Roxy Regional Theatre To Launch 37th Season With A CHORUS LINE

The Roxy Regional Theatre, Clarksville's oldest professional live theatre, unveiled its upcoming "Season 37: Experience A New Story" at a fundraiser at The Belle Hollow earlier this month, hosted by local arts supporters Mark, Ricki, John Mark and Will Holleman.

In the company of local theatre lovers, longtime supporters and friends, Ryan Bowie, executive director of the Roxy Regional Theatre, revealed the season opener to be the stunning, award-winning concept musical A CHORUS LINE. Superbly capturing the spirit and tension of a Broadway chorus audition, this brilliantly complex fusion of song, dance and compellingly authentic 1970s drama will Raise the Curtain on the new season on September 6.

Later in the month, the young and the young at heart will delight in THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE. Based on the beloved children's novel by Kate DiCamillo, the play follows a vain and self-centered toy rabbit on his journey of discovering love, losing love, and finding love again.

In October, our nation's most notorious presidential assassins and would-be assassins will gather on the Roxy Regional Theatre's mainstage to pursue a twisted American Dream in the hit musical ASSASSINS. Bending the rules of time and space, this historical "revusical" combines Stephen Sondheim's signature blend of intelligent lyricism and stunning music with a panoramic story of our nation's celebrity culture.

The opening of the 2019-2020 season in theotherspace, the 50-seat black box theatre located upstairs at the Roxy, will be marked by the first of three tour-de-farce's of quick changes and characterizations. Comedic duo Ryan Bowie and Brian Best will bring to life over twenty colorful characters from the third-smallest town in Texas in GREATER TUNA (October 2019), later followed by A TUNA CHRISTMAS (December 2019) and RED, WHITE & TUNA (July 2020).

The fall schedule also brings the 8th annual return of Richard O'Brien's wildly popular cult classic THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW in late October, complete with a midnight showing on Halloween weekend.

William Shakespeare's timeless tale of star-crossed lovers, ROMEO & JULIET, is slated for the mainstage in November.

Just in time for the holiday season, Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future will take center stage in a thrilling musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL, opening Thanksgiving night and running through December.

At the start of 2020, the 18th annual presentation of Eve Ensler's THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES will play upstairs in the theatre's theotherspace. Funny, outrageous, emotionally affecting and occasionally angry, this series of monologues about women and performed by women aims to raise awareness about violence against women and girls through stories of self-discovery, abuse, birth and more.

Outspoken and lovable first-grader Junie B. will offer a sneak peek into her "Top-Secret Personal Beeswax Journal" when JUNIE B. JONES: The Musical, a delightful adaptation of four of Barbara Park's best-selling children's books, takes the mainstage at the end of January and into February.

The latter half of February will bring THE FANTASTICKS, a romantic fable about a boy, a girl, their two fathers and a love that grows with each season. The longest running musical in the world with a famous score including the classics "Try To Remember," "They Were You" and "Soon It's Gonna Rain," the production's run will also feature a special "Martini Night" on Valentine's weekend.

Running concurrently upstairs in theotherspace will be Mark St. Germain's hilarious and heartwarming play DANCING LESSONS, concerning the relationship between a young man with Asperger's syndrome and the injured Broadway dancer who is teaching him to dance.

During the month of March, Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning classic A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE will bring some of the most iconic dramatic moments seen on the Modern Stage to the Roxy Regional Theatre; while the month of April will breathe to life Ray Bradbury's classic dystopian tale about the dangers of censorship, FAHRENHEIT 451.

In celebration of his 10th Anniversary with the Roxy Regional Theatre, Executive Director Ryan Bowie will present the autobiographical musical DON'T CALL ME GERALD upstairs in theotherspace at the end of the month and into May. Chronicling his journey from "one-hit wonder to two-bit townie," Bowie will reminisce about his time portraying over 100 characters in countless wigs in the hilarious fashion only he can produce.

At the end of May, students from the Roxy Regional School of the Arts will bring BYE BYE BIRDIE, JR. to the mainstage. A loving musical send-up of the early 1960s, small-town America, teenagers and rock 'n' roll, the musical will feature students ages 10 to 18 who have participated in the youth drama program during the school year.

The Little Sisters of Hoboken -- that is, the five remaining nuns after their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, accidentally poisons the other fifty-two -- will put on a variety show to raise money for the burials in the zany musical comedy NUNSENSE, playing next June.

Oscar Wilde's comedy THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST will bring some of the best loved, and indeed bizarre, archetypes to be found on the Modern Stage in July of 2020. The story of two bachelors who create alter egos named Ernest to escape their tiresome lives, the play follows their attempts to win the hearts of two women while struggling to keep up with their own stories amidst deception, disguise and misadventure.

Capping off Season 37 next August will be the rousing sure-fire musical ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. Featuring the songs of Irving Berlin, the musical follows the rise of sharpshooter Annie Oakley in Col. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and stands as a testament to female equality.

Tickets for all productions in the Roxy Regional Theatre's Season 37 will go on sale at 10:00am on Saturday, June 1. For reservations and additional information, please visit www.roxyregionaltheatre.org, call (931) 645-7699, or visit the box office between 9:00am and 2:00pm, Monday through Friday, and one hour prior to show times.

The Roxy Regional Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to producing professional live theatre and promoting the arts, with emphasis on education, in Clarksville, Middle Tennessee and the Southeast. The theatre is located at 100 Franklin Street in Historic Downtown Clarksville. For more information, visit www.roxyregionalthreatre.org.

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