ART, SPRING AWAKENING, CINDERELLA and More Set for Raleigh Little Theatre's 2013-14 Season

Raleigh Little Theatre (RLT) previously announced its 2013-2014 season, which will include two area premieres, revive the popular City Series of Contemporary Theatre, and celebrate 30 years of a holiday classic in Cinderella.

"How can a season of theatre that includes two exciting new musicals, Yasmina Reza's Tony Award winning comedy, Art, and Noel Coward's classic drawing-room comedy, Blithe Spirit, fail to excite?" said Haskell Fitz-Simons, Artistic Director.

In the City Series, Spring Awakening, a Tony Award winner from 2007, will be performed in the Sutton Theatre in October. Based on the provocative 1892 play by Frank Wedekind, the action centers around naïve young students who, given no help from their parents or teachers, are left to discover the facts of life on their own, to poignant and often tragic results. Many have called it "Rent for the next generation."

Also an area premiere, RLT will present the compelling musical drama, Caroline, or Change, with a script by Tony Award winner, Tony Kushner, and by Janine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek the Musical, as well as the film scores for Nights in Rodanthe). This emotionally charged musical is set in 1963 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, during the birth of the American civil rights movement.

RLT has refashioned its offerings on the heels of a season in which attendance has exceeded 85% of capacity and the Theatre received the 2012 Community Theatre Award from NCTC. While maintaining the popular Sutton Series, RLT will also offer a City Series of two plays, presenting contemporary theater titles.

"What we noticed is that, when we offer more modern and challenging work, many frequent theater-goers will come, but we can also attract a younger demographic. RLT has a long tradition of performing plays which appeal to a multi-generational audience. At the same time, we want to maintain the relationship with audience members who want family-friendly entertainment, which is available through the Sutton and Youth Series," said Charles Phaneuf, Executive Director.

The Youth Series in 2013-14 will include a holiday story based on a popular children's book (Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!), a fable about self-expression and creativity (OPQRS, etc.), and a musical based on a classic fairy tale (Pinocchio). Peter Hall's adaptation of Animal Farm will be presented by the conservatory Teens on Stage program, now in its 29th year, in July.

Cinderella celebrates her 30th anniversary in December of 2013, and will once again delight audiences old and young with a mix of comedy and music. Another offering from Actors Comedy Lab will round out the City Series in Charles Busch's The Divine Sister, a send-up of nearly every Hollywood movie involving nuns.

Membership packages are now on sale and are available by visiting raleighlittletheatre.org or calling (919) 821-3111. Single tickets for Animal Farm are also available, and single tickets for the remainder of the season offerings will go on sale July 1.

Sutton Series:
Two classic plays and one which will soon be a classic. See three shows, two with reserved seating in the Cantey V. Sutton Theatre and one with reserved seating in the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre.

Art (comedy)

By Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre (Reserved seating)
TONIGHT, September 6 - 29, 2013

How would you feel if your best friend did something so incredibly stupid that it made you doubt your friendship? Lines are drawn and old friends square off when one purchases a canvas that is, in essence, a pure white painting. As their arguments become less theoretical and more personal, they border on destroying their friendships. Newsweek called Reza "fiendishly clever" with "writing that sounds like a marriage of Moliere and Woody Allen."

Caroline, or Change (musical drama)

Book & lyrics by Tony Kushner, music by Jeanine Tesori
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre (Reserved seating)
February 14 - March 2, 2014

This Tony-nominated musical centers on Caroline Thibodeaux, a divorced African-American maid and Noah Gellman, the eight-year-old son of the Jewish family for whom she works. Set in 1963 Louisiana against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, Kennedy's assassination, and the Vietnam War, blues, gospel, and traditional Jewish melodies blend together to create a breathtaking medium for Kushner's provocative and personal story of political change, social change, and pocket change.

Blithe Spirit (comedy)

By Noel Coward
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre (Reserved seating)
June 6 - 22, 2014

A novelist invites an eccentric medium and clairvoyant to his house to conduct a séance for research for his next book. The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his temperamental first wife. She attempts to disrupt his marriage to his second wife, who cannot see or hear her. Having held the record for the longest-running, non-musical British play in the West End from 1941-1957, Coward's work has been adapted to film, musical, television, and radio.

City Series:
Contemporary theater, which often incorporates adult language and themes. Attend two shows, one with reserved seating in the Cantey V. Sutton Theatre and one with reserved seating in the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre.

Spring Awakening (musical drama)

Book & lyrics by Steven Sater, music by Duncan Sheik
Based on the play by Frank Wedekind
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre (Reserved seating)
October 4 - 27, 2013

A rock-and-roll take on a story of teenagers in late-19th century Germany discovering the inner and outer tumult of sexuality. Originally banned in Germany because of its frank portrayal of mature and visceral content, this Tony-winning musical weaves a coming-of-age story with a ravishing musical score. The New York Times described it as "haunting and electrifying," and many have called it "Rent for the next generation."

