Musical Theatre West Announces 59th Season Of Shows

Paul Garman, Executive Director/Producer and Steven Glaudini, Artistic Director/Producer of Musical Theatre West, are proud to announce the 2011-2012 season at the beautiful Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.

Recent world-class productions of SWEENEY TODD, RENT and 1776 have solidified MTW's reputation as Southern California's premier musical theater company. Critics agree that Musical Theatre West is "currently the Southland's finest" musical theater company (BackStage West) and "sets the bar for musical theatre in Southern California" (Gazette Newspapers).

This new season offers something for everyone. Steven Glaudini, MTW's Artistic Director/Producer, stated, "We are thrilled to provide a season that truly has something for everyone. From the Tony-Award winning musicals HAIRSPRAY, MAN OF LA MANCHA and SPAMALOT to the second installment of Forbidden Broadway and ringing in the holidays with WINTER WONDERETTES, we at MTW continue to promise to provide the highest quality of Musical Theatre to our region, solidifying our claim as Southern California's Premier Musical Theatre Company!"

The season will open with the mega-hit HAIRSPRAY (October 28-November 13, 2011). Based on the John Waters camp classic film of the same name, HAIRSPRAY is the story of big dreams, big girls and big hair! Typical teenager Tracy Turnblad is obsessed with The Corny Collins Show and one of its dancers, Link Larkin. Though rejected at the Corny Collins auditions, Tracy shows off some moves at the Sophomore Hop, where Corny Collins gives her a place on his show. Tracy is soon launched to stardom, and once on the show, changes the face of 1960s Baltimore forever. The HAIRSPRAY creative team - composer Marc Shaiman, lyricists Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and librettists Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan - won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Musical.

For its second production, MTW will ring in the holidays with WINTER WONDERETTES (December 9-18, 2011). WINTER WONDERETTES is the follow-up smash hit to "The Marvelous Wonderettes" and finds the girls, Missy, Suzy, Betty Jean and Cindy Lou, at Harper's Hardware for the 1968 holiday party. From show creator and director Roger Bean, WINTER WONDERETTES brings their signature four-part harmony to classic Christmas songs from "O, Tannenbaum" to "Mele Kalikimaka." "A must-see holiday hit!" -WPVI-ABC, Philadelphia

For its third production, MTW is proud to present one of the all-time great musicals by Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion and Dale Wasserman, MAN OF LA MANCHA (February 10-26, 2012). Opening on Broadway in 1965, this Tony Award Winner for Best Musical features one of Broadway's great standards, "The Impossible Dream," and takes place during the height of the Spanish Inquisition. While awaiting a hearing with the Inquisition, Miguel de Cervantes presents a play as his defense in a mock trial for the prisoners. In it, he plays Alonso Quijana, a man who has set his own reality aside and becomes Don Quixote De La Mancha. Assisted by Sancho Panza, Quixote attempts to avoid his mortal enemy, the Enchanter, and woo the serving wench and prostitute, Aldonza, who he takes to be the lady Dulcinea.

For the fourth offering this season, MTW is proud to present Forbidden Broadway, GREATEST HITS VOLUME 2 (April 13-29, 2012). The runaway hit of our 2008-2009 season, Forbidden Broadway returns in an all-new edition that pokes fun at shows such as "Les Misérables," "La Cage aux Folles," "Sweeney Todd," "The Phantom of the Opera," and "Into the Woods," and stars such as Stephen Sondheim, Madonna, Bob Fosse, George Hearn, Mary Martin, Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno. Forbidden Broadway, GREATEST HITS VOLUME 2 is a laugh-a-minute satire on all things musical theater.

MTW will close the season with SPAMALOT (June 29-July 15, 2012). A musical "lovingly ripped off" from the classic film comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," SPAMALOT is the Tony award-winning Broadway musical with book and lyrics by Eric Idle and score created by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. SPAMALOT tells the legendary tale of King Arthur's quest to find the Holy Grail. However, diverting a bit from the true story, this hilarious musical features such oddities as a line of beautiful dancing girls, a flatulent Frenchman and killer rabbits. Throughout the show King Arthur, traveling with his servant Patsy, recruits severAl Knights to accompany him on his quest, including Sir Bedevere, Sir Robin, Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad. Besides the rabbits and farting Frenchman, they meet such characters as the Lady of the Lake, Prince Herbert, Tim the Enchanter, Not Dead Fred, the Black Knight and the Knights who say Ni.

Single tickets go on sale starting September 14, 2011.

For more information on Musical Theatre West, please visit www.musical.org.

 

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