Renaissance Players announce 2008 theatre season

Release Date: 9/28/2007. Expired: 10/28/2007

Classic musicals, hilarious comedy and an all-time favorite children’s story make up the 2008 community theatre season at The Renaissance Center in Dickson.

The Renaissance Players, the center’s community theatre troupe, announces its exciting schedule of shows for next year as well as an opportunity for Theatre Family Tree members to get the first shot at tickets for the shows.

“We are extremely excited to announce our 2008 season of four wonderful, family friendly community shows,” said Amy Scott, managing director of the Renaissance Players. “Next season includes a couple of musicals we’ve been wanting to do for a long time, a classic comedy from Noel Coward and one of the most beloved children’s stories of all time that was recently made into a hit movie.”

The Renaissance Players community theatre shows for 2008 are Charlotte’s Web, The Music Man, Blithe Spirit and Oliver!

A Renaissance Players 2008 Theatre Season Pass is $36 for adults, $30 for seniors 55 and over and $21 for children under 13. A pass guarantees you a seat for all four productions at the price of individual tickets for three shows, meaning you get one show free. Season passes do not include lunch matinees.

Members of The Renaissance Center’s Theatre Family Tree will have the first opportunity to purchase season passes and individual show tickets Nov. 1-15. During this two-week period, only Theatre Family Tree members can purchase tickets.

The Renaissance Center’s Theatre Family Tree is a program to benefit and support the Theatre Arts programs at the center. Patrons can join with a one-time gift that is recognized through an engraved leaf on the Theatre Family Tree sculpture in the center’s rotunda. Gold leaf membership is $75; silver leaf membership is $50; and Bronze Leaf membership is $25. Being a Theatre Family Tree member provides a first shot at season passes and show tickets, as well as other discounts and special offers.

Theatre Season Passes will be available for the general public Nov. 16-Jan. 18. Tickets for individual shows go on sale Jan. 7 for all shows in the 2008 season. Individual show tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7 for children under 13. Tickets for lunch matinees are $20 and include a buffet lunch and the performance.

Based on E.B. White’s classic children’s book, Charlotte’s Web is the story of a runt piglet saved from the farmer’s ax by a creative spider and her barnyard friends. Adapted for the stage by Tennessee native and Carson-Newman College graduate Joseph Robinette, Charlotte’s Web was named “the best American children’s book of the past 200 years” by the Children’s Literature Association. A 1973 animated movie version featured the voices of Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynde and Henry Gibson. A live-action version hit the big screen in 2006 with Dakota Fanning and the voices of Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi and others.

The Renaissance Players will present Charlotte’s Web March 21-30. Performances will be 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. A lunch matinee will be at 12 p.m. Saturday, March 22.

Auditions for Charlotte’s Web will be 6 p.m. Jan. 21-22.

Meredith Willson’s The Music Man marched onto Broadway with Robert Preston in 1957 and won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It was revived in 1980 with Dick Van Dyke and a 2000 revival picked up six more Tony nominations. A 1962 movie version featured Preston and Shirley Jones while a 2003 television movie starred Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth. A staple of community and school productions for more than 40 years, The Music Man is the story of a traveling con artist who encounters a skeptical librarian and the stubborn people of River City, Iowa, when he tries to establish a boys band. Its toe-tapping score includes favorites like Seventy-six Trombones, Trouble, Goodnight, My Someone and Til There Was You.

The Renaissance Players will present The Music Man June 13-22. Performances will be 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. A lunch matinee will be at 12 p.m. Saturday, June 14.

Auditions for The Music Man will be 6 p.m. April 14-15.

In Noel Coward’s comedy Blithe Spirit, a man is haunted by the ghost of his first wife who desperately tries to disrupt his new marriage. It debuted in London and set box office records before coming to Broadway in 1941 for a two-year run. A 1987 revival featured Richard Chamberlain, Blythe Danner and Geraldine Page, who earned a Best Actress nomination for playing the eccentric medium, Madame Arcati. A 1945 movie version starred Rex Harrison and won an Academy Award for Special Effects. Coward himself starred in a 1956 television production, along with Lauren Bacall and Claudette Colbert.

The Renaissance Players will present Blithe Spirit Sept. 12-21. Performances will be 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. A lunch matinee will be at 12 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13

Auditions for Blithe Spirit will be 6 p.m. July 28-29.

Based on Charles Dickens’ second novel, Oliver Twist, the musical Oliver! is the story of a young orphan dealing with life on the streets and in a workhouse in London. It’s full of colorful characters from pickpockets to chimney sweeps and a large cast of children. First presented on Broadway in 1963, the musical earned 11 Tony nominations and won two. The show is packed with memorable songs from Food, Glorious Food and Where Is Love, to Consider Yourself and As Long as He Needs Me.

The Renaissance Players will present Oliver! Dec. 12-21. Performances will be 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. A lunch matinee will be at 12 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13.

Auditions for Oliver! will be 6 p.m. Oct. 6-7.

“With two large-cast and well-known musicals, a dark comedy and a children’s classic in our 2008 season, the Renaissance Players continue to present high-quality community productions that would rival most professional shows,” said Scott. “This season presents wonderful new opportunities for people to get involved in our shows as well as a terrific selection of productions to enjoy for our audience. With a 2008 season pass, you can give Christmas presents that last the entire year.”

For more information on Renaissance Players 2008 Theatre Season Passes, the season’s shows or the Theatre Family Tree, call (615) 740-5600 or visit The Renaissance Center’s website at www.rcenter.org.

Renaissance Players 2008 Theatre Season Passes will be available for Theatre Family Tree members Nov. 1-15 and on sale to the general public Nov. 16-Jan. 18. Individual show tickets for the entire season go on sale Jan. 7. To purchase passes or tickets, call (615) 740-5601.

The Renaissance Center is a fine arts education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

Visit the Theatre page for more about community and professional theatre.

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