The Round Barn Theatre at Amish Acres Announces its 2014 Season - LITTLE SHOP, FOOTLOOSE, SHREK, JOSEPH & More
By: Robert Diamond Jun. 29, 2013
The Round Barn Theatre has announced its next year's season three months earlier than ever before. "We have aggressively surveyed our subscribers and patrons since the beginning of the year to determine their choices for shows throughout the nine month season," said Artistic Director Jeremy Littlejohn, "We have dubbed the resulting season "Incredible" to describe the diversity of choices that make up the 2014 season."
Taking its cue from the perennial Plain and Fancy, the theatre's signature Cultural musical about Amish life and love that will celebrate its 28th year at Amish Acres, each show represents a time honored theatrical tradition. The season kicks off with the Farcical Little Shop of Horrors, followed by the Excitable Footloose, the Classical Little Women the Musical, the Biblical Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat, the Inspirational Diary of Anne Frank, and the Comical Shrek: The Musical. Footloose and Joseph... were last produced by the theatre in 2004 and 2002 respectively.
The season which runs from April 9th through December 31st will include nearly 400 performances in typical six week runs making it the busiest stage in Indiana. The popular Second Stage productions will return with Greater Tuna plus a musical to be announced. To the "Incredible" season, Theatre for Young Audience productions and summer acting camps, all part of the Joseph Stein Young Actors Studio, round out the 2014 season.
The professional resident Acting Company is assembled through auditions across the Midwest. The company is housed on Amish Acres Historic Farm in three houses. The Farm's Cow Shed houses the costume shop, scenic shop and rehearsal stage. "Few people realize the extent of the theatre's operations behind the stage," said Littlejohn, "It is a year round effort to bring our shows to life."
The Round Barn Theatre at Amish Acres is located at 1600 W. Market Street in Nappanee, Indiana. A complete performance schedule is available online at www.amishacres.com or by contacting the box office at 800-800-4942 opt. 2.
The Farcical
The Main Stage season kicks off on April 9 with one of the most anticipated musicals the Joseph Stein Stage has seen, Little Shop of Horrors. This comedy / horror rock musical tells the tale of a hapless florist shop worker named Seymour who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The score by Alan Menken features several well-known tunes, including "Skid Row (Downtown)", "Somewhere That's Green" and "Suddenly Seymour." In addition to the original long-running 1982 Off-Broadway and subsequent Broadway productions, the musical has been performed all over the world. Round Barn audiences will most likely associate the musical with the 1986 film starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin which was directed by Frank Oz. The production values alone will make this production "Incredible." April 9 - May 25
The Cultural
A New Yorker and his sophisticated girlfriend drive down to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, to sell a piece of property. Here they interact with the Amish community, whose convolutEd English speech, clothes and habits have remained the same for centuries. Plain and Fancy was the first Broadway show for both composer Albert Hague and author Joseph Stein who each went on to win Tony awards for Redhead and Fiddler On The Roof, respectively.
The Round Barn Theatre has become the national home of this 1955 Broadway hit. This 2014 production marks the 28th consecutive year that The Round Barn Theatre has produced Plain and Fancy making it one of the longest running shows anywhere. Simply "Incredible." May 28-October 18.The Excitable
Footloose the musical, based on the popular 1984 film starring Kevin Bacon, Footloose starring Kevin Bacon, opens the summer portion of our season June 10. Ren McCormack, an upbeat Chicago teen, moves to a small town where a local minister's efforts have effectively banned dancing and rock music. Originally produced on the Joseph Stein Stage in 2004; and featuring a lush score packed with some of the greatest hits of the 80's, Footloose remains one of our most "Incredible" summer shows. June 10-July 20.
The Classical
One of the great literary classics, Little Women, makes its Musical debut at the Round Barn stage June 29. Based on Louisa May Alcott's 1869 semi-autobiographical novel, Little Women focuses on the four March sisters - brassy, tomboy and aspiring writer Jo, romantic Meg, pretentious Amy, and kind hearted Beth and, of course, their beloved Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts while the family patriarch is away serving as a Union chaplain during the Civil War. An inspirational and "Incredible" musical! July 29- August 31.
The Biblical
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat rings in Fall Harvest Days September 9 with an energetic take on the familiar story of Joseph and his coat of "many colors." Taken from the Bible's book of Genesis, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's tale marked the first time the prolific composer teamed up with his mainstay writing partner Tim Rice. The pair has since collaborated on Jesus Christ Superstarand Evita. The 2014 incarnation will mark the fourth production in The Round Barn Theatre's history and the first since 2002. A biblical tale of "Incredible" proportions. September 9-October 19.
The Inspirational
Based on the moving story "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank opens October 22 and promises to tell a story that is essential for all generations to hear. This Pulitzer Prize winning Drama shares the story of the Franks, a Jewish family who spent two years in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The diary was retrieved by Miep Gies, who gave it to Anne's father, Otto Frank, the only known survivor of the family. The diary has now been published in over 60 languages. The play opened on Broadway in 1955 receiving the Tony Award for Best Play and a nomination for its star, Susan Strasberg. An "Incredible" tale of hope and inspiration! October 22-November 9.
The Comical
Everyone's favorite Orge hits The Round Barn stage for the holidays in Shrek: The Musical November 14. Based on the 1990 book, "Shrek!" and the 2001 DreamWorks film of the same name, Shrek: The Musical tells the story of everyone's favorite Ogre, who reluctantly befriends a talkative donkey. Together they set out on a journey, which takes them through many of the most recognizable fairy tales in film and literature. Shrek: The Musical promises to be an "Incredible" holiday treat for children both young and old. November 14-December 31.
The Return of the Second Stage
The Round Barn Theatre kicks off its 2014 season with the return of the Second Stage and the "most-produced" play in the United States, Greater Tuna. In honor of the ten year anniversary of the Second Stage opening its doors, The Round Barn Theatre will be reopening the Locke Township Meeting House's theatrical endeavors for the first time since 2009. The brain child of Artistic Director Jeremy Littlejohn, the Second Stage premiered in 2004 with the classic Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie. The program gained such vast popularity over the next six years that Round Barn Executive Producer Richard Pletcher saw fit to add a non-musical to the Joseph Stein Stage's "Main Stage" season beginning in 2009 with Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Since its inception in 2004, the Second Stage has produced very successful productions of Driving Miss Daisy, Enter Laughing, as part of our 2006 Joseph Stein Festival, Steel Magnolias, Lost in Yonkers, Our Town and Art. March 21-April 6
Greater Tuna, the first in a series of 4 comedic plays, each set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state, opens in the Locke Township Meeting House March 21. Labeled the "most produced" play in the United States, Greater Tuna is an affectionate comment on small-town Southern life and attitudes. The play is notable in that two men play the entire cast of over twenty eccentric characters of both genders and various ages. The antics of these "Incredible" characters promise to leave Round Barn patrons rolling in the aisles. Joining Greater Tuna in 2014 will be a "small musical" to be announced opening around Labor Day.
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