The 36-year-old Atlanta Lyric Theatre begins its 2015-16 season in August with Peter Pan. The Marietta-based company plans a five-show lineup that ends in June 2016 with the classic West Side Story. Details:
PETER PAN. Aug. 14-30. J.M. Barrie’s classic story has seen iterations on the big screen, TV (ugh!), cartoons and the stage. This is the one we know best, where Peter swoops into the Darling family nursery to locate his shadow and finds Wendy, John and Peter eager to join him in Neverland. The score — with contributions from such greats as Moose Charlap, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Carolyn Leigh and Jule Styne — includes “I Won’t Grow Up,” “I’ve Gotta Crow,” “Neverland,” “Tender Shepherd” and the delicious “Hook’s Waltz.”
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Oct. 23-Nov. 8. Mel Brooks’ follow-up to The Producers employs broad humor instead of wit but has a decent enough score and a cool yodeling number. All the characters you know from the 1974 feature film are here, including Frederick Frankenstein (FRONK-en-steen), Igor (EYE-gore), Inga and Frau Blücher. The musical ran 14 months (compared to six years for The Producers) on Broadway and included the estimable talents of two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster (who did not collect a medallion this time). Atlanta native Shuler Hensley played the Monster.
THE FULL MONTY. Feb. 12-28, 2016. This take-it-all-off crowd-pleaser was the talk of the 2000-01 Broadway season. It moves the plot of the 1997 feature film from England to Buffalo, N.Y., where laid-off steelworkers (and buddies) desperate for self-respect plan a fundraiser that will culminate with a special surprise. The contemporary, jazzy score by David Yazbeck stands up well. The show ran almost two years on Broadway and was nominated for 10 Tony awards, including one for Atlanta native John Ellison Conlee as the fitness-challenged Dave Bukatinsky.
DREAMGIRLS. April 8-24, 2016. The story of an up-and-coming 1960s girl group and the behind-the-scenes reality of the entertainment industry. Largely believed to be modeled on Diana Ross and the Supremes but with nods as well to the Marvelettes, the Temptations, the Shirelles and others of their ilk. The Tom Eyen-Henry Krieger score includes “Cadillac Car,” “Steppin’ to the Bad Side,” “Family,” “I Am Changing,” “One Night Only” and Effie Melody White’s show-stopping “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.” The 1981 Broadway original ran for more than 3.5 years and won seven 1982 Tony awards. The show has seen one revival and an all-star concert version.
WEST SIDE STORY. June 10-26, 2016. Considered in some circles to be the greatest American musical ever (others argue for Gypsy). There’s no denying the pulse of the Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim score and the tensions simmering in Arthur Laurents’ book. The Sharks and the Jets will face off again, Maria will find — and lose — Tony and we’ll all go home hopeful that there’s a better way, as expressed in the song “Somewhere.” Interestingly, the show lost the best musical Tony Award to The Music Man.
Season subscriptions are on sale HERE or at 404.377.9948. Single tickets will go on sale at a later date. Atlanta Lyric Theatre performs in the 600-seat Jennie T. Anderson Theatre in the Cobb Civic Center Complex, 548 S. Marietta Parkway S.E.
