Spring 2014
Spring Awakening, winner of 8 Tony awards (including Best Musical), is a rock musical based on the play by Frank Wedekind, and tells the coming of age stories of a group of teenagers in a small German town in the late 19th century. This show reveals the vulnerability and naiveté of young adults as seek truth as they hit puberty, and explores the harsh authoritative power adults have over children. The story revolves around three specific characters, two of whom meet disastrous results due to conformity of society and a lack of communication. Spring Awakening celebrates the journey from youth to adulthood with poignancy, power, and passion that you will never forget.
Fall 2014
Based on Sam Raimi’s 80s cult classic films, Evil Dead tells the tale of 5 college kids who travel to a cabin in the woods and accidentally unleash an evil force. Evil Dead: The Musical unearths the old familiar story: boy and friends take a weekend getaway at abandoned cabin, boy expects to get lucky, boy unleashes ancient evil spirit, friends turn into Candarian Demons, boy fights until dawn to survive. As musical mayhem descends upon this sleepover in the woods, “camp” takes on a whole new meaning with uproarious numbers like “All the Men in my Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons”, “Look Who’s Evil Now”, and “Do the Necronomicon.”
Spring 2013
Next to Normal tells the story of a typical, normal family, and their struggle to stay together in spite of adverse circumstances. Dan, the patriarch, struggles to keep everything under control – his wife’s Diana’s bipolar depression, his daughter Natalie slipping away from him, and his son Gabe’s rebellious attitude. This contemporary musical addresses relevant and personal issues to the Case Western community, such as grieving, ethics in medicine, suburban life, and the struggle to be normal — or at least, something next to it.
Fall 2013
With a book by George Furth and score by Stephen Sondheim, Merrily We Roll Along follows the story of composer Franklin Shepard, and the loss of the idealistic values of his younger self. Starting in 1976 and moving backwards to 1957, Merrily shows us the pivotal moments in Frank’s life and the effect that his single-minded pursuit of success has had on his closest friendships with novelist Mary Flynn and playwright Charley Kringas. As the years roll back and motivations are revealed, Merrily leaves the audience with a message that despite practicality and disillusionment, dreams and friendships can never truly die.
Spring 2012
Combine Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” with Porter’s music and lyrics to get Kiss Me, Kate an instant success with every cast and audience. This is a play-within-a-play where each cast member’s on-stage life is complicated by what is happening offstage. Musical numbers include "Why Can’t You Behave", "So In Love Am I", "Wunderbar", "Tom, Dick or Harry", "Were Thine That Special Face", "Too Darn Hot", "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", "I Hate Men", "Always True to You (In My Fashion)" and "Another Op’nin, Another Show". Kiss Me, Kate is fun, melodious and sophisticated.
Fall 2012
Avenue Q is a gut-bustingly hilarious modern musical focusing on a group of unique 20-somethings making their way in the big city, seeking their purpose in life. Although the show addresses humorous adult issues, it is similar to a beloved children’s show; a place where puppets are friends, monsters are good, and life lessons are learned.
Spring 2011
Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer-prize winning Broadway musical based loosely on Puccini’s opera La Bohème. It follows a year in the lives of seven friends living the disappearing Bohemian lifestyle in New York’s East Village. AIDS and both its physical and emotional complications pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom, and Angel; Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble; Benjamin has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends; and Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general, always behind the camera recording the events but never playing a part.
Fall 2011
The clashing sounds and pulsing rhythms of New York City underscore this landmark “concept” show, considered by many to have inaugurated the modern era of musical theatre. “Company” follows our anti-hero bachelor Robert as he makes his way through a series of encounters with April (the stewardess), Kathy (the girl who’s going to marry someone else), Marta (the “peculiar” one), as well as with his married friends. On the night of his 35th birthday, confirmed bachelor Robert contemplates his unmarried state. In vignette after hilarious vignette, we are introduced to “those good and crazy people,” his married friends, as Robert weighs the pros and cons of married life. In the end, he realizes being alone is “alone, not alive.”
