For its 11th season, Center Stage is poised to put on four productions at the Southampton Cultural Center between November and March: “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Reasons to Be Pretty,” “Love Letters” and “Mamma Mia!”
“Meet Me in St. Louis,” adapted by playwright Joe Landry, will be presented in the “live radio play” format that has been seen on the Southampton Cultural Center Stage before with presentations of Mr. Landry’s takes on “A Christmas Carol” and” “It’s a Wonderful Life.” However, this is the first live radio musical that Center Stage will present. The actors will take on the roles of 1940s voice actors, performing “Meet Me in St. Louis” before a live studio audience for radio broadcast. The theater audience takes on the role of that audience. Among the recognizable songs are “The Boy Next Door,” “The Trolley Song” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
“I am thrilled to be continuing this holiday tradition of presenting Joe’s timeless and humbling nostalgic whispers of gentler times,” Center Stage Director Michael Disher said. “Featuring our greatest technology—imagination, Joe effortlessly transports us through sounds and spoken word. And in this case, with a familiar score, to boot.”
“Meet Me in St. Louis” is based on “The Kensington Stories” by Sally Benson, a series of vignettes taking place from 1903 to 1904 centered on the Smith Family in Missouri, leading up to the World’s Fair. Ms. Benson’s stories became the basis for MGM’s 1944 film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring his future wife, Judy Garland. Mr. Landry’s version is based on the book by Hugh Wheeler for the 1989 Broadway musical, which, in turn, was based on the film.
Mr. Disher directs, Alyssa Kelly choreographs and Amanda Jones musically directs. The show will run from November 23 to December 9.
Then from January 11 to 27, Center Stage mounts “Reasons to Be Pretty”—Neil LaBute’s first play to be staged on Broadway. Mr. LaBute also wrote “The Money Shot,” which Center Stage put on two seasons ago.
“Reasons to Be Pretty,” which debuted off-Broadway in 2008 before moving to the Great White Way a year later, is about four friends in their 30s—three Costco workers, one hairdresser—who are trying to come to terms with their dead-end jobs and dead-end lives. Center Stage calls it “a modern tale on the importance (or not) of physical beauty.”
Joan Bennett Lyons, who also directed “The Money Shot” for Center Stage, returns to the director’s chair.
Between February 8 and 17—the weekends before and after Valentine’s Day—is A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters.” The two-person play follows the lives and love of Andy and Melissa through decades of correspondence.
The season will end with the ABBA juke box musical “Mamma Mia!” from March 7 to 24.
The musical debuted in 1999 and was adapted for the silver screen in 2008. A film sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” debuted this summer.
Once again, Mr. Disher directs, Ms. Kelly choreographs and Ms. Jones musically directs.
Tickets to all of the productions are available at scc-arts.org.
Auditions for “Meet Me in St. Louis” are planned on Tuesday, October 2, and Wednesday, October 3, at 6 p.m. in Southampton Cultural Center’s Veterans Hall.
on Sep 10, 2018