WEST SIDE STORY, GYSPY & More Set for OFC Creations Theatre 2024-25 Season
The season will also feature The Boy from Oz, Anything Goes and more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 12, 2024
OFC Creations Theatre is thrilled to announce the 2024-2025 Broadway in Brighton Series, back for a second year, after sold-out shows in nearly all performances last season. OFC's Broadway in Brighton Series is comprised of six professional musical productions under the direction of OFC's Executive Director Eric Vaughn Johnson, featuring performers from New York City, Los Angeles and across the country, alongside professional performers from our region.
This season's focus is bringing beloved shows and stories of heroes of generations to the stage that are not typically performed in Rochester. OFC Creations strives to tell stories that demonstrate the beauty and resilience of the human spirit. We hope that through reflection on "stories of old" that we may better prepare ourselves to make solutions for the future.
The series will include: The Boy from Oz, a regional premiere; West Side Story, a timeless musical; The Prince of Egypt, an upstate NY and Rochester premiere- of which OFC is one of the first performing arts centers in the country to be granted permission to present this show; the classic musical Anything Goes; and Gypsy a golden age musical. Closing out the 2024-2025 season will be the hugely popular Jersey Boys, produced locally for the first time, starring Adam Marino, who has performed professionally across the nation.
OFC Creations has been a fixture of the Rochester, NY performing arts scene since 2005. After opening the 260-seat OFC Creations Theatre Center in 2020, OFC has continued to expand with the largest educational theater program for young actors in New York State, opening an immersive theatrical restaurant and cabaret performance venue in 2022. The 2024-2025 season marks the second year of the Broadway in Brighton Series, a professional regional theater season guaranteeing theatrical excellence for audiences.
The inaugural Broadway in Brighton Series brought in many performers from NYC, LA, and throughout the country performed alongside regional performers from the Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse areas. The new season under Johnson's leadership will hold auditions in New York City in order to bring more new high end talent to our area.
"The success of our inaugural season was a resounding message that the Broadway in Brighton Series has filled a need in our community and beyond," shared Eric Vaughn Johnson, Executive Director of OFC Theatre. "As a non-equity regional theatre, OFC Creations is proud to bring a professional series that focuses specifically on musicals. By having a mix of classic and golden age, along with Rochester premieres and debuts, we are very excited to bring in both new audiences and our beloved followers into the theatre."
OFC's extremely popular Season Subscription package will return for the 2024-2025 season for those attending the full six show series, including a 25% discount on the series purchased by May 31, 2024, and 15% discount afterwards.
Season Subscriptions will receive a wide range of benefits valid through the end of the season including: an ongoing 10% discount at OFC's restaurant, The Old Farm Café, on all meals and beverages; receive $2.00 off all wine and beer at the bar throughout the evening at each Broadway in Brighton season show from September 2024 through May 2025, including beer, wine, and champagne, or alternatively may opt for complimentary coffee and bottles of water; and an ongoing 10% discount on show merchandise at all performances.
Season Subscriptions can be purchased online at ofccreations.com, by calling OFC's box office at 585-667-0954, and in person during all public hours at The Old Farm Café. Subscriptions are now available for purchase; single tickets will go on sale June 1, 2024.
OFC's Broadway in Brighton 2024-2025 Series:
REGIONAL PREMIERE: The Boy From Oz
September 12-29, 2024 at OFC Creations Theatre Center Main Stage
Music and Lyrics by Peter Allen. Book by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright
Synopsis: It's time to shake the maracas and dust off your dancing shoes as The Boy from Oz tells the dazzling, funny, and heartbreaking true story of Peter Allen. From humble beginnings growing up and singing in country pubs throughout the Australian outback, Peter's career took off without warning after being discovered and taken under the mentorship of, the one and only, Judy Garland. As her opening act, Peter relocated to New York City and introduced to Judy's daughter and future wife, Liza Minnelli.
Peter Allen rose to international stardom in the 1980s, best known for his hits including 'I Honestly Love You,' 'Best That You Can Do,' 'Not The Boy Next Door,' 'Everything Old Is New Again,' and the show stopping, 'I Go to Rio.' From winning an Oscar, to selling out performances in Radio City Music Hall, and receiving adulation when he returned to Australia, Peter struggled through divorce, heartbreak, failure, and navigating through the unknowns of the AIDS epidemic.
Not caught between the moon and New York City any longer, the global phenomenon of The Boy From Oz makes its regional premiere in Rochester with an electrifying story audiences will never forget.
TIMELESS MUSICAL: West Side Story
October 10-27, 2024 at the OFC Creations Theatre Center Main Stage
Based on a Conception of Jerome Robbins; Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Synopsis: From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the greatest love stories ever told. This Tony and Oscar Award winning masterpiece has become a timeless classic and landmark musical for audiences across the globe.