Spring 2010
Once upon a time, the young prince Pippin longed to discover the secret of true happiness and fulfillment. He sought it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh and the intrigues of political power (after disposing of his father King Charlemagne the Great). In the end, he found it in the simple pleasures of home and family.
Fall 2010
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a high-spirited musical romp that has all of New York dancing the Charleston. It’s the zany new 1920’s musical that has taken Broadway by storm! Taking place in New York City in 1922, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of young Millie Dillmount, who has just moved to the city in search of a new life for herself. It’s a New York full of intrigue and jazz – a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever. Based on the popular movie, the stage version of Thoroughly Modern Millie includes a full score of new songs and bright dance numbers.
Spring 2009
The dangers of a workplace romance are explored to hysterical effect in this romantic comedy from the creators of Damn The Pajama Game Yankees. Conditions at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory are anything but peaceful, as sparks fly between new superintendent Sid Sorokin and Babe Williams, leader of the union grievance committee. Their stormy relationship comes to a head when the workers strike for a 7½-cent pay increase, setting off not only a conflict between management and labor, but a battle of the sexes as well.
Fall 2009
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is transported to 1950’s New York City, as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence, and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching, and relevant musical dramas of our time.
Spring 2008
Everyone loves a legend, but in Chicago, there’s only room for one. Velma Kelley burns in the spotlight as a nightclub sensation. When she shoots her philandering husband, she lands on Chicago’s famed murderess row, retains Chicago’s slickest lawyer, Billy Flynn, and is the center of the town’s most notorious murder case, only increasing her celebrity. Roxie Hart, seduced by the city’s promise of style and adventure, dreams of singing and dancing her way to stardom. When Roxie’s abusive lover tries to walk out on her, she too ends up in prison. Billy recognizes a made-for-tabloids story, and postpones Velma’s court date to take on Roxie’s case. Infamy is Roxie’s ticket to stardom. Billy turns her crime of passion into celebrity headlines, and in this town, where murder is a form of entertainment, she becomes a bona fide star… much to Velma’s chagrin. As Roxie fashions herself as America’s sweetheart, Velma has more than a few surprises in store, and the two women stop at nothing to outdo each other in their obsessive pursuit of fame and celebrity.
Fall 2008
The rare instance of a musical thriller, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheelers chilling, suspenseful, heart-pounding masterpiece of murderous barber-ism and culinary crime tells the infamous tale of the unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th century London seeking revenge against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. His thirst for blood soon expands to include his unfortunate customers, and the resourceful proprietress of the pie shop downstairs soon has the people of London lining up in droves with her mysterious new meat pie recipe!
Spring 2007
Beauty and the Beast is the lavish stage adaptation of the animated Walt Disney film about a strong-willed young woman, Belle, who breaks the spell that turned a handsome prince into a monstrous beast. Trying to save her beloved (but eccentric) father from the Beast’s clutches, Belle agrees to become his prisoner forever. But once she is inside the Beast’s enchanted castle, the members of his court – who have been transformed into household objects like clocks and candlesticks – decide to play matchmakers. As the Beast begins to fall in love with Belle, he becomes progressively less beastly. But the spell can be broken only if the Beast can get her to love him in return. And time is running out.
Fall 2007
Faust meets professional baseball in this Broadway classic from the creators of The Pajama Game. Middle-aged baseball fanatic Joe Boyd trades his soul to the Devil (the charming but devious Mr. Applegate) for a chance to lead his favorite team to victory in the pennant race against the New York Yankees. As young baseball sensation Joe Hardy, he transforms the hapless Washington Senators into a winning team, only to realize the true worth of the life (and wife) he’s left behind. With the help of a handy escape clause and a guilt-ridden temptress named Lola, Joe outsmarts Applegate, returns to his former self and shepherds the Senators to the World Series.
