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Playhouse announces 2014 lineup

Flat Rock Playhouse development director Lynn Penny talks about sponsorship opportunities.

By Bill Moss, Published: September 5, 2013

The show must go on, and even the announcement of the show must go on. So when the air conditioning goes kaput, well, announce away.

Two air conditioning units went out at the Playhouse Downtown, making for a warm theater Wednesday evening as the Flat Rock Playhouse announced its 2014 season to sponsors and the media. The opening performance of "Cats," a preview performance, was scheduled to go on at 8 o'clock.

The Playhouse replaced the units with backups on Thursday, public relations director Jason Ferguson said.

The Playhouse, which has drawn brisk ticket sales and critical acclaim for its shows this summer, announced a 2014 season that includes classic musicals, proven comedies, the long-running "Fantasticks" and the big summer offering, "Miss Saigon."

Music on the Rock tributes include the Beatles, Journey and Air Supply, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Chicago,
the Mammas and the Pappas, the Songs of the 60s and Motown Christmas.

The Main Stage and Downtown lineup:

Laughter on the 23rd Floor – April 3 – 27

by: Neil Simon

Inspired by Neil Simon's early career experience as a junior writer (along with his brother Danny) for Your Show of Shows, the play focuses on Sid Caesar-like Max Prince, the star of a weekly comedy-variety show circa 1953, and his staff, including Simon's alter-ego Lucas Brickman, who maintains a running commentary on the writing, fighting, and wacky antics which take place in the writers' room. The harried writing staff frantically scrambles to top each other with gags while competing for the attention of star madman "Max Prince" in what is often considered one of Simon's most enduring comic masterpieces.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

May 8-June 1 (to be confirmed)

Vanya and his sister Sonia live a quiet life in the Pennsylvania farmhouse where they grew up. When their movie star sister, Masha, returns unannounced, an unforgettable weekend ensues of rivalry, regret and hilarious racket.

My Fair Lady – June 12 - July 6

Music by: Frederick Loewe; Book by: Alan Jay Lerner; Lyrics by: Alan Jay Lerner
Based on Pygmalion

This show is the standard by which all others are measured. My Fair Lady is triumphant. With "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" "With a Little Bit of Luck" "The Rain in Spain" "I Could Have Danced All Night" "On the Street Where You Live" "Get Me to the Church on Time" and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" it's no wonder everyone falls in love with Eliza Doolittle.

Miss Saigon – July 16 - August 24
Music by: Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics by: Richard Maltby, Jr and Alain Boublil

In the turmoil of the Vietnam War, an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon. Their struggles to find each other over the ensuing years ends in tragedy for her and a fighting chance for the child he never knew he had.

This raw and uncompromising international sensation is an intensely personal story of the losses we suffer and the sacrifices we make in a world gone mad. Miss Saigon is an epic, daring pop opera that is universal in its emotional power.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To The Forum – October 2 - November 2
Music by: Stephen Sondheim; Book by: Burt Shevelove, Larry Gelbart; Lyrics by: Stephen Sondheim

Broadway's greatest farce is light, fast-paced, witty, irreverent and one of the funniest musicals ever written. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To The Forum is a non-stop laugh-fest in which Pseudolus, a crafty slave, struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan named Philia, for his young master, Hero, in exchange for freedom. The plot twists and turns with cases of mistaken identity, slamming doors, and a showgirl or two. It's "Comedy Tonight!"

A Christmas Carol – November 20 - December 21
by: Charles Dickens; Music by: Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by: Jack Murphy; Book by: Jack Murphy and Vincent Marini

From the team that brought you Flat Rock's new hit musical Zelda, comes a brand new, modern interpretation of A Christmas Carol that takes the famous Dickens story and infuses it with laughter, love and brand new score that celebrates the holiday season.

Music of James Bond - Sept 11-14 and 18-21 (Special Event)

Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die, Skyfall, and countless other iconic songs about the world's most favorite spy come to life on the Playhouse Mainstage. From Paul McCartney to Shirley Bassey to Gladys Knight and Adele, the music of James Bond has been recorded by some of the greatest vocalists of our time and this one-of-a-kind show brings their greatest hits together in one world premiere tour-de-force concert.

Playhouse Downtown

The Fantasticks – April 24 - May 18
by: Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt

The Fantasticks is the longest-running production of any kind in the world, and with good reason: at the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. It tells the story of two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into falling in love by pretending to feud. The fathers hire traveling actors to stage a mock abduction, so that Matt can heroically seem to save Luisa, ending the supposed feud. When the children discover the deception, they reject the arranged love match and separate. Each then gains disillusioning experiences of the real world, seen in parallel fantasy sequences. They return to each other bruised but enlightened, and they renew their vows with more maturity. With songs like Try To Remember, Soon It's Gonna Rain, and I Can See It, you will leave the theater moved, joyful and inspired.

The Last Five Years – May 29 - June 22
by: Jason Robert Brown

Jason Robert Brown's contemporary musical The Last Five Years tells the emotionally powerful story of two twenty-something New Yorkers who dive head first into a marriage fueled by the optimism that comes with finding "the one." But in a city where professional and personal passions collide and only the strongest relationships survive, navigating the waters of love and matrimony can sometimes prove too much. Funny, honest and intimate, with an exuberantly romantic score, The Last Five Years takes a bold look at one young couple's hope that love endures the test of time.

Boeing Boeing – July 3 - July 27
by: Marc Camoletti

This classic farce recently revived on Broadway features self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German, and American fiancées, each beautiful airline hostesses with frequent "layovers". He keeps "one up, one down and one pending" until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris and Bernard's apartment at the same time.

The Mystery of Irma Vep – August 28 - September 28
by: Charles Ludlam

Two actors take on innumerable dramatis personae in Ludlum's high-camp quick-change act. Vepsatirizes all that is ridiculous in Gothic horror, Victorian melodrama, classic film, and conventional theater--and it's also a contender for the funniest American play of the last quarter-century.