Greenbrier Valley Theatre (GVT), the State Professional Theatre of West Virginia, has announced its 49th Season. Greenbrier Valley Theatre’s 2016 season features new work being performed on stage for the first time, as well as well-known classics. Season subscriptions are now available for purchase. For season tickets or more information, call GVT’s Box Office at 304-645-3838 or visit www.gvtheatre.org.
GVT’s selections for 2016 focus on family, friendship and self-discovery through classic dramas, modern comedies and blockbuster musicals.
For its 49th Season GVT is excited to announce the world-premiere production of Cinderellish, a new musical comedy with a book by Emmy Award winner Arnold Margolin and music by Weslie Brown. The hilarious musical provides a new twist to the classic fairy tale as children’s book author Elizabeth Summers tries to pass as someone else in hopes of becoming a Broadway writer.
“It’s always exciting to watch a piece of theater come to life through all the collaborative parts of production,” GVT Artistic Director Cathey Sawyer said.
The season continues to explore modern theater, with powerful rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber and comedian Lewis Black’s hilarious farce, One Slight Hitch. GVT will be one of the first American theaters to produce British playwright Peter Quilter’s Christmas musical Let it Snow.
Returning for another summer, Emmy Award winner Stuart Margolin will star in the poignant family drama On Golden Pond. Margolin appeared in last season’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor by Neil Simon alongside his brother Arnold.
The 2016 season lineup is as follows:
• You Can’t Take It With You by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, Apr. 8-23. A Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy from George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Fireworks ignite when Alice brings her fiancé and his straight-laced parents home to meet the endearingly unconventional Vanderhof family.
• Jesus Christ Superstar, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, May 13- June 4. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s powerful rock opera tells the story of Jesus and his followers in a way the Gospels never did. Seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot, the last days of Jesus come alive through the magic of 1970s rock lyrics.
• On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson, June 17-July 2. Two-time Emmy Award winner Stuart Margolin returns to GVT’s stage in Ernest Thompson’s poignant drama. Ethel and Norman Thayer spend their summers at their lake house. Their vacation is turned upside down when their estranged daughter leaves the Thayers with her fiancé’s son. The summer is one of new and reconciled relationships.
• Cinderellish Book and Lyrics by Arnold Margolin, Music by Weslie Brown, July 21-Aug. 6. The world premiere of a musical by Emmy Award winner Arnold Margolin and Weslie Brown. It looks like Elizabeth Summers is finally getting her big break, until she realizes everyone thinks she’s Elizabeth Somers. In this case of mistaken identity, Elizabeth’s dreams are coming true, but will she be able to play the part?
• Pump Boys and Dinettes by Cass Morgan, Debra Monk, Jim Wann, John Foley, John Schimmel and Mark Hardwick, Aug. 26-Sept. 10. At a lonely gas station across the street from an empty diner on Highway 57, four gas station attendants and two waitresses share their day through music and humor. This country western musical shows us how we can find joy in the simplest of ways.
• The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers, Sept. 30-Oct. 13. The 1950 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best American Play. In this funny and heart-warming American classic, penned by one of America’s finest novelists, 12-year-old tomboy Frankie feels disconnected from her life and dreams of escaping by running away with her brother and his fiancée. Set in a small Southern town in 1945, race, politics, sex and adolescence whirl around Frankie as she struggles through hope and disappointment to belong to something.
• One Slight Hitch by Lewis Black, Oct. 28-Nov. 12. It’s Courtney’s wedding day and everything is perfect – until the doorbell rings. An uninvited guest with ties to Courtney’s past threatens her future bliss. Comedian Lewis Black’s hilarious farce is truly a riot.
• Let it Snow by Peter Quilter, Dec. 2-17. All Jack wants for Christmas is a little peace and quiet, but it’s not meant to be. He’s in for a big surprise when his vaudeville-performing parents show up uninvited with a trunk full of props and years of marital discord. Peter Quilter’s charming holiday musical will have the audience laughing all the way.
All dates and productions are subject to change.
The 2016 Full Season – Early Bird Special runs now until Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. Prices are $168 for general tickets, $151 for seniors and $112 for children/students. The 5-Flex Passes are $120 for general tickets, $108 for seniors and $80 for children/students.
