OCTA Announces 41st Season: SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK LIVE, GOOD PEOPLE, and More

The Olathe Civic Theatre Association (OCTA) Board of Directors has announced its 41st season for 2015-2016, unveiling a balance of genres and directors that promise to propel the theatre into the next phase of its success.

"Building on the success of the current season, OCTA is entering its fifth decade of producing exceptional theatre in Johnson County with a slate of productions that ranges from family-friendly fare to cutting edge Kansas City premieres," Ted Collins, OCTA Board President, said. "Additionally, OCTA is thrilled to be working with established directors and creative teams from across the region, several of whom are new to our theatre."

The 2015-16 season lineup is as follows:

School House Rock Live! September 11 - 27, 2015
Book by Scott Ferguson and Kyle Hall and George Keating. Music and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Bob Dorough and Dave Frishberg and Kathy Mandry and George Newall and Tom Yohe.
Directed by Shelly Stewart Banks
The Emmy Award-winning 1970s Saturday morning cartoon series that taught history, grammar, math, science and politics through clever, tuneful songs is not only making a small-screen comeback, instructing a whole new generation to "Unpack Your Adjectives" and "Do The Circulations," it's lighting up stages everywhere!

Good People, November 6 - 22, 2015
By David Lyndsay-Abaire, Directed by Robert Fletcher
This insightful comedy follows Margie, a tough middle-aged "Southie" from the wrong part of Boston, who loses her job and is one Bingo game away from homelessness. In desperation and at the prodding of her loyal friends, Margie reaches out to an old flame from her youth-now a successful doctor for help. Margie risks all as she tries to find a fresh start. This recent Broadway hit, from the author of Rabbit Hole, is darkly funny and surprisingly touching.

Dogfight, February 19 - March 6, 2016
Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Book by Peter Duchan, based on the Warner Bros. film and screenplay by Bob Comfort, Directed by Craig Fisher
A young soldier learns the power of compassion when he plays a cruel joke on an unsuspecting girl in this hauntingly beautiful musical. Based on the 1991 Warner Brothers film, Dogfight takes audiences on a romantic and heartbreaking theatrical journey that tells the story of three young Marines final night before their deployment to southeast Asia in 1963. But when Corporal Eddie Birdlace meets Rose, an awkward and idealistic waitress he enlists to win a cruel bet with his fellow recruits, she rewrites the rules of the game and teaches him the power of love and compassion.

No Sex Please, We're British, April 15 - May 1, 2016
By Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott, Directed by Bob Stewart
This door-slamming farce surrounds assistant bank manager Peter Hunter, who lives in a flat above his bank with his new bride Frances. When Frances innocently sends a mail order off for some Scandinavian glassware, what comes back is Scandinavian pornography. The two, along with the bank's frantic chief cashier Brian Runnicles, must decide what to do with the veritable floods of pornography, photographs, books, films and eventually girls that threaten to engulf this happy couple. The matter is considerably complicated by the presence of Eleanor (Peter's mother), Mr. Bromhead (his boss), Mr. Needham (a visiting bank inspector), and Vernon Paul (a police superintendent).

Arcadia, June 10 - 26, 2016
By Tom Stoppard , Directed by Barb Nichols
This thought-provoking 1993 play by Tom Stoppard concerns the relationship between past and present, order and disorder, certainty and uncertainty. It has been praised by many critics as the finest play from one of the most significant contemporary playwrights in the English language. All the action of the play is set in Sidley Park, an English country house in Derbyshire, and takes place in both 1809/1812 and the present day. The activities of two modern scholars and the house's current residents are contrasted with those of the people who lived there in the earlier period.

About the Olathe Civic Theatre Association
The Olathe Civic Theatre Association is an all-volunteer 501c3 organization producing theatre in Olathe since 1974. Performing in the historical Buddy Rogers Family Playhouse, OCTA produces five high-quality, engaging, and thought-provoking theatre productions a year.

Through the generosity of volunteers, season ticket holders, donors, city and community, in addition to a dedicated Board of Directors, OCTA has grown into one of the most successful and progressive community theaters in the entire Kansas City metropolitan area. For more information and our current season, please visit us at olathetheatre.org.

OCTA is a proud recipient of the KC Studio PerformArts 2014-15 series grant, underwritten by the Speas Memorial Trusts and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts in association with KCPT.

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