The Divine Sister (comedy)

By Charles Busch
Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre (Reserved seating)
January 17 - February 2, 2014

An outrageous comic homage to nearly every Hollywood film involving nuns. St. Veronica's indomitable Mother Superior is determined to build a new school for her convent. Along the way, she has to deal with a young postulant who is experiencing "visions," sexual hysteria among her nuns, a sensitive schoolboy in need of mentoring, a mysterious nun visiting from the Mother House in Berlin, and a former suitor intent on luring her away from her vows.

Special shows:
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of our annual holiday tradition, and/or join us for the Teens On Stage production of a classic fable, brought to life through puppetry and music.

Animal Farm (musical drama)

Adapted by Peter Hall, music by Richard Peaslee, lyrics by Adrian Mitchell
From the book by George Orwell
Presented by Raleigh Little Theatre Teens on Stage
Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre (General admission)
July 19 - 28, 2013

George Orwell's cautionary tale of a revolution gone wrong springs to life in this stunning adaptation by Peter Hall. Starved, neglected, and abused, the animals of Manor Farm stage a revolution, establish a system of equality, and adopt the Seven Commandments of Animalism. The revolution is soon betrayed by power-hungry pigs who alter the commandments and eventually obliterate all but one: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

Cinderella (holiday musical)

Based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault, adaptation and lyrics by Jim Eiler.
Music by Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy.
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre (Reserved seating)
December 6 - 21, 2013

This musical comedy is a holiday sugarplum for the whole family. Just the right mixture of comedy and romance to add the sparkle of magic to your holiday season. A visually stunning musical combining elegant costumes and scenery with song, dance, conniving step-relatives and resourceful fairy-folk. Performed in the Cantey V. Sutton Theatre with reserved seating.

Youth Series:
Attend three shows, two with general admission seating in the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre and one with reserved seating in the Cantey V. Sutton Theatre.

Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (holiday comedy)

By Allison Gregory, adapted from the book by Barbara Park
Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre (General admission)
November 1 - 17, 2013

It's holiday time, and first-grade classroom One is doing lots of fun things to celebrate, like making elf costumes and singing joyful songs! Only, how can Junie B. enjoy the festivities when Tattletale May keeps ruining her holiday glee? The worst part of all is when everyone picks names for Secret Santa, and Junie B. gets stuck with Tattletale you-know-who! It's enough to fizzle your holiday spirit, or is it? Maybe, just maybe, a Secret Santa gift is the perfect opportunity to give May exactly what she deserves.

OPQRS, Etc. (fanciful fable)

By Madge Miller
Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre (General admission)
March 14 - 30, 2014

An original fable based on the fallacy that one color is superior to another. Even the alphabet suffers in Ottoville, ruled by a ridiculous dictator, Otto the Offical. He decrees that orange is the only acceptable hue. The townspeople are further cowed by wearing labels that tell them how to behave: Peter the Prudent, Quilla the Quiet, Stacia the Silly. Only Rozelle the Rebellious refuses to conform and dares to bring a blue flower into Otto's orange world. It takes the arrival of an artist, loving all the tints of the rainbow, to paint Otto in his true colors!

Pinocchio (musical)

Book & lyrics by Arnold Wengrow. Music by Nicky Rea & Jackie Cassada.
Based on the story by Carlo Collodi.
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre (Reserved seating)
April 18 - May 4, 2014

A lively musical version of Carlo Collodi's classic tale about a willful little wooden marionette who runs away from the carpenter, Gepetto, and straight into one fantastic adventure after another. On his journey, Pinocchio joins a troupe of commedia-style marionettes, loses his gold coin to a cunning fox and cat, meets the Magical Blue Fairy, and makes a thrilling escape from the Land of Ease, where lazy boys turn into donkeys. With lessons learned, Pinocchio returns to the arms of his father and the realization that he has become a real boy.

Raleigh Little Theatre is located at 301 Pogue St., Raleigh, N.C. 27607, adjacent to the Raleigh Rose Garden.

Begun in 1936, Raleigh Little Theatre is now one of the oldest continuously operating community theatres in the country. RLT offers entertainment, education and community programs year-round that reach about 30,000 people. As a community theatre, RLT engages hundreds of volunteers under the guidance of professional staff to achieve its mission and bring quality live theatre to the Triangle region. Visit www.raleighlittletheatre.org for more information. Follow Raleigh Little Theatre on Twitter @RLT1936 and on Facebook at facebook.com/RaleighLittleTheatre.

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