Theater Works Announces 2017-18 Season

(Peoria, AZ) Theater Works 2017-18 season sees the return of lauded composers, masterful writers and classic tales come to life. In keeping with tradition, Theater Works presents another Stephen Sondheim musical, this time to open the 32^nd Season.  Gypsy is one of the greatest musicals of all time, telling the story of the quintessential “Stage Mother”, Frankenstein brings to life Mary Shelley’s tale of Creature and his journey to find his creator followed by the collision of happy hour and friendships in Savannah Sipping Society. To celebrate the holidays, Theater Works resurrects the tale of an old miser in A Christmas Carol.  The New Year kicks off with a musical surrounding the unsung heroes of Broadway in A Chorus Line followed by the deliciously funny revue Forever Plaid.  

The YouthWorks season opens with a sweet tale of the Aviator and his companion in The Little Prince followed by the musical trailing a little redhead on her adventures in Annie Jr. The winter comes to life with the magic and mystery of CS Lewis’s famous chronicle The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe in January. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the irresistible family musical, closes the YouthWorks season.

The 2017-18 MasterWorks Season includes:

Gypsy

Gyder Theater

September 8-24, 2017

Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Arthur Laurents

One of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time, Gypsy and its phenomenal Overture is recognizable to all theatre fans. The show is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, Gypsy tells the story of the dreams and efforts of one hungry, powerhouse of a woman to get her two daughters into show business.  The memoir and the musical focus on the story of Gypsy Rose Lee’s mother, Rose, and earned Rose a place in the theatrical and literary canon as the quintessential, archetypal “Stage Mother.” The musical features songs that have become standards of the musical theatre canon, including “Some People,” “Let Me Entertain You,” “Rose’s Turn,” and the show-stopping, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”.

Frankenstein

Gyder Theater

October 13-29, 2017

by Victor Gialanella

Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’s lost and bewildered Creature is cast out in a hostile world by his horror-struck creator.   Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the friendless Creature, increasingly desperate and vengeful, determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal.  This brilliant adaptation of Mary Shelly’s thrilling and deeply disturbing classic take raises urgent issues of scientific responsibility, parental neglect, cognitive development and the nature of good and evil. 

Savannah Sipping Society

McMillin Theatre

October 27 - November 12, 2017

Book by Jamie Wooten, Jessie Jones, and Nicholas Hope

In this delightful, laugh-a-minute comedy, four unique Southern women, all needing to escape the sameness of their day-to-day routines, are drawn together by Fate—and an impromptu happy hour—and decide it’s high time to reclaim the enthusiasm for life they’ve lost through the years. Over the course of six months, filled with laughter, hilarious misadventures, and the occasional liquid refreshment, these middle-aged women successfully bond and find the confidence to jumpstart their new lives. Together, they discover lasting friendships and a renewed determination to live in the moment—and most importantly, realize it’s never too late to make new old friends. A funny, brash and crowd-pleasing comedy from the authors of Dixie Swim Club and Mama Won’t Fly is sure to be hit!

A Christmas Carol

Gyder Theater

December 8-24, 2017

Theater Works resurrects our original production of the most well-known of all Holiday classics, Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol.  See the legendary transformation of an old miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions. Populated with cherished characters like Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim come to life with the magic only live theatre can create. Spend your holidays experiencing this traditional and magical production that shows us the meaning of Christmas.

A Chorus Line

Gyder Theater

February 16 - March 4, 2018

Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Edward Kleban, Book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante

This beloved and iconic musical by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante with a brilliant and show-stopping score by Marvin Hamlisch, is a celebration of those unsung heroes of the Musical Theatre, the chorus dancers, valiant, over- dedicated, underpaid and highly trained troopers who back up the star and often make them look more talented than they every musical on Broadway.  The characters portrayed in A Chorus Line are, based upon the real life experiences of Broadway dancers. This show is dedicated to anyone who has ever danced in a chorus or tread the boards, from high school to Broadway. 