Spring 2006
When teenager Ren moves with his mother from big-city Chicago to the small town of Bomont, he’s in for a real case of culture shock. Though he tries hard to fit in, Ren can’t quite believe he’s living in a place where dancing is illegal. There is one small pleasure, however: Ariel, a troubled but lovely girl with a jealous boyfriend. Ariel’s father is a Bible-thumping minister, who is responsible for the ordinance that keeps the town dance-free. Ren and his classmates want to do away with this ordinance, especially since the senior prom is around the corner, but only Ren has the courage to initiate a battle to abolish the outmoded ban and revitalize the spirit of the repressed townspeople.
Fall 2006
A smarmy lecturer arrives in a typical small town of the late ’30s to warn the populace of the dangers of the “evil weed,” bringing along a lurid propaganda film to dramatize his message. In broad, unsubtle, and hilarious strokes, the play-within-a-play shows how even a squeaky-clean pair of high schoolers named Mary Lane and Jimmy Harper can become hopeless dope addicts by succumbing to the lure of marijuana.
Spring 2005
An evocative tale of the epic battle between good and evil, Jekyll & Hyde is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story about a brilliant doctor whose experiments with human personality create a murderous counterpart. Convinced the cure for his father’s mental illness lies in the separation of Man’s evil nature from his good, Dr. Henry Jekyll unwittingly unleashes his own dark side, wreaking havoc in the streets of late 19th century London as the savage, maniacal Edward Hyde.
Fall 2005
Based on the popular board game, called CLUE in North America and CLUEDO in 71 other countries, this rousing, fun-filled musical brings the world’s best-known mystery suspects to life on the stage, and invites the audience to play along to solve a mystery. The suspects sing, dance and joke their way into your heart… or into suspicion, as you guess which one of the 216 possible endings, different every performance, is the answer to: whodunit, in what room, with what weapon. Clue: The Musical is an international theatrical sensation, wowing both audiences and press.
Spring 2004
What do you get when two musical theater masters adapt one of the most popular and successful farces ever written? A tuneful and hysterically funny classic that’s non-stop entertainment. Oxford University students Charley and Jack invite the young and winsome Kitty and Amy to lunch under the chaperoning eye of Donna Lucia, Charley’s wealthy aunt (it is, after all, 1892). But when Donna Lucia doesn’t show, a desperate Charley disguises himself as his aunt so the young ladies can visit, unaware they’ve brought a chaperon of their own: Amy’s stuffy uncle, who promptly falls for Charley’s aunt – like charms! Then the real aunt shows up, and it’s all downhill from there: quick changes, fast talking, marriage proposals, compromising situations and rowdy hilarity.
Fall 2004
Lovers Queenie and Burrs decide to throw the party to end all parties in their Manhattan apartment. After the colorful arrival of a slew of guests living life on the edge, Queenie’s wandering eyes land on a striking man named Black. As the decadence is reaching a climax, so is Burrs’ jealousy which erupts and sends him into a violent rage. Gun in hand and inhibitions abandoned Burrs turns on Queenie and Black. The gun gets fired, but who’s been shot?
Spring 2003
It is 1928. The world is between wars, the stock market is booming, Berlin is the center of high life, and optimism rules the day. Passing through the golden light and dark shadows of The Grand Hotel is the fading, still-beautiful Prima Ballerina; the charming young Baron, out of money, riding on his looks; the ambitious Hollywood hopeful; the mortally ill bookkeeper, meeting society before his grave; the honest, hardworking father-to-be; and the doctor, whose cynical tone foreshadows the looming depression.
Fall 2003
A down-and-out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensations when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Soon "Audrey II" grows into an ill'tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination!
Spring 2002
Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty exploded on the musical theater scene with this zany, offbeat, and very funny murder mystery farce about an unassuming English shoe salesman forced to take the corpse of his recently-murdered Atlantic City croupier uncle on a week-long vacation to Monte Carlo. Should he succeed, Harry Witherspoon stands to inherit $6,000,000. If not, the money goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. The proceedings are sheer lunacy as Harry comes up against his uncle's insanely jealous and legally blind mistress, her much put-upon optometrist brother and Annabel Glick, a zealous representative from the Universal Dog Home determined to see Harry's inheritance "go to the dogs".
