During the 2015 season, Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre will present three musicals new to the SSMT stage — “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “The Addams Family” and “The Wiz” — and conclude with a perennial family favorite, “The Music Man.”
Performances are at 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and matinee performances are at 2:30 p.m., every Saturday and Sunday. Matinees are also performed every second Wednesday:
- Wednesday, June 17, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
- Wednesday, July 1, “The Addams Family”
- Wednesday, July 15, “The Wiz”
- Wednesday, July 29, “The Music Man”
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, is a musical farce set in ancient Rome, featuring a crafty slave, his young master, a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan, and a plot full of twists, turns, mistaken identities, slamming doors, and a showgirl or two. It is based on the plays of Plautus.
The production runs from Thursday, June 11, through Sunday, June 21. It is directed by Jonathan Flom, with music direction by Thomas Albert and choreography by Edward Carignan.
From Thursday, June 25, through Sunday, July 5, SSMT will present “The Addams Family,” with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Charles Addams’ kooky, spooky cartoon family is brought to life as Morticia and Gomez fret over daughter Wednesday, who invites her new boyfriend and his “normal” family to visit, with comically chaotic results.
The production is directed by Carolyn Coulson, with music direction by Karen Keating and choreography by Edward Carignan.
There will be no performances of “The Addams Family” on Saturday, July 4. For the convenience of Saturday matinee subscribers, a 2:30 p.m. performance has been added on Thursday, July 2.
“The Wiz,” with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown, is presented from Thursday, July 9, through Sunday, July 19. It is a reimagining of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” and the 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This beloved Broadway musical sets Dorothy’s adventures in the Land of Oz to music in a dazzling, lively mixture of rock, gospel and soul.
The production is directed and choreographed by Edward Carignan, with music direction by Matthew J. Pool.
The 2015 SSMT season closes with “The Music Man,” with music, lyrics and book by Meredith Willson, from Thursday, July 23, through Sunday, Aug. 2. Based on a story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey, fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill comes to River City, Iowa, to con the townspeople into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band. His plan to skip town with the cash is foiled when he falls for the town librarian, Marian.
The production is directed by Robin Higginbotham, with music direction by Karen Keating and choreography by Robyn Schroth.
The 2015 season features a revised performance schedule and a streamlined pricing structure. Single tickets and new subscriptions are now on sale. To purchase tickets, click here (there is a $2 per ticket charge for online purchases); you may also call the box office at (540) 665-4569 or (877) 580-8025 (toll free). The box office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. as well as two hours prior to performances.
Individual rates for all performances are as follows: adult, $30; senior (62 and over), $25; child (13 and under), $15. Subscription rates are as follows: adult, $100; senior (62 and over), $85; child (13 and under), $50. For special rates/group sales, please call (540) 665-4545.
About Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre:
In 1984, then-Producing Artistic Director Harold Herman founded Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, a professional summer stock theatre company, on the campus of Shenandoah University. Herman’s goals were to provide affordable, fully-staged family entertainment in the community of Winchester/Frederick County and to give Shenandoah Conservatory’s students the opportunity to work in a professional setting before venturing out to pursue their own careers.
Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre produces four Broadway musicals each summer in the beautiful 630-seat Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre on the campus of Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. Eleven performances are given of each musical over a two-week period, drawing audiences from a 150-mile radius with groups traveling in from as far away as Ohio and North Carolina.
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