The Tower Theater 2012-2013 Mainstage Season
Into The Woods
What happens after Happily Ever After, after all?
An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding Hood? A Witch...who raps? They're all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning, fractured fairy tale, INTO THE WOODS. When a Baker and his Wife learn they've been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk). Everyone's wish is granted at the end of Act One, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later, with disastrous results. What begins as a musical retelling of the Grimm classics becomes a parade of familiar folktale figures trying to find their way Into the Woods, and try to get home before dark. One of Sondheim's most popular works, INTO THE WOODS is a timeless, yet relevant, piece you won't want to miss.
Come along with some of your favorite fairy-tale characters as they pursue what they believe will allow them to live “happily ever after.” Observe the lengths to which they are willing to go to get what they want. Watch as they reap the consequences of their actions and ultimately recognize the necessity for community responsibility. You may change your mind about the presumed innocence in the tales we tell our children.
- September 21, 22, 28, 29, October 5*, 6 - 7:30pm
- September 22 - 2:00pm
- September 30, October 7 - 2:30pm
- Tickets go on sale August 20. Regular ticket prices apply.
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Warning: Not recommended for children under the age of 8 due to scary situations and characters.
The Glass Menagerie
In Tennessee Williams' classic autobiographical play, poet and dreamer Tom Wingfield weaves truth and imagination to conjure up his younger self and the family he escaped long ago. Life in the Wingfield household chafes: his overbearing mother Amanda yearns for the glamour of her past; his fragile, shy sister, Laura, believes happiness is out of reach; and young Tom fights to realize his dreamed-for future.
When Tom invites a young man of his acquaintance to take dinner with the family, their illusions seem to come true, until their best laid plans come crashing down around them. Jim, the caller, is a nice ordinary fellow who is at once pounced upon by Amanda as a possible husband for Laura. In spite of her crude and obvious efforts to entrap the young man, he and Laura manage to get along very nicely, and momentarily Laura is lifted out of herself into a new world. But her momentary respite is cast to the wayside when Jim explains that he is already engaged. The world of illusion that Amanda and Laura have striven to create in order to make life bearable collapses.
Tennessee Williams’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE, a beloved classic, is an endearing, yet heartbreaking, portrait of the fragile Wingfield family. Tom aspires to untether himself from his family to become a writer, as his genteel mother, Amanda, worries about the future prospects of his shy and sensitive sister, Laura. Considered by many to be one of the greatest American plays, we see a glimpse into a family searching for a path to security after a long and embarrassing detour of family hardship.
- October 26, 27, November 1, 2*, 3 - 7:30pm
- October 27, November 3 - 2:00pm
- October 28 - 2:30pm
- Tickets go on sale August 20. Regular ticket prices apply.
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Warning: Not recommended for children under the age of 10 due to intensity of domestic drama.
She Loves Me
SHE LOVES ME is said by many to be the perfect musical - warm and funny, with what's considered one of the most beautiful scores in American theatre history, by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick (FIDDLER ON THE ROOF). Acclaimed since its 1963 premiere and rediscovered in a hit 1993 Broadway revival, SHE LOVES ME has captivated audiences for decades.
This romantic comedy is the story of two lovesick, anonymous pen pals, Georg and Amalia, who work together during the day, blissfully unaware that they are writing to each other at night. An endearing tale of unlikely sweethearts and the eccentric colleagues who aid and abet them, SHE LOVES ME is based on Parfumerie, the play that also inspired the Jimmy Stewart classic The Shop Around the Corner, and the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan film You've Got Mail.
Funny, intelligent, honest and sentimental, SHE LOVES ME is a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance and nostalgia, yet as universal and relevant as ever in this age of internet romances.
- November 30, December 1, 7*, 8 - 7:30pm
- December 1, 8 - 2:00pm
- December 2, 9 - 2:30pm
- Tickets go on sale October 1. Regular ticket prices apply.
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Warning: Not recommended for children under the age of 10 due to some subtle themes.
Carousel
Liberty University's Department of Theatre Arts is proud to present for the first time ever on its stage the much-loved classic, CAROUSEL. Set in a small New England seaside town, CAROUSEL follows the love story of Billy Bigelow, a smooth-talking carnival barker, and Julie Jordan, a shy, yet spunky, local factory worker. After much suffering along the journey to find true love, Billy tragically loses his life during an unfortunate desperate decision. Granted one more day with the wife and daughter lost to him, Billy attempts to instill in his family the sense of hope and dignity that he was never able to find. Forging new territory into the world of musical theatre storytelling, Rodgers and Hammerstein have written what is considered by many to be their best musical in the history of the stage. Even if you've never seen CAROUSEL, you will still recognize many of the sweeping, show-stopping melodies from the score, including: If I Loved You, June is Bustin' Out All Over, and You'll Never Walk Alone.
So, mark your calendars now, and invite your friends for a night of beautiful music, transformative redemption, and the dramatic testimony to the power of love.
- February 15, 16, 21, 22*, 23 - 7:30pm
- February 16, 23 - 2:00pm
- February 17 - 2:30pm
- Tickets go on sale December 3. Regular ticket prices apply.
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Warning: Not recommended for children under the age of 12 due to subtle adult themes.
All My Sons
In Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning drama, ALL MY SONS, one of America’s greatest playwrights weaves a tragic story about two families torn apart in the aftermath of World War II.
Joe Keller is alleged to have supplied World War II fighter planes with defective engines, leading to the deaths of innocent pilots - a crime for which his business partner took the fall. One of Keller's sons, himself a pilot, is thought to have been killed in action, but his mother can't accept his death, and equally can't accept that her dead son's fiancee has transferred her affections to her other son. The confrontations that ensue unleash a flood of family secrets and hidden skeletons that will forever change both families.
Miller’s gripping tale of corporate greed versus social responsibility remains as electrifying today as when first presented in 1947, exploring the moral questions: what are we responsible for and who are we responsible to in a time of war?
- March 1, 2, 4*, 5 - 7:30pm
- March 2 - 2:00pm
- March 3 - 2:30pm
- Tickets go on sale December 3. Regular ticket prices apply.
- ASL interpretation provided Sunday, March 3 at 2:30pm.
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Not recommended for children under the age of 12 due to intensity of domestic drama and some subtle themes.
Tarzan
Audiences of all ages will marvel as the jungle comes to life in the Alluvion Stage Company's performance of TARZAN, the musical based on the popular 1999 Disney film and beloved story by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
This classic tale unfolds in early 1900’s as a shipwreck leaves an infant orphaned on the West African shore. The helpless baby is taken under the protection of a gorilla tribe and becomes part of their family. When he eventually encounters his first human, Jane Porter, both of their worlds transform forever. TARZAN features the songs from Disney's film as well as many new songs written specifically for the Broadway production. The show's Grammy Award-winning musical score, written by singer/songwriter Phil Collins, including the Grammy and Oscar winning song, "You'll Be in My Heart", sets the jungle beat for this high flying musical, making TARZAN a “must see" show for the Spring of 2013.
- April 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27, May 3*, 4, 11 - 7:30pm
- April 13, 20, May 4 - 2:00pm
- April 14, 28, May 12 - 3:00pm
- April 16, 29 - 10:00am - Open to school groups only. Please call (434)582-7080 for more information.
- ASL interpretation provided Sunday, April 14 and Sunday, April 28 at 3pm.
- Tickets go on sale February 4. Alluvion Stage Company ticket prices apply.
A * indicates a Talkback performance. At the conclusion of these performances, there will be an open Q&A with the director, designers, and selected actors. Talkbacks are free and open to the public. You are not required to attend the production to attend Talkback.
