'LITTLE SHOP,' LAST FIVE YEARS & More Set for Sierra Stages' 8th Season

Four critically-acclaimed plays and musicals - "The Cripple of Inishmaan" by Martin McDonagh, "The Last Five Years" by Jason Robert Brown, "Little Shop of Horrors" by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, and "Dead Man's Cell Phone" by Sarah Ruhl - make up Sierra Stages' eighth season of presenting quality local theatre in western Nevada County.

Sierra Stages again is proud to offer an affordable Season Pass. Priced at only $80, the Sierra Stages 2016 Season Pass allows theatregoers to select any performance of "The Cripple of Inishmaan", "The Last Five Years", "Little Shop of Horrors", and "Dead Man's Cell Phone". Sierra Stages also invites everyone, including Season Pass holders, to become a Sierra Stages Member and support quality local theatre. Memberships begin at $35 per person and are tax deductible. Not only will Members have the satisfaction of helping support quality theatre, but with the purchase of a Season Pass, Members are able to reserve specific seat locations for all four productions. The Sierra Stages 2016 Season Pass (and Sierra Stages Memberships) may be purchased online at www.SierraStages.org or by calling Sierra Stages at 530-346-3210.

Sierra Stages is a nonprofit community theatre based in western Nevada County with a mission to provide quality productions that are affordable and accessible to everyone. Since it began seven years ago, Sierra Stages has presented twenty-six (26) plays and musicals and has been recognized by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance with six Elly Awards and 53 Elly Award nominations. The annual Elly Awards honor outstanding achievements of community theatres and artists in the greater Sacramento area. Sierra Stages performs at various local venues, including the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City and the Off Center Stage in Grass Valley.

The 2016 Season opens with an enchanting, dark comedy, "The Cripple of Inishmaan", playing from March 3 -19 at the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City. It's 1934 and the impoverished island community of Inishmaan, off the coast of Ireland, is dazzled by the "glitz and glamour" of Hollywood when a movie director visits to cast his upcoming film. "Cripple Billy", who would like nothing more than to leave the cliffs of Ireland and his tedious life behind for the hills of Hollywood, hitches a ride and auditions, not knowing how this journey would affect his life and the lives of everyone around him. "The Cripple of Inishmaan" is directed by Sharon Winegar and features local actors Alice Beloved, Chase Coney, Kim Ewing, Lois Ewing, John Gardiner, Ben Hedenland, Damiian Mario Lang, Ariana Rampy, and Robert Rossman. The set design is by Pamela Hodges, lighting design is by Erin Beatie, and costume design is by Paulette Gilbert.

The second show of the season is a small musical, "The Last Five Years", playing from April 28 through May 8 at the Off Center Stage in Grass Valley. From first date to final good-bye, "The Last Five Years" chronicles the highs and lows of modern marriage in an intimate, honest and richly moving musical portrait. Through the course of 14 songs, rising novelist Jamie and struggling actress Cathy separately tell their own account of their five-year relationship and explore their emotionally complex romance through beautifully haunting music and original, ingenious lyrics. Local actors Jonathan Hansard and Tinley Ireland make up the cast of two. Susan Mason directs, with musical direction by Ken Getz.

From July 14 through August 6 at the Nevada Theatre, Sierra Stages presents the devilishly delicious and ever-popular smash-hit musical "Little Shop of Horrors". Laced with dark humor and irresistible music, "Little Shop of Horrors" is one of the longest-running off-Broadway shows of all time. Seymour, a down-and-out floral assistant who longs to get the girl of his dreams and escape life on skid row, becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving that offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite. Robert Rossman directs, with musical direction by Ken Getz.

The final show of 2016 is the beguiling comedy, "Dead Man's Cell Phone", playing at the Off Center Stage in Grass Valley from September 28 through October 16. Jean is sleepwalking through her life until she answers a dead man's cell phone. It turns out to be a wake-up call that sends her on a date with the dead man's brother, a drinking binge with his wife, and a mysterious rendezvous with his mistress, not to mention trips to the afterlife and the black market. In this quirky modern adventure, Jean re-connects with her own spirit and learns that life is for the living. Sharon Winegar directs this imaginative play by MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Sarah Ruhl.

The Sierra Stages 2016 Season Pass may be purchased now through March 6 online at www.SierraStages.org or by calling Sierra Stages at 530-346-3210.

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