It’s a slow time of the year to be a theater junkie—most theater companies take a recess in the summer months to prepare for the upcoming year. The silver lining? New season announcements! The Toledo Rep and The Village Players have announced their upcoming seasons, and they are both worth your attention.
The Rep’s 2014-15 season sports a few dark, underground plays as well as the prerequisite comedies and musicals. The first production, the lighthearted musical The Pirates of Penzance, opens Friday, September 12. After that it’s Detroit, a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist, performed for the first time at The Valentine Theater’s Studio A on Friday, October 10. For two weekends in November, starting Friday the 7th, things will get dark at the rep with Laura, a classic thriller that was made into a beloved film noir. Of course The Valentine will once again host A Christmas Carol the weekend of December 5. On Friday, January 16, the ghostly romantic comedy Blithe Spirit will ring in the new year. For Valentine’s Day weekend, the rep will host All Aboard the Marriage Hearse, a dark comedy about tying the knot. On Friday, March 20, once again in Studio A, the rep will present The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, a postmodern biblical drama originally directed by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. On Friday, April 10, the rep will try its hand at Shakespeare’ beloved comedy The Taming of the Shrew before closing out the season throughout June with the company’s first-ever production of the musical South Pacific.
10th Street Theater, 16 10th St. 419-243-9277. toledorep.org
Not to be outdone, The Village Players has also announced a varied season, beginning on Friday, September 5, with Quartet, a dramedy about aging opera stars that became a popular hit in Finland in 2000. Then, on Friday, November 7, the company will present The Heiress, based on Henry James’ novel, Washington. The Village Players’ first play of 2015, the Tony Award-nominated drama Good People, will be followed by the middle-aged hookup treatise, Looking, on Friday, March 6. To cap the season off, the month of May, beginning Friday 8, will bring Clue: the Musical, based off the seminal board game as well as the cult-classic film comedy.
The Village Players Theatre, 2740 Upton Ave. 419-472-6827. thevillageplayers.org.jpg)
