Theatre At The Center Announces 20th Anniversary 2010 Season, Kicks Off With NOISES OFF 2/19/2010

Coming off of a streak of some of the most successful seasons to date, William Pullinsi, Artistic Director, announces Theatre at the Center's 20th anniversary season, filled with some of the most Popular Productions of all time and an area premiere. All of the 2010 season titles have marked, and will mark, a "first" for the history of Theatre at the Center. These shows include one of the funniest farces of all time, Theatre at the Center's first production ever in 1991, Noises Off. The production will run February 19 through March 21, with press performance on February 25. The endearing story of marriage and the first production of Theatre at the Center's fourth season starring Theatre at the Center's first artistic director, I Do! I Do!, will run April 22 through May 23. The press performance will be April 29. For the first time ever, Theatre at the Center will produce the ever popular and inspirational Jesus Christ Superstar from July 8 through August 8. The press performance will be July 15. The first area premiere of the Tony Award winning Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will run September 9 through October 10. The press performance will be September 16. Rounding out the season will be It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, a musical version of the popular holiday favorite "Miracle on 34th Street", which will have audiences reminiscing of their first letters to Santa Claus. The production will run November 11 through December 12, with the press performance on November 18, 2010.

Productions featured in the 2008-2009 season included the Jeff-recommended Leading Ladies, Crazy For You and the production of Footloose, which all did capacity business. Man of La Mancha, which is the romantic story of Don Quixote will star James Harms. The production is already selling tickets at a fast pace and will run September 10 through October 17, press opening will be September 17. Following Man of La Mancha, the critically acclaimed Chicago holiday and family classic The Christmas Schooner runs November 12 through December 20, press opening will be Thursday, November 19.

"The Funniest Farce Ever Written" is how the New York critics described the awesome hilarity and mind-boggling mayhem of Noises Off. This uproarious comedy will run February 19 through March 21, with press performance on February 25. Noises Off follows the on and off stage antics of an inept acting troupe as they stumble from bumbling dress rehearsal to disastrous closing night. Everything that can go wrong does, as actors desperately try to hang on to their lines, their performances, and the furniture. Add a slippery plate of sardines and a slew of slamming doors and you have the most sidesplitting backstage comedy ever put on paper.

I Do! I Do! was the first two-person musical ever performed on Broadway, written by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, the creative duo behind The Fantasticks and 110 In the Shade. This remarkably intimate, thoroughly romantic piece, allows audiences into the bedroom of Agnes and Michael, as they try to maintain passion and devotion through the joys and pains, trials and tribulations, setbacks and celebrations of their fifty year marital odyssey. In that time we watch them go through their wedding night jitters, raise a family, negotiate mid-life crises, quarrel, separate, reconcile and grow old together, all lovingly to the strains of a tuneful, charming score which includes the standard "My Cup Runneth Over." I Do! I Do! runs April 22 through May 23 and the press performance will be April 29.

Jesus Chris Superstar, the groundbreaking theatrical masterpiece by legendary writing team Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, will run July 8 through August 8 with a press performance on July 15. The first collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be performed on the professional stage, Jesus Christ Superstar illuminates the transcendent power of the human spirit with a passion that goes straight to the heart. The production features a stirring score including "Superstar", "Everything's Alright" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him". In Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus is portrayed as a prophet / rock star whose appeal stems as much from the crowd's energy as from his own inspirational message. Jesus' meteor-like rise in renown provides, as the title suggests, a parallel to contemporary celebrity worship. As his radical teachings are evermore embraced, Judas increasingly questions the enlightened motives of this new prophet, resulting in betrayal. In this production, Christ's final days are dramatized with emotional intensity, thought-provoking edge and explosive theatricality.

Based on the popular 1988 MGM film, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels centers on two con men living on the French Riviera - the suave and sophisticated Lawrence Jameson, who makes his lavish living by talking rich ladies out of their money; and a small-time crook named Freddy Benson, who, more humbly, swindles women by waking their compassion with fabricated stories about his grandmother's failing health. After meeting on a train, they unsuccessfully attempt to work together only to find that this small French town isn't big enough for the two of them. So they make a bet: the first one to swindle $50,000 from a young heiress, triumphs and the other must leave town. What follows are a series of schemes, masquerades and double-crosses in which nothing may ever be exactly what it seems. This Tony Award winning musical will run September 9 through October 10. The press performance will be September 16.

Kris Kringle takes on the cynics among us in It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, a musical adaptation of the popular holiday favorite "Miracle on 34th Street". In his inimitable style, Meredith Willson, the author of The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, tells the classic story of a white-bearded gentleman claiming to be the real Santa Claus as he brings about a genuine Miracle on 34th Street. Spreading a wave of love throughout New York City, this man inspires the city, fostering camaraderie between Macy's and Gimbel's Department Stores and convincing a divorced, cynical single mother, her somber daughter and the entire state of New York that Santa Claus is no myth. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas runs November 11 through December 12, with the press performance on November 18.

Founded in 1991, Theatre at the Center is a year-round professional theater at its home, The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. Theatre at the Center is conveniently located off I-80/94, just 35 minutes from downtown Chicago.

Performances for the 2010 season are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and select Thursdays at 7:30, and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. Individual ticket prices range from $20 - $40, based on the performance date and time, seat location and are available for purchase beginning December 15, 2009. Season subscriptions to all of these timeless classics are available for $125 and will go on sale September 29, 2009. New for this season will be subscription series events. The first of these events, the Wine and Theatre Series, will allow guests to enjoy delectable wines from all over the world at Theatre at the Center's home, the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. An assortment of hors d'oeuvres will be served to compliment the wines. This Wine and Theatre Series can be conveniently added to season subscriptions for $75. The second, the Opening Night Series, guarantees subscribers the best seats for opening nights. Each show will be followed with a post-show reception with the cast and crew. This Opening Night Series can be added to the subscription for only $100. Finally, the Dinner Theatre series may be added to any subscription for only $105.25. Guests may enjoy pre-show special dinners conveniently located in The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, right across from the theatre lobby. To purchase season tickets, individual tickets call the Box Office at 219.836.3255 or Tickets.com at 800.511.1552. Group discounts, available for groups of 20 or more; and gift certificates, perfect for all special occasions are also available by calling the Box Office at 219.836.3255.

For more information on Theatre at the Center, visit TheatreAtTheCenter.com.

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