The Group Rep Theatre Company Reveals 2023-2024 Season

The Group Rep has announced the lineup for their 2023-2024 Season, including two musicals. The season kicks off with a revival of a musical from their past and one of their most successful shows ever, and the other is a long-buried treasure from Kander & Ebb.

There is also a fun Agatha Christie play (the play she thought was her best), and the cherished classic, Pulitzer Prize-Winning YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU.  There is a romantic comedy-drama penned by The Group Rep’s artistic director Doug Haverty, and the compelling, thought-provoking TWELVE ANGRY JURORS.

The first show of The Group Rep’s 51st Season is 70, GIRLS, 70, a zesty musical caper with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson & Norman L. Martin, based on the play BREATH OF SPRING by Peter Coke, adapted by Joe Masteroff. This long-buried gem will sparkle with its glorious, catchy music and wittily hysterical lyrics. A charming group of clever, enterprising senior citizens take matters into their own hands when their residence hotel is about to be sold. They band together and take life by the bootstraps and go to extraordinary creative measures to save their home. Along the way they discover the value of saying “YES!” when life invites us. (November 10 – December 17)

The Group Rep will kick off 2024 with TWELVE ANGRY JURORS adapted by Sherman L. Sergel, based on the Emmy-winning TV movie by Reginald Rose. Following the closing arguments of a murder trial, the twelve members of the jury must deliberate, with a guilty verdict meaning death for the accused, an inner-city teen. As these normal citizens try to reach a decision, one juror casts considerable doubt on the elements of the case. Initially broadcast on television in 1954, this microcosm of society mirrors the conflicts, beliefs and compassion of humanity, and is still amazingly relevant today. The democratic jury system is meant to be impersonal, but it ultimately becomes personal, revealing and passionate, as anger rears its dramatic head. (January 26 — March 3)

COULD I HAVE THIS DANCE? This award-winning comedy-drama looks at modern love, complicated relationships, working-from-home and a family that is actually functional. Poetic and —at times — startling, this play was voted by the American National Critics Association as the Best Regional Play of 1992. What starts as a delicious, fast-paced romantic comedy, pivots as a medical crisis forces the family members to ask serious questions and not everyone wants to know the answers. This play was developed at The Group Rep, premiered at The Colony, and has since traveled the world. This revival promises to be as engaging as it was before the turn of the (last) century. (March 29 — May 5, 2024)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning classic play YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, written by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart, is an effervescent delight as it paints a richly, colorful portrait of the country’s most eccentric, lovable household, when a girl from a family of freethinkers falls for the son of a conservative banker. Expect the unexpected, enjoy the unpredictable and relish the intellectual ecstasy of this American Theatre timeless chestnut. Originally produced on Broadway in 1936, this play ran for nearly three years. The 1938 film won the Oscar for Best Film. (May 31 — July 7, 2024)

Agatha Christie takes center stage with MURDER AFTER HOURS (The Hollow). Part Downton Abbey, part Noel Coward, this is Agatha Christie at her champagne-escapist-mysterious best. A weekend in the country leads to long-hidden love revealed, a lover’s triangle exposed, movie star confessions and — of course — deadly deeds. An impatient, cantankerous Scotland Yard Inspector puts a wonderful froth to the investigation and wild-mouse-ride of unravelings. (August 2 — September 8, 2024)

Closing out the season is the dastardly musical THE ORPHAN’S REVENGE (or ABANDONED AT COOPER’S CROSS), with book by Suzanne Buhrer & Gene Casey and music by Gene Casey, Suzanne Buhrer & Jan Casey. Likened to the popular melodramas of the 1800s, we have a selfless heroine who sacrifices herself to keep the orphanage from being recycled into a saloon. The musical is immersive and audience responsive (with actors responding directly back to the audience). Originally produced by the Group Rep, THE ORPHAN’S REVENGE was one of the most successful productions in their 50-year history, eventually wending its way to the Ford Theatre in Washington, DC. It is tongue-planted-ferociously-in-cheek with music that is imminently hummable and lyrics that are wickedly whip smart. (Oct. 4 — Nov. 10, 2024)

The 2023-2024 Season’s Shows will be performed on the Main Stage, located on the First Floor of the Lonny Chapman Theatre.

Come celebrate with The Group Rep and escape to the wonderful world of eccentric, exquisite and endearing humanity.  For more information about tickets and season subscriptions please visit www.thegrouprep.com or call 818.763.5990.

To post a comment, you must register and login.