Bristol Valley Theater Announces 2023 Summer Season

Bristol Valley Theater, the Finger Lakes' award-winning live professional theater, will return this summer to live performances inside their theater venue at Main Street in Naples. After a successful summer of indoor performances, the theater is thrilled to continue live indoor performances in a summer series packed with five fantastic productions that will connect audiences through familiar stories, spark the imagination, and enrapture those of all ages.

"We are very excited about the 2023 season at BVT. The line-up includes: Double Trouble - a hilarious musical farce, Magical Thinking - a poignant world premier drama, Little Women - a charming musical adaptation of an American classic, Driving Miss Daisy - the Pulitzer Prize winning play about an unlikely friendship, and Misery - the stage version of Stephen King's iconic thriller" says incoming Executive Artistic Director Richard Amelius. "As always, much thought went into programming this season. We know our loyal audiences as well as the tourists visiting our beautiful village have diverse tastes and we think we have cooked up something everyone can enjoy. Looking forward to seeing you this summer!"

The season, which will run from June 22 - August 26, kicks off with a musical Tour de Farce that will have audiences tapping their toes along and laughing until they cry. Join two outrageously talented performers as they portray 10 different vivacious characters, tap dance, sing and wow crowds with their piano skills in Double Trouble by Bob and Jim Walton. Double Trouble tells the story of brothers Jimmy and Bobby who are hired by a movie studio to write a hit song, however they have only been given a few hours to complete it. Can they meet their deadline and knock the socks of the movie executives' feet? This high energy, high stakes comedy musical runs June 22- July 1st.

Next up, Bristol Valley Theater will present the world premiere of Magical Thinking by Yu-Li Alice Shen. Audiences may recall this play, which was read as a part of the 2022 Bristol Valley Theater's New Works Lineup. Magical Thinking tells the story of the strained relationship between Viola and her daughter as they both cope with grief, loss and moving on. Viola is unable bring herself to visit her husband in the hospital after a car accident put him in a coma six month ago and while her family tries to be supportive, this decision is driving a wedge between Viola and her teenage daughter, who believes that one visit will bring her father back. This touching and surprisingly funny family portrait can be seen onstage from July 6-15.

Following Magical Thinking, we journey back in time to meet the astonishing March Sisters-Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy. Based on Louisa May Alcott's beloved 1869 novel, Little Women the musical shares the adventures of the four March sisters at home in Concord, Massachusetts while their father is away on the Civil War battlefields. Premiering on Broadway in 2005, this timeless story is brought to life in a musical filled with personal discovery, heartache and everlasting love. Little Women runs July 20-29.

The fourth show of Bristol Valley Theater's 2023 Summer Season is a refreshing take on an old favorite. Inspired by his grandmother, Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy, tells the story of the budding friendship between an older Jewish woman and the man hired by her son to drive her after she no longer is able to drive herself. This beautiful tale of an unlikely bond between a Jewish woman and Black man in the 1960's was the recipient of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Bristol Valley Theater presents Driving Miss Daisy August 3-12.

Closing out the 2023 Summer Season, is a spine chilling thriller Misery by William Goldman, a horrifying piece based upon the novel of the same name by the king of thrillers, Stephen King. When novelist Paul Sheldon finds himself stranded after a car crash in the middle of a blizzard, a rescuer named Annie finds him and brings him to safety. Sheldon is relieved to find that his rescuer and self-proclaimed number one fan, also happens to be a retired nurse who can aid in his recovery, however he quickly realizes that this savior has no intentions of ever letting him leave. Fans of the novel or critically acclaimed film, with a screenplay also by Goldman, will love the stage adaption. Misery runs August 17-26 and will close our Bristol Valley Theater's 2023 Summer Season.

Each production will run for 2 weeks. Week one: Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Week Two: Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. The First Sunday Matinee of each performance will be followed by a live talk-back with the cast. For the full season calendar and schedule details, visit www.bvtnaples.org.

Friends of the theater may notice a change in the line-up for next season since the delivery of brochures sent out mid October. With the recent shift in leadership, the Board of Directors at Bristol Valley Theater has graciously offered its new Artistic Director Amelius the opportunity to put his own stamp on his first season with the theater.

Subscriptions are on sale now, and start at only $72. Single tickets will go on sale February 13th. Subscriptions and tickets can be purchased online at www.bvtnaples.org or by calling the Box Office at 585-374-6318.

BVT's 2023 Summer Season is sponsored by Canandaigua National Bank, as well as public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

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