‘Urinetown, The Musical’ opens at The Playhouse San Antonio on Friday May 5, 2017. Photo courtesy of The Playhouse San Antonio, used with permission.
The Playhouse San Antonio is getting ready for their next production coming up in May. ‘Urinetown, The Musical’ opens on Friday May 5 and will run until Sunday May 28, 2017. It includes a book by Greg Kotis, music by Mark Hollmann and lyrics by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8p.m. and Sundays at 3p.m. in the Russell Hill Rogers Theatre. Tickets are available online and prices are $42 for general adult, $23 for military with valid ID, $23 for seniors aged 60 and up, $15 for students with valid ID and $12 for children aged 12 and under. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more. (The Playhouse San Antonio, 2017)
‘Urinetown, The Musical’ is a satirical comedy musical that satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement and municipal politics. It is a hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold. The story unfolds when a twenty-year drought has led to a government enforced ban on private toilets. Due to this water shortage people must use public amenities which are regulated by a single, malevolent company. When a hero decides he has had enough he plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom.
The Playhouse San Antonio
Russell Hill Rogers Theater
800 W Ashby Place
San Antonio, TX 78212
(210) 733-7258
Aayad Akhtar’s ‘Disgraced’ opens at the Cellar Theater on Friday March 17, 2017. Photo by Daniel D Baumer, used with permission.
Up next at The Playhouse’s Cellar Theater is Aayad Akhtar’s ‘Disgraced.’ It opens on Friday March 17 and will run until Sunday April 9, 2017. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8p.m. and Sunday at 3p.m. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling the box office at (210) 733-7258. Prices range from $12 to $42. Special rates include $23 for military with valid ID, $23 for seniors aged 60 and up, $15 for students with valid ID and $12 for children aged 12 and under. Group rates are available for groups of ten or more. (The Playhouse San Antonio, 2017)
‘Disgraced’ is a 2012 play by novelist and screenwriter Aayad Akhtar which premiered in Chicago and had Off-Broadway and Off West End engagements. This is a well-crafted piece containing rich and complex characters. The focus is on a dinner party between four people with very different backgrounds and the drama that follows as the mood quickly escalates when the dinner discussion turns to politics and religion. Sociopolitical themes include Islamophobia and the self-identity of Muslim Americans and it depicts racial and ethnic prejudices prevalent in modern society. It won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Kate Glasheen stars as Emily, Suhail Arastu as Amir, Luis Legaspi as Abe, Megan Van Dyke as Jory and Nicholas Szoeke as Isaac and it is directed by David Rinear.
The Playhouse San Antonio
800 West Ashby Place
San Antonio, TX 78212
(210) 733-7258
‘All Is Calm’ returns to The Playhouse San Antonio as part of the 2017 – 2018 season. Photo: Daniel Baumer, used with permission.
Last week The Playhouse San Antonio announced their 2017-2018 season for The Russell Hill Rogers Theater and the Cellar Theater.
The Russell Hill Rogers Theater – The season starts with ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ from September 15 through October 15, 2017. It is Victor Hugo’s touching story of love and acceptance recreated by an Academy Award winning team. ‘All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914’ returns to The Playhouse for the holiday season from November 24 through December 24, 2017. With musical arrangement by Erick Lichte and Timothy C Takach it is presented in collaboration with The Marcsmen and tells the story of an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music and peace told in the words and songs of the men who lived it. ‘Little Women’ starts off the year and opens on January 26 through February 18, 2018. It is based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. This musical is filled with personal discovery, heartache, hope and everlasting love. ‘If/Then’ will play from March 16 through April 8, 2018. It is the story of Elizabeth and the consequences that occur when the carefully designed plans collide at the intersection of chance and choice. The popular musical ‘Mamma Mia!’ Ends the season and will play from July 6 through August 5, 2018. A mother, a daughter and three possible dads contribute to an unforgettable trip down the aisle with the music of ABBA as a backdrop.
Cellar Theatre – ‘Constellations’ starts off the season from October 27 through November 19, 2017. A romantic journey that begins with a simple encounter between a man and woman becomes an exploration of parallel universes. ‘A Bright New Boise’ will play from December 29 through January 21, 2018 and takes place in the bleak, corporate break room of a big box store in Idaho where someone is summoning The Rapture. It is where the thorny issues of faith, forgiveness and second chances are put on the table. ‘Wit’ will play from February 23 through March 11, 2018. It is the winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and tells the story of Vivian Bearing, a professor of English, who after being diagnosed with a terminal illness looks back on her life and work. ‘Hand to God’ follows from April 13 through May 6, 2018. This ridiculously raunchy, irreverent and funny show revolves around a puppet who takes on a shocking personality all of its own. ‘Assassins’, which will play from June 8 through July 1 is the controversial musical about assassins who justify their actions with wit, humor and a sense of understanding. Rounding out the season is ‘Aye, No!’ from August 10 through August 26 in collaboration with Teatro Audaz. It is set in a small border town as young Alicia comes home from college with a “friend” for her family to meet.
The Playhouse San Antonio
800 West Ashby Place
San Antonio, TX 78212
(210) 733-7258
‘The Secret Garden’ opens tonight at The Playhouse San Antonio. Photo by Daniel D Baumer, used with permission.