*Signature Sponsor Constance McMillin

Forever Plaid

Gyder Theater 

March 30 – April 15, 2018

Book by Stuart Ross, Music and Lyrics by various artists

Forever Plaid is one of the most popular and successful musicals in recent memory. This deliciously fun revue is chock-full of classic barbershop quartet harmonies and pitch-perfect melodies!  Once upon a time, there were four guys (Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie) who discovered that they shared a love for music and then got together to become their idols – The Four Freshman, The Hi-Lo's and The Crew Cuts. Rehearsing in the basement of Smudge's family's plumbing supply company, they became "Forever Plaid". On the way to their first big gig, the "Plaids" are broadsided by a school bus and killed instantly. It is at the moment when their careers and lives end that the story of Forever Plaid begins...

The 2017-18 YouthWorks season:

The Little Prince

McMillin Theater

September 22-October 8, 2017

Drama by Rick Cummins and Joh Scoullar

This play tells the story of a world-weary and disenchanted Aviator whose sputtering plane strands him in the Sahara Desert and a mysterious, regal "little man" who appears and asks him to "Please, sir, draw me a sheep." During their two weeks together in the desert, the Little Prince tells the Aviator about his adventures through the galaxy, how he met the Lamplighter and the Businessman and the Geographer, and about his strained relationship with a very special flower on his own tiny planet. The Little Prince talks to everyone he meets: a garden of roses, the Snake and a Fox who wishes to be tamed. From each he gains a unique insight which he shares with the Aviator: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly." "What is essential is invisible to the eye." At length, both the "little man" and the Aviator must go home—each with a new understanding of how to laugh, cry, and love again.

Annie Jr

Gyder Theater

November 10-19, 2017

Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin, Book by Thomas Meehan

Based on the popular comic strip and adapted from the Tony Award®-winning Best Musical, with a beloved book and score by Tony Award®-winners, Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, Annie Jr. features everyone’s favorite little redhead in her very first adventure. With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone's hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. Annie is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of an orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan. Annie eventually foils Miss Hannigan's evil machinations, finding a new home and family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Gyder Theater

January 12-28, 2018

by CS Lewis, Dramatized by Joseph Robinette

The play adaptation of C.S. Lewis' classic, set in the land of Narnia, faithfully recreates the magic and mystery of Aslan, the great lion, his struggle with the White Witch, and the adventures of four children who inadvertently wander from an old wardrobe into the exciting, never-to-be-forgotten Narnia. The intense action features chases, duels and escapes as the witch is determined to keep Narnia in her possession and to end the reign of Aslan. All the memorable episodes from the story are represented in this exciting dramatization: the temptation of Edmund by the witch, the slaying of the evil wolf by Peter, the witnessing of Aslan's resurrection by Susan and Lucy, the crowing of the four new rulers of Narnia, and more. The supporting characters are also here: the unicorn, the centaur and other forest animals, along with Father Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and Tumnus the Faun. This story of love, faith, courage and giving, with its triumph of good over evil, is a true celebration of life.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Gyder Theater

May 4-20, 2018

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Tim Rice

One of the most enduring shows of all time, Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT is the irresistible family musical about the trials and triumphs of Joseph, Israel’s favorite son.  The saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors is brought to life in this delightful musical parable. Set to an engaging musical cornucopia of styles, country-western to calypso to bubble-gum pop and rock & roll, this tale emerges as both timely and timeless.

Theater Works offers a special thanks to its YouthWorks Season Sponsor Constance McMillin and our MasterWorks Season Sponsor Wilhelm Automotive and  its many other supporters that keep the performing arts active in the West Valley.

Season Subscriptions and Flex Passes are now available through the Box Office. The Theater Works Box Office can be reached at 623.815.7930 Monday - Friday 10am to 4pm.  Theater Works is located at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts (8355 W. Peoria Ave, Peoria).

Single performance tickets for Theater Works 32^nd Season will go on sale to the public on Friday, July 1, 2017.  For more information, visitwww.theaterworks.org.

Theater Works at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts is concluding its 31^st season of providing exceptional theater to the West Valley.  Theater Works is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to provide opportunities for children, patrons and artists to experience theater that inspires, enriches and enlightens through the experience of the performing arts.  Theater Works acts as the managing tenant for the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts which features more than 200 events a year including: live theater, classical concerts, jazz, popular music, dance, comedy, cultural events, festivals, youth and adult education classes and much more. For more information, call 623.815.7930 or visit www.theaterworks.org.