BIG FISH Joins Stages Repertory Theatre's 2015-16 Season

Big Fish, a new musical by Andrew Lippa and John August, joins Stages' lineup for its 2015-16 season.

Based on the celebrated 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace and the acclaimed 2003 film directed by Tim Burton, the musical Big Fish premiered on Broadway in 2013 and was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. August and Lippa further revised the show in 2015 at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA, to create a more intimate, theatrical experience they nicknamed the "12 Chairs Version". This new revision is the version that Stages will produce in 2016.

"After we initially announced our 2015-16 season, we were presented with the opportunity to be one of the first theatres in the country to produce this newly-revised version of Big Fish" Stages Producing Artistic Director Kenn McLaughlin said.

"As we continue to develop our world premiere play Miss Teen, a story about a mother-daughter dynamic, we realized that we couldn't pass up the chance to thematically tie in the father-son story of Big Fish with the season as a whole. We are delighted to have the opportunity to present this exciting and touching new musical about the power of storytelling, and the importance of family."

The previously announced musical Dogfight will be produced in a later season.

Stages kicks off its summer A La Carte season in July, with the country-music extravaganza The Honky Tonk Angels, previously produced by the company in 2004. The Honky Tonk Angels, written by Stages' founder Ted Swindley, returns in an all-new production starring Holland Vavra, Chelsea Ryan McCurdy and Kelley Peters, and helmed by Mitchell Greco (Xanadu; Life Could Be a Dream; Girls Night: The Musical).

In July, the summer season continues with the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Driving Miss Daisy, written by Alfred Uhry and starring Sally Edmundson in the titular role. Driving Miss Daisy made its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in 1987, and was subsequently adapted into an Academy Award-winning film starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman. Stages previously produced Driving Miss Daisy in 1990.

Stages kicks off its MainStage subscription season in October with Kristoffer Diaz's satire The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. The 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist, about a young Latino wrestler's foray into corporate entertainment and the culture wars, had its world premiere at Victory Gardens Theatre in 2008, and has since had successful runs at Second Stage Theatre in New York City, and across the country. It makes its Houston premiere with Stages' production.

November brings the return of the holiday mega-hit Sister's Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi's Gold, by Maripat Donovan, with Jane Morris & Marc Silva. Denise Fennell returns to Stages to don the habit once more.

Stages continues its holiday tradition for families with the world premiere production of Panto Snow Queen: Unfrozen, by Jodi Bobrovsky, Rutherford Cravens, and Josh Morrison. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, this outrageous family musical is the seventh world-premiere pantomime Stages has developed since the genre was first introduced to Stages audiences in 2008.

The new year introduces a new Houston talent with the world premiere of Brendan Bourque-Sheil's The Book of Maggie. This wacky and fanciful sci-fi comedy about Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate, (best friends in Hell), is the first play by Sheil, who also participated in Stages' inaugural Young Actors Conservatory program in 2005.

Following in February 2016 is the regional premiere of Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men. Straight White Men had its world premiere at Wexner Center of the Arts in 2014, and later enjoyed a sold out extended run at the Public Theatre in New York City. Tackling the consequences of privilege in America, Straight White Men will mark the Houston debut of critical darling Young Jean Lee.

Rounding out the A La Carte offerings, the international hit End of the Rainbow makes its Houston premiere in March 2016, starring Houston favorite Carolyn Johnson. Peter Quilter's savagely funny and deeply moving musical drama about Judy Garland's final months had an extended, Tony-nominated run on Broadway in 2012 after its world premiere in Sydney, Australia, in 2005.

In April 2016, Michele Riml returns to Stages for the world premiere production of her new play Miss Teen. Previously represented at Stages with the hit comedy Sexy Laundry, Riml now explores the lengths a mother will go to ensure her daughter's success in a beauty pageant, and in life.

April 2016 also will see the regional premiere of Lauren Gunderson's much-lauded I and You, about two teenagers who collaborate on a school project, where nothing is as it seems to be. Winner of the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, and a finalist for the 2014 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, I and You had a rolling world premiere, beginning at Marin Theatre Company in 2013.

Finishing out the 2015-16 MainStage season in May 2016 is Big Fish - a new musical based on the 2003 film and 1998 book of the same name. Big Fish is an exciting and touching new musical about the power of storytelling and the importance of family.

Season subscriptions are on sale now, with options starting at $210 for a MainStage subscription. For more information, visit www.stagestheatre.com, or call the box office at 713.527.0123.

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