Tonight is opening night for The Playhouse San Antonio’s midseason musical ‘The Secret Garden.’ This family friendly musical will run through Sunday March 12 and is directed by Laura Michelle Hoadley. It stars Ashley Doyle as Mary Lennox and Nicholas Szoeke as Archibald Craven. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8p.m. and Sunday at 3p.m. Tickets are available online or by calling the box office at (210) 733-7258. Prices are $23 for military with valid ID, $23 for seniors aged 60 and up, $15 for students with valid ID and $12 for children aged 12 and under. Group rates are available for groups of ten or more. (The Playhouse San Antonio, 2017)
‘The Secret Garden’ is a musical based on the 1911 book of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett with script and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon. The story is set in the early 20th century and tells the story of Mary Lennox, a young English girl born and raised in the British Raj. When she is ten years old she becomes an orphan when a cholera outbreak kills her family. She is sent to live in England with relatives she has never met which include her tormented uncle Archibald Craven. While living at Misselthwaite Manor she and a young gardener tend a neglected garden back to life and she learns that a little kindness can make a big difference in her life and that of her family.
The Playhouse San Antonio
800 West Ashby Place
San Antonio, TX 78212
(210) 733-7258
Damon C Mentzer and Holly Clifford star in ‘Fool for Love’ now playing at the Cellar Theater. Photo by Daniel Baumer, used with permission.
The setting at the Cellar Theater is small and intimate and it makes an ideal location for Sam Shepard’s ‘Fool for Love.’ A dark and gloomy motel room complete with run down furniture sets the mood for the somber story. The cast is small but they deliver big as the story of two former lovers unfolds in a motel in the desert. It includes Damon C Mentzer as Eddie, Holly Clifford as May, Bill Gundry as the Old Man and Michael Zaiontz as Martin.
Right from the start it becomes clear that this couple has seen their share of drama. May wants to go on with her life without Eddie and now has a job and on the night that he shows up, a date with a man named Martin. Eddie has other plans, as he has tracked her down and traveled for days to convince her to leave with him and settle down in Wyoming. They have bonded over the years and want to be together but they are doomed to keep repeating their destructive patterns. When Martin shows up to pick up May he finds himself stuck in the middle. Throughout the play the Old Man sits to the side and talks to May and Eddie and comments on each character and about himself. It is later revealed that the Old Man has a scandalous connection to both of them and is the reason May is hesitant about her relationship with Eddie. At the end Eddie leaves without May, May packs her suitcase and leaves alone and Martin is left in the motel room too confused to do anything but just stand there looking out the window.
‘Fool for Love’ is an intense production and the combination of the setting and the story creates an almost voyeuristic atmosphere. The focus is on the night’s confrontation rather than a developing story and the past plays a major role because it comes back to haunt their present. Mentzer and Clifford work well together and their onstage chemistry is believable. Zaiontz does an excellent job as the confused and clueless Martin and Gundry as the Old Man ties it all together with his emotional and regretful performance. It is a show not to be missed but it should be noted that it contains adult language and content and may not be suitable for everyone.
‘Fool for Love’ is now playing at The Playhouse San Antonio’s Cellar Theater through Sunday February 5, 2017. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8p.m. and Sunday at 3p.m. Ticket prices range from $12 – $42 and may be purchased online or by calling the box office at (210) 733-7258.
Sam Shepard’s ‘Fool for Love’ opens at The Playhouse’s Cellar Theater on Friday January 13, 2016. Photo by Daniel D Baumer, used with permission.
Up next at The Playhouse’s Cellar Theater is Sam Shepard’s ‘Fool for Love.’ It opens on Friday January 13 and will run until Sunday February 5, 2017. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8p.m. and Sunday at 3p.m. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling the box office at (210) 733-7258. Prices are $40 for general adult, $23 for military with valid ID, $23 for seniors aged 60 and up, $15 for students with valid ID and $12 for children aged 12 and under. Group rates are available for groups of ten or more. (The Playhouse San Antonio, 2016)
‘Fool for Love’ is the Obie award winning play written by playwright and actor Sam Shepard. The lines of love and scandal blur in the story of May and Eddie, former lovers who meet again in a motel in the desert. Their on again, off again relationship has bonded them to each other and they are doomed to keep repeating their destructive past. May is trying to go on with her life with a new life and a new job when Eddie shows up in the hopes of reconciling with her. Her date, Martin, is caught in the middle of the drama while the character of the Old Man sits on the sidelines and offers commentaries. It is directed by The Playhouse’s CEO and Artistic Director George Green with a cast that includes Damon C Mentzer as Eddie, Holly Clifford as May, Bill Gundry as the Old Man and Michael Zaiontz as Martin.
The Playhouse San Antonio
800 West Ashby Place
San Antonio, TX 78212
‘All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914’ opens this Friday December 2 at The Playhouse San Antonio. Photo by Daniel D Baumer, used with permission.
Opening this Friday December 2 at The Playhouse San Antonio is ‘All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.’ It will run until Sunday December 18 in the Russell Hill Rogers Theatre. George Green and Bill Gundry co-direct with musical direction by Nicholas Ponting. Show times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8p.m. and Sundays at 3p.m. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling the box office at (210) 733-7258. Prices are $30 for general adult, $23 for military with valid ID, $23 for seniors aged 60 and up, $15 for students with valid ID and $12 for children aged 12 and under. Group rates are available for groups of ten or more. (The Playhouse San Antonio, 2016)
‘All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914’ by Peter Rothstein has musical arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C Takach. It is set in 1914, at the Western Front, where out of the violence comes a silence, then a song. When a German soldier steps into No Man’s Land singing “Stille Nacht” it brings about a night of camaraderie, music and peace. A remarkable true experience, it is told in the words and songs of the men who lived it. This acapella musical highlights the beauty and power of the human spirit during the darkest of days. On December 17 there will be a special double feature of ‘All is Calm’ and ‘A Marcsmen Christmas.’ The performances start at 7p.m. and purchasing a ticket to this night allows for entrance to both performances.
The Playhouse San Antonio
800 West Ashby Place
San Antonio, TX 78212
(210) 733-7258
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