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is transported to the vibrant battleground of New York City's West Side in the 1950s as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the "American" Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching and relevant musical dramas of our time. Unforgettable musical numbers include 'Tonight,' 'Something's Coming,' 'America,' 'One Hand, One Heart,' and equally mesmerizing choreography to 'Mambo,' 'Cool,' and 'The Rumble.'
ROCHESTER PREMIERE: The Prince of Egypt
December 5-29, 2024 at the OFC Creations Theatre Center Main Stage
Based on the DreamWorks Animation film; Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Book by Philip LaZebnik
Synopsis: The Prince of Egypt is a sweeping epic of a musical with music and lyrics by Grammy and Oscar winner Stephen Schwartz, a book by Philip LaZebnik, and ten new songs written by Schwartz, together with five of his songs from the adored DreamWorks Animation film. Acclaimed as "one of the greatest animated films of all time" (Evening Standard) and "a brilliant film" (The Guardian), it remains one of the most beloved animated feature films of all time.
Journey through the wonders of Ancient Egypt as Ramses and Moses, two young men raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past. One must rule as Pharaoh, the other must rise up and free his true people; both face a destiny that will change history forever. Featuring a soaring score by Schwartz, including 'All I Ever Wanted,' 'Through Heaven's Eyes,' 'Footprints on the Sand,' 'Deliver Us,' and, the Academy Award winning song, 'When You Believe.'
The Prince of Egypt is not only a Rochester regional premiere, OFC Creations Theatre Center is one of the first performing arts centers in the country to be granted permission to present this show.
GOLDEN AGE MUSICAL: Gypsy
January 30 - February 16, 2025 at the OFC Creations Theatre Center Main Stage
Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Synopsis: Regarded by many theatre professionals as the finest musical ever created, Gypsy is the ultimate tale of the ambitious stage mother, Rose, fighting for her daughters' success - while secretly yearning for her own. All while June and Louise wish their mother would settle down and get married, Rose continues to pursue dreams of stardom for her girls and will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Set across America throughout the 1920s and 30s, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born, this landmark show explores the world of two-bit show business with brass, humor, heart and sophistication.
The celebrated score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim boasts one glorious hit after another, including 'Everything's Coming Up Roses,' 'Let Me Entertain You,' 'Some People,' 'You'll Never Get Away from Me,' 'If Momma Was Married,' 'All I Need Is the Girl,' 'You Gotta Get A Gimmick,' 'Small World' and 'Together Wherever We Go.'
CLASSIC MUSICAL: Anything Goes
April 3-19, 2025 at the OFC Creations Theatre Center Main Stage
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter; Original Book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse; New Book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman
Synopsis: Packed with music, dance, and laughs, Anything Goes sets its sails regarded as delightful, delicious, and de-lovely. Cole Porter's saucy and splendid classic musical has a whole new flair in this updated version for modern audiences.
As the S.S. American heads out to sea, two unlikely pairs set off on the course to find true love, proving that sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, exotic disguises, and some good old-fashioned blackmail. Peppering this hilariously bumpy ride are some of musical theatre's most memorable hits, including 'I Get a Kick out of You,' 'You're The Top,' 'It's De-Lovely,' and of course, 'Anything Goes.'
FIRST TIME PRODUCED IN ROCHESTER; Jersey Boys
The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Season
May 8-25, 2025 at the OFC Creations Theatre Center Main Stage
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, Music by Bob Gaudio, Lyrics by Bob Crewe
Synopsis: Oh, what a night! How did a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks become one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time?
Jersey Boys is the smash-hit musical that gives us the true, sometimes gritty, and always spectacularly entertaining story of falsetto idol Franki Valli and The Four Seasons. The blue-collar boys in the shiny Lurex suits strode onto the scene in 1965, wowing the public for 20 years with hits such as 'Big Girls Don't Cry,' 'Oh What a Night,' 'Walk Like a Man,' 'Beggin,' 'Sherry' and many more. But before fame and fortune came a difficult, and sometimes not entirely legal, journey to stardom.
Since its debut in 2005, Jersey Boys has become a must-see, embedding itself in the American musical theater landscape, winning 4 Tony Awards on Broadway and proving that the rags to riches, to rags again, story is an ever-enduring theme!
The first Rochester production of Jersey Boys is under the direction of Eric Vaughn Johnson featuring a cast of professional performers from across the country. Starring as Frankie Valli is Adam Marino who has performed this iconic role at five different professional theatres across the country.
Meet Our Frankie Valli!
Adam Marino has been traveling the country for the past ten years in credits such as Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Barry Mann; Village Theatre), She Loves Me-starring Bryce Pinkham (Arpad; Gulf Coast Symphony), Jersey Boys (Frankie Valli; Sierra Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Musical Theatre, Broadway Palm Dinner Theater, Millbrook Playhouse and The Savannah Theatre), and Scrooge No More (Ebenezer Scrooge; Busch Gardens Williamsburg). Adam is also a former member of the 1950's rock 'n' roll group "The Diamonds." Originally from Webster, NY, this production will be a homecoming performance for Marino. www.adamdavidmarino.com.
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