Sierra Repertory Presents Announces 2020 Season

Sierra Repertory Theatre is celebrating 41 years of continued artistic and entertainment excellence in Tuolumne County. The recently announced 2020 Season of plays and musicals has already seen an influx of Season Subscribers rushing to reserve their tickets.

In 1979, David and Kathryn Kahn, Doug Brennan, and Sara and Dennis Jones filled with drive, energy, and optimism sank everything they had into a dream of starting a professional nonprofit theatre in the heart of the Sierras. They transformed an empty beer warehouse on the outskirts of Sonora into a 99 seat theater with the goal of producing high quality shows while making a vibrant contribution to the community's economy, culture and spirit. Through the years, that first 99 seat theatre was expanded to 200 seats and Fallon House Theatre in Columbia Historic State Park became an additional performing venue. Sierra Rep has become a regional leader in the arts and is the only theatre in the area holding a year-around contract with Actors' Equity Association. In 2018, Sara and Dennis Jones retired from Sierra Rep and handed the reigns to longtime Artistic Director, Scott Viets. The theatre is now run by Viets as the Producing Artistic Director. Viets is supported by Jerry Lee, Associate Artistic Director/Marketing Director and Jeremy Blunt, the newly appointed Managing Director, and a staff of approximately 24 full and part time local employees.

Sierra Repertory Theatre's Legendary 2020 Season

Camelot February 29-April 12 @ East Sonora

Last seen in 2001 Music by Frederick Loewe; Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; Book Adapted by David Lee The legendary love triangle of King Arthur, Guenevere and Sir Lancelot leaps from the pages of T.H. White's novel in Lerner and Loewe's award-winning, soaring musical.

The Church Basement Ladies in The Last (Potluck) Supper March 27-May 3 @ Fallon House

Sierra Rep premiere Music and Lyrics by Drew Jansen; Written by Greta Grosch It's 1979, the day of the church's Centennial Celebration. Times are tough in this small farm community, and hard decisions will have to be made. Once again, the ladies handle it all with grace, hilarity and more crazy antics.

Snow in Midsummer May 8-31 @ East Sonora

Sierra Rep premiere by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig A wealthy businesswoman visits a parched, locust-plagued city to take over an ailing factory. When her daughter is tormented by a mysterious apparition, locals are forced to face a past that no one wants to remember.

Disney's The Little Mermaid June 12-August 2 @ Fallon House

Sierra Rep premiere Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater; Book by Doug Wright

In a magical kingdom beneath the sea, the beautiful young mermaid, Ariel, longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above.

Little Shop of Horrors July 17-August 23 @ East Sonora

Last seen in 2003 Music by Alan Menken; Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman Seymour, a florist's clerk, buys and nourishes a Venus fly trap-like plant that grows big enough to devour everything in its path.

Stage Kiss September 4-27 @ Fallon House | Sierra Rep premiere by Sarah Ruhl

When two actors with a history are thrown together as romantic leads in a 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with reality as the story onstage follows them offstage.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum September 25-October 25 @ East Sonora

Last seen in 1994 Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart Sondheim's joyous, musical romp through Rome has desperate lovers, scheming neighbors and secrets behind every toga.

Elf The Musical November 6-December 20 @ Fallon House | Sierra Rep premiere

Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin; Book by Thomas Meehan & Bob Martin Based on the beloved holiday film, this hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy follows Buddy the Elf in his quest to find his true identity.

Meet Me in St. Louis: A Live Radio Play November 20-December 20 @ East Sonora

Sierra Rep premiere Songs by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane; Book by Hugh Wheeler; Adapted by Joe Landry Presented as a radio play, this nostalgic tale follows the four Smith daughters as they come of age in the year leading up to the 1904 World's Fair.

Sierra Rep's 2020 Cabaret Series

A Tribute to The Beatles February 7-23 @ The Annex at East Sonora A tribute to the music of our favorite Four Lads.

70's Sirens: Carly, Karen, Janis June 5-14 @ The Annex at East Sonora A celebration of music from Carly Simon, Karen Carpenter, Janis Joplin and more!

A Tribute to Roy Orbison August 28-September 6 @ The Annex at East Sonora A tribute to the dozens of hits from illustrious singer, songwriter and guitarist Roy Orbison.

Season Subscriptions and single tickets for 2020 are already on sale on Sierra Rep's website or by calling or visiting the East Sonora Box Office Tuesdays-Saturdays between 11am and 5pm.

"We are so excited about the work we have coming up for us," says Jerry Lee, newly appointed Associate Artistic Director for Sierra Rep. "I keep calling our upcoming season our Legendary Season for two reasons. The obvious answer is that we have some really amazing stories coming up. Camelot is based on Arthurian legend; Snow in Midsummer is a brilliant new play based on a Chinese legend called The Injustice of Dou E, which is one of the oldest Chinese texts; The Little Mermaid, of course, comes from Hans Christian Andersen's take on the ancient legends of sirens and mermaids; Little Shop of Horrors is a fun and upbeat riff on the Faustian legend; ...Forum takes us all the way back to Ancient Rome in this hilarious send-up of the classic farces of Platus. Even our celebrated Church Basement Ladies delight us with (possibly embellished) legends of Church picnics and socials gone by. We wanted to find a collection of plays with strong heroes that we can root for and characters that reflect our diverse audience.

"The other answer is that what we do here in Sonora and Columbia is nothing short of legendary. For our community to support a professional theatre company of our size that brings in 120 artists from around the country every year is astonishing. I've said it a million times, what made me fall in love with SRT is the community around it. SRT is a singular phenomenon made possible by our ticket buyers, subscribers, students, donors, artists, housing hosts, volunteers and staff. I take great pride in what we are able to accomplish here and I believe that all our programming reflects just how awesome our community is."

Alongside the mainstage and cabaret offerings, we are pleased to continue our educational program called SRT Jr. Previously this year, SRT Jr. offered the area's student actors two studio workshops and a summer workshop production of The Wizard of Oz (Youth Version) which ran for one weekend after the professional production closed. Young actors were given the opportunity to perform under Sierra Rep's professionally designed scenery and lighting. SRT Jr. will continue next year with studio workshops and an all-youth production of Disney's The Little Mermaid for one weekend after the Mainstage summer production.

Sierra Rep will continue to offer new community programming in the 2019 Season, including a revised in-school program called SRT in Schools. The program is geared towards elementary school ages. Our professional actors will travel to local schools to present a 45-minute play and then offer a question and answer session after the performance. SRT in Schools titles are offered to Tuolumne County based schools absolutely free of charge through grants from Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation, Sonora Area Foundation, and all SRT Education Sponsors. In the spring, SRT in Schools will present Peter Rabbit. To learn more about scheduling an SRT in Schools performance at your school, please contact Jerry Lee, Marketing Director, at (209) 532-0502, ext. 105. The theatre is also excited to bring back Wine Down Friday events as well as Community Nights for select performances (Teachers night, Ladies night, Pride night, etc.).

Sierra Repertory Theatre is a professional non-profit theater located in California's beautiful Sierra Nevada Foothills. Since 1980, Sierra Rep has focused on its original mission: to present audiences with a broad range of theatrical literature at the highest production quality possible; to pay artists and staff a living wage and to make a vibrant contribution to our community's economy, culture and spirit. Sierra Repertory Theatre is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

For more information about Sierra Repertory Theatre and upcoming shows, please visit www.SierraRep.org or call the box office at (209) 532-3120.

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