'ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN', BIG LOVE, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and More Set for Randolph Academy's 23rd Season

During the Randolph Academy's 23rd season of shows, audiences will cheer on unlikely leading ladies, fall in love with even less likely leading men, celebrate the antihero and give the underdog a fighting chance. It's all about transformation this season, which kicks off March 17, 2015, with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

"We will tell those stories that change us as people, shift our point of view, and urge us to postulate around the possibility of probability," says Artistic Director Darlene Spencer. "The stories will delight, surprise, and shock in their candid frankness-stories that remind us that growing-up and otherwise-is a journey of curiosity and questioning, and not always finding answers."

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The 2015 line-up features:

Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard (March 17-21) - Two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet get a chance to take the lead role, but in a world where reality and illusion intermix and where fate leads them to a tragic but inevitable end. This modern dramatic masterpiece won a Tony Award and NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play

Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker (March 31-April 4) - A group of thieves, whores and ruffians in an 18th-century Australian penal colony set out to perform a sparkling Restoration comedy under the direction of the idealistic Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark. Amid the setbacks, including illiterate actors, missed rehearsals due to flogging, food shortages, and the threat of his leading lady being hanged before opening night, Clark soldiers on and the convicts reveal their true and better selves under the civilizing influence of theatrical endeavor.

Big Love by Charles L. Mee (July 1-12/Toronto Fringe Festival) - Is it the wedding of the year or the ultimate battle of the sexes? In this modern take on Aeschylus' tragedy Suppliants, 50 sisters escape to a manor in Italy to avoid marrying their 50 cousins. Denied sanctuary, they make a desperate pact.

Spring Awakening with music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, and based on the original play by Frank Wedekind (July 30-August 8) - In this landmark Tony Award-winning musical, a group of teenagers make their way through a tumultuous journey from youth to adulthood. Set in late-nineteenth century Germany, this coming-of-age drama celebrates rebellion with an electrifying fusion of morality, sexuality and rock & roll.

The Addams Family (December 1-5) with book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, and based on characters created by Charles Addams - Charles Addams' iconic cartoon family comes to weird and wonderful life in a magnificently macabre new musical comedy that examines ideas of love, family, and what it means to be normal.

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All shows take place in the Annex Theatre, except Spring Awakening which will play in the Randolph Theatre. Casts feature students in their final year of professional training in the Randolph Academy's Triple Threat college program.

Tickets for all shows except Big Love are available at Ticketmaster.ca or by calling 1-855-985-2787. For Big Love, check www.fringetoronto.com for showtimes and tickets.

Founded by George C. Randolph Jr., the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit educational institution providing world-class performing arts training to young artists. Distinguished faculty and entertainment industry professionals shape Triple Threat skills of dancing, acting, and singing in a college program (registered as a private career college under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005), youth show choir program, and children's recreational program. Faculty and alumni have appeared on Stratford, Shaw, Mirvish, Broadway (New York) and West End (London) stages, as well as Hollywood (Los Angeles).

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