Playhouse on the Square's 2015-16 Season to Feature BILLY ELLIOT, BUYER AND CELLAR & More

The 2015 - 2016 season at Playhouse on the Square will begin with the heart-warming and inspiring Billy Elliot the Musical. The Broadway hit garnered ten Tony Awards in 2009, including Best Musical. Set in an English mining town against the turbulent and violent 1984 miners' strike, Billy Elliot the Musical tells the tale of a young boy who trades his boxing gloves for dancing shoes and inspires audiences to believe in themselves.

The Circuit Playhouse season will begin with the regional premiere of the comedy Buyer and Cellar. This one-man comedy explores the world of Alex More, a struggling L.A. actor who accepts a job working in Barbra Streisand's basement. Hilarity ensues when, one day, Barbara herself comes downstairs to play.

The Matchmaker is next on the Playhouse on the Square stage; this classic American comedy features three very mismatched couples who find themselves in one ridiculous situation after another thanks to the "help" of matchmaker Dolly Levi. Carrie the Musical runs at The Circuit Playhouse during the month of October. Horror movie fans can enjoy this musical retelling of Stephan King's tale of a high school prom gone horribly wrong.

The holiday season at Playhouse on the Square offers something for every member of the family. Peter Pan is back on the Playhouse on the Square stage running in repertory with I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and A Tuna Christmas will bring the residents of Tuna, Texas (Texas' third smallest town) back to The Circuit Playhouse.

January 2016 brings the first of two world premiere productions that will be staged as part of the POTS@TheWorks Series at TheatreWorks. The series will feature the winners of the 2014 NewWorks@TheWorks Playwriting Competition. Audience feedback in the readings, along with other production considerations, led to two selections for the upcoming season. The first is Byhalia, MS by former Playhouse on the Square Associate Company Member and local Memphian Evan Linder. It explores what happens when a black child is born to white parents in modern day Byhalia, Mississippi. The second winner, Moonvine, by Memphian Teri Feigelson, is a Southern gothic tale come to life, family members on a Delta farm try to cope with the past, present, and uncertain future. Moonvine will premiere in July 2016.

January 2016 will see the regional premiere of American Idiot at Playhouse on the Square. This Tony Award winning musical features the music of Green Day and explores the lives of three young men as they struggle to find meaning in the post 9/11 world. The haunting and mysterious drama The Other Place makes its regional premiere at The Circuit Playhouse in late January, the show centers around a drug company scientist whose life and health begin to unravel in at an alarmingly fast pace.

At Playhouse on the Square, politics and history take center stage in All the Way, a drama that explores the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson and his involvement in the passing of the Civil Rights Act. Back by popular demand at The Circuit Playhouse is Pagent, a musical comedy featuring men in drag, and using the audience as the judges. Every performance is guaranteed to be different! In repertory with Pagent will be the family friendly Pinkalicious the Musical, based on the best selling series of children's books by the same name.

In the spring, Playhouse on the Square is proud to present the regional premiere of Memphis. This musical, inspired by actual events, is the story of how two people from very different worlds come together to create music and challenge prejudice. Their adventure takes them on a journey filled with laughter, emotion, and a whole lot of Memphis soul.

The regional premiere of The Country House, by Donald Margulies, will occupy The Circuit Playhouse in April. Described as a love letter to the artists of the stage, a group of famous and would-be-famous creative artists gather at their summer home during the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Things fall apart, and everyone is forced to come to terms with the roles they play in each other's lives.

Peter and the Starcatcher will close The Circuit Playhouse stage for the 2015 - 2016 season. This grown-up prequel to Peter Pan won five Tony Awards in 2012. Twelve actors play over 100 different characters in this wildly imaginative musical play about how one young orphan became Peter Pan, how the Captain got his famous hook, and how one special young woman inspired people to believe. Playhouse on the Square has a blockbuster well-known musical scheduled to close the 2015-16 season, but due to contractual obligations cannot announce it's title until May 15, 2016. Stay tuned!

Season subscriptions will go on sale in May. For more information, visit www.playhouseonthesquare.org.

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