Fall 2002
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera which traces the final days in the life of Jesus Christ: his arrival in Jerusalem, his betrayal, passion, and crucifixion. The show features the hits "I Don't Know How To Love Him", "What's the Buzz" and the title song. The show opened on October 12, 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theater, New York and was the first musical by Rice and Lloyd Weber to be produced on the professional stage.
Spring 2001
An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding hood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A Witch…who raps? They’re all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy tale. When a Baker and his Wife learn they’ve been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk).
Fall 2001
This oddball romantic comedy - considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy - introduces us to a cast of vivid characters who have become legends in the canon: Sarah Brown, the upright by uptight "mission doll", out to reform the evildoers of Time Square; Sky Masterson, the slick, high-rolling gambler who woos her on a bet and ends up falling in love; Adelaide, the chronically ill nightclub performer whose condition is brought on by the fact she's been engaged to the same man for 14 years; and Nathan Detroit, her devoted fiance, desperate as always to find a spot for his infamous floating crap game.
Spring 2000
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a little handbook called "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" to climb the corporate ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive, tackling such familiar but potent dangers as the aggressively compliant "company man," the boss' whiny, nepotistic nephew, the office party, backstabbing co-workers, caffeine addiction, and, of course, true love.
Fall 2000
The fictional story takes place in 1960, centering around Conrad Birdie, a hip-thrusting rock and roll superstar akin to Elvis Presley; his agent, Albert Peterson; and Albert’s secretary and love, Rose Alvarez. Albert finds himself in trouble when Conrad is drafted into the army, so he and Rose come up with a last-ditch publicity stunt: Before he is sent to the army, Conrad will give one lucky girl a kiss on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Spring 1999
Based on the Gospel according to St. Matthew, and featuring a sparkling score by Stephen Schwartz, Godspell boasts a string of well-loved songs, led by the international hit, "Day By Day". As the cast performs "Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord", "Learn Your Lessons Well", "All For The Best", "All Good Gifts", "Turn Back, O Man" and "By My Side", the parables of Jesus Christ come humanly and hearteningly to life. Drawing from various theatrical traditions, such as clowning, pantomime, charardes, acrobatics and vaudeville, Gospell is a groundbreaking and unique reflection on the life of Jesus, with a message of kindness, tolerance and love.
Fall 1999
Cabaret is a 1966 Broadway musical, based on John Van Druten's play I Am a Camera, based in its turn on stories by CHristopher Isherwood, with book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, produced and directed by Hal Prince and starring Bert Convy, Jack Gilfrod, Jill Haworth, Lotte Lenya, Joel Grey, Peg Murray, and Edward Winter. The musical is set in Berlin in 1931 during the run-up to the coming to power of the Nazis under Adolf Hitler.
Spring 1998
In the show, the young pirate apprentice Frederic is about to be freed from his indentured period. The honorable Frederic, who was mistakenly apprenticed to the pirates by his partially deaf nursemaid Ruth, has decided to leave the pirate life. Now a free man, Frederic leaves for the shore. He instantly falls in love with Mabel, one of the daughters of Major-General Stanley. Soon, the pirates arrive and want to marry the rest of Major-General Stanley’s daughters. The Major enlists the help of the police to stop the pirates. Frederic desires to help Major-General Stanley and the police protect the ladies, but soon he discovers that due to a technicality, he is still bound by duty to remain an apprentice to the pirates. However, all is well in the end thanks to an unforeseen twist….
Fall 1998
"Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!" Broadway's greatest farce is light, fast-paced, witty, irreverent and one of the funniest musicals ever written - the perfect escape from life's troubles. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from time-tested, 2000 year old comedies of Roman playwright Plautus with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. The result is a non-stop laugh-fest in which a crafty slave (Pseudolus) struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted couresan (Philia) for his young master (Hero), in exchange for freedom.
