Selecting plays to fill a season is always a challenge, especially for local theaters. Budget may limit some choices, while audience's tastes and preferences may dictate others. Will a newer or lesser-known play sell enough tickets? Musicals are popular, but will the right voices show up for auditions? Will a well-known title guarantee a sold-out house, or has it already been done to death?
While there are no clear answers, Midlands theater-goers have a chance over the next couple months to see local renditions of some of the most popular shows in the American theater canon. Here are just a few:
"Harvey" at Workshop Theatre
Jan. 24 - Feb. 2
Film buffs may recall "Harvey" as a vintage movie with Jimmy Stewart talking to an invisible rabbit, but the play upon which it was based ran for more than four years on Broadway in an era when a few months was the norm. Mary Chase's whimsical allegory celebrates individualism and tolerance of others, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1945. It didn't earn a Tony, but only because those awards hadn't been invented yet, but the gentle comedy boasted the next best thing: it was directed by Tony, i.e. Antoinette Perry, for whom the award was named. Workshop Theatre's revival is directed by Bakari Lebby, who has reunited three of his "Glass Menagerie" cast for the leads: Marshall Spann, Lamont Gleaton and Free Times 2023 Best Actress Katie Mixon.
"Steel Magnolias" at Town Theatre
Feb. 7-16
Robert Harling's serio-comedy "Steel Magnolias" garnered few awards beyond a Golden Globe for the young Julia Roberts in its screen adaptation, but the original play ran for two-and-a-half years on Broadway. More significantly, it's a female-centric story about the passages of women's lives that doesn't dwell solely on relationships with men; as such, it has entered America's shared cultural consciousness in the same manner as "Tom Sawyer," "The Waltons" or "Friends." Town Theatre's production is directed by Allison McNeely, and features some dream casting, including Debra Kiser as M'Lynn, Zanna Mills as Shelby and Kathy Hartzog as Ouiser. "Hit Ouiser! Go on, knock her block off!"
"Ain't Misbehavin'" at Trustus Theatre
Feb. 21 - March 22
In recent years, America has rediscovered just how important the Harlem Renaissance -- a creative explosion in 1920s and 1930s New York City of African-American music, dance, art and literature -- was for the artistic and cultural life of the nation. Fats Waller was one of the most prominent composers and performers of the era, and the revue "Ain't Misbehavin'" celebrates his body of work. Running for four years in New York, the original featured Nell Carter and Irene Cara in the cast, and won a couple of Tony Awards. Multi-hyphenate director-choreographer Terrance Henderson helms this ode to the jazz and swing music of the Roaring '20s at Trustus Theatre. His cast includes Sam McWhite, Katrina Blanding, John Ballard, Mel Driggers and Ara-Viktoria Mckinney-Bookman.
"Chicago" at Chapin Theatre Company
March 6-16
"Chicago," with music and lyrics from "Cabaret" composers John Kander and Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and director/choreographer Bob Fosse, has a complex history. Based on a 1920s book and play inspired by sensational murder trials in the 1920s in the Windy City, this musical version ran for two years on Broadway in the mid-1970s with Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach. It was nominated for (but didn't win) 10 Tonys, and then went into hibernation for a couple of decades. A minimalist, stripped-down revival in 1996, however, took New York by storm. It won six Tonys and hasn't let up since. It's still running, with over 11,000 performances to date, and ranks as the most successful American musical in Broadway history, second only to the Brits' "Phantom of the Opera." A 2002 movie version with Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones won six of the 12 Oscars for which it was nominated, and songs like "All That Jazz," "Razzle Dazzle" and "Mr. Cellophane" have become performance standards. This will mark the first time Chapin Theatre Company has tackled a big musical in their new, intimate 95-seat venue on Columbia Avenue. Director Mary Jo Johnson has assembled a veteran cast, including Frank Thompson, Katherine Brown and Maggie Baker in the leads.
Duel feature: "Hairspray" at Workshop AND the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County
March 7-22 (Workshop); March 20-23 (Kershaw Arts)
"Hairspray" originated as a subversive cult film from director John Waters, satirizing 1960s suburbia and middle-class morality, but found its true destiny as a splashy musical that celebrates racial equality and positive self-image. Following the dreams of an irrepressible plus-sized teenager who wants to dance on live TV, the campy rocker won eight of the 13 Tonys for which it was nominated, and ran for over six years on Broadway. Julian DeLeon directs a Workshop Theatre revival in Columbia College's Cottingham Theatre while Larry Hembree directs another iteration for audiences in the Northeast area, running March 20-23 at the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County.
And those are only half of the upcoming live stage productions happening in the Midlands. Check out the Free Times event calendar for more.