduce three eccentric women. America's favorite playwright brings together humanity and hilarity in a fun-filled, bumpy ride of self-discovery as Barney grapples with how to start living a fuller life. The production stars Playhouse favorite Jennifer Cody (Broadway: Shrek the Musical, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Pajama Game), and Playhouse newcomer Daniel Pearce (Broadway: Machnial, The Putnam County Spelling Bee) as Barney Cashman. Directed by Tim Threlfall, this classic comedy plays June 7 through 18.

Talley's Folly, Lanford Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winner, is a warm and humorous story of two lost souls who find each other in a deserted Victorian boathouse. It is 1944 in Lebanon, Missouri, and Matt Friedman knows that being a middle-aged Jewish accountant from St. Louis isn't going to win over the hearts of Sally Talley's family. Yet he refuses to accept her rebuffs, and gradually they discover a union rare in human relationships. A play about finding love when you've stopped looking, Emily Kunkel (regional: Barrington Stage, Geva Theatre; TV: Nurse Jackie) is Sally Talley and Ron Menzel (Guthrie Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) is Matt Friedman. Directed by Skip Greer, it plays June 21 through July 2.

One of the most beloved musicals of all-time has its Playhouse premiere at the center of the 90th anniversary season, as The Music Man takes the stage. For Harold Hill, there's a sucker born every minute. "Professor" Hill is selling marching bands - teaching the River City children his patented "think system" way of learning to play. With rousing numbers such as Seventy-Six Trombones, The Wells Fargo Wagon, and Goodnight Ladies, Harold plans on skipping town with the cash before anyone's the wiser, but he didn't count on falling for Marian, the town's librarian. Drama Desk Award-winner Jeremy Webb is Harold Hill and Kaitlyn Davidson (Broadway and National Tour, Cinderella) is Marian Paroo; choreography by Peggy Hickey (Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Tony Award-winner, Best Musical) directed by James Brennan, with book, music and lyrics by Meredith Wilson. The largest production ever to play at the Playhouse with more than 30 performers, it runs July 5-23.

In Molly Smith Metzler's The May Queen, everyone who graduated from the Kingston, NY High School class of '97 wonders what happened to their adorable May Queen. Some say she became one of Elliot Spitzer's hookers...others say she married a sheik in Dubai...but when she suddenly resurfaces in town and starts temping in a small insurance agency, things are a far cry from what they expected. Gossip kicks into high gear among these classmates turned co-workers in this fun, fresh, and savvy new office comedy with a gigantic heart. The production will feature Natasha Warner (feature films Farah Goes Bang and Odyssea) as Nicole Chen, and Ariel Woodiwiss (Significant Other at Roundabout Theatre and The Convent of Pleasure at Cherry Lane Theatre) as Jennifer Nash. A Cape Playhouse Premiere, the production is directed by Amanda Charlton and runs July 26 - August 6.

In the Cape Playhouse Premiere of Cabaret, with Amazing Race winner turned Broadway favorite Nick Spangler (Cinderella, The Book of Mormon) stars as Cliff Bradshaw, and Australian cabaret star Kim David Smith as The Emcee. Hunter Foster (Broadway roles: The Bridges of Madison County, Million Dollar Quartet, Urinetown), director of last season's acclaimed My Fair Lady, directs this highly anticipated production. With arresting songs such as Maybe This Time, Wilkommen, Tomorrow Belongs to Me, and of course, Cabaret - this winner of 12 Tony Awards and 8 Academy Awards entices you to "leave your troubles outside" and experience the exotic world of cabaret. With book by Joe Masteroff based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood, and music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, it runs August 9 - 20.

The season wraps up with Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. On a snowy night at Monkswell Manor, young newlyweds Mollie Ralston and Giles Ralston, with Michael Halling (Broadway: A Tale of Two Cities, The Pajama Game) as the husband, welcome a group of strangers to their guest house, only to discover news of a murderer in their midst! A police investigation reveals the sordid details of each guest's mysterious past, but not soon enough to stop the killer from striking again. Agatha Christie's masterful whodunit weaves an intricate plot filled with nerve-rattling suspense, all leading up to the ultimate final twist! Directed by Pamela Hunt, the play runs August 23 - September 3.

Each production of the 2016 Season will run for two weeks, except The Music Man, which will have a three week run. Season tickets and single tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at www.CapePlayhouse.com or by calling 508-385-3911.

About The Cape Playhouse

The non-profit Cape Playhouse was founded in 1927 by Californian Raymond Moore, who spent several summers in Provincetown painting scenery, writing plays, and acting in local theatre. His vision, however, was to have a theatre of his own - a smart, sophisticated summer theatre that would bring Broadway to Cape Cod. He purchased a 19th-century former Unitarian Meeting House for $200, had it moved to 3½ acres of pasture land fronting the Old Kings Highway in Dennis, and converted it into a professional theatre. The Cape Playhouse has been kept true to its original structure - even the original pews still serve as seats. The opening performance on July 4, 1927 was The Guardsman, starring Basil Rathbone. Over the years, many big- name stars from Broadway and the silver screen have acted there, including Bette Davis (who first worked as an usher), Gregory Peck, Gertrude Lawrence, Lana Turner, Ginger Rogers, Humphrey Bogart, Tallulah Bankhead, Helen Hayes, Julie Harris, and Paulette Goddard. It's no wonder the Cape Playhouse is known as "The Birthplace of the Stars." Many young, aspiring performers have spent their summers here. In 1956, a young student was given a small part in The Male Animal, starring Henry Fonda (his daughter, Jane)! Today, most of the stars still come from Broadway, but it seems that almost every well-known star of stage, screen, and TV has walked the stage of the Cape Playhouse.