Hunter Foster's SUMMER OF '42 to Play Bucks County Playhouse This Summer; Lonny Price Set to Direct!

Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) (Jed Bernstein, Producing Director) has announced Summer of '42 as the final piece of its first full summer season. Featuring a book by Tony Award nominee Hunter Foster (Little Shop of Horrors) and music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum (Vanities), Summer of '42 is based upon the novel and screenplay by Herman Raucher. Tony Award nominee Lonny Price (A Class Act) makes his directorial return to the Bucks County Playhouse following A Grand Night for Singing, the first show of last year's grand re-opening.

"Summer of '42 was a seminal piece of literature and filmmaking, and we are glad to be bringing this story to the stage," said Jed Bernstein. "We are also proud to be continuing the legacy of bringing in top-class theater artists to the Bucks County Playhouse."

Based on the 1971 film, Summer of '42 is a coming of age story about three teenage boys living on a tiny island off the coast of Maine during the time when America was in the middle of a full-scale war and men were lining up to join the army. It becomes a summer they will never forget.

Performances begin July 25th and run through August 11th. Additional information, including the complete cast and creative team, will be announced shortly.

2013 Summer Season Schedule

May 23- June 9 Mame starring Broadway's Andrea McArdle

June 13-23 A new play by Terrence McNally, starring Tyne Daly (Title TBA)

June 27- July 21 The World Goes 'Round- The songs of Kander and Ebb

July 5-21 Really Rosie- Family classic with book and lyrics by Maurice Sendak and music by Carole King and directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge

July 25-August 11 Summer of '42- Coming of age musical based on the 1971 film

August 15- September 1 The Tale of the Allergist's Wife- Tony Award-nominated play by Charles Busch and directed by Tony Award-winner Boyd Gaines

To purchase tickets and for more information on the entire Playhouse Productions summer season visit bcptheater.org, call 215-862-2121 or visit the box office at 70 South Main Street New Hope, PA (Tues-Sun noon-5).

Located 90 minutes from New York City, the Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 on the site of a grist mill dating from the late eighteenth century. Ironically, the structure was at that time in danger of demolition; however playwright Moss Hart and the local community rallied to save the building and re-opened it as a theatrical venue, which quickly became one of the country's most famous regional theaters, with a veritable who's who of American theatrical royalty including Kim Hunter, Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Booth, Lillian Gish, June Lockhart, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Leslie Nielsen and Walter Matthau and remained in continuous operation until December 2010.

Thanks to the Bridge Street Foundation, the non-profit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty with Tanya Cooper as President, this beloved theatrical landmark was re-opened and celebrated on July 2, 2012, exactly 73 years and day from when it originally opened in 1939. The Bucks County Playhouse is located at 70 South Main Street in New Hope, PA.