Serenbe Playhouse goes deep for its ninth season, which begins in March with the Disney version of The Little Mermaid. “Every show will be set on or in the water in lakes and rivers in Serenbe,” artistic director Brian Clowdus said in a statement. He even promises to sink a ship. All Serenbe shows are performed outdoors.
Here’s a closer look:
The Little Mermaid. MARCH 28-APRIL 22, 2018. A mermaid named Ariel dreams of a world above the sea and sacrifices her voice to find true love. At Serenbe, Ariel’s grotto will be made of recycled trash. The 2008 Broadway version is based on the 1989 animated Disney movie, which, in turn, is based on the time-tested tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The score, by composer Alan Menken and lyricists Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, includes “Part of Your World,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl.” The Broadway staging ran 20 months and earned two Tony Award nominations. Artistic associate Ryan Oliveti directs.
Peter Pan. MAY 31-AUG. 26. A world premiere telling of the stories of J.M. Barrie. The family show will be set, Clowdus says, on a pirate ship. No details available on who will write/adapt the script or direct.
Titanic. JULY 10-AUG. 12. Clowdus will direct the 1997 Broadway musical by Maury Yeston and Peter Stone, based on the historic failure of the “unsinkable” luxury steamship the RMS Titanic in April 1912. Among its passengers: New York elite like John Jacob Astor IV; Macy’s owner Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida; industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim; and heiress Molly Brown (who did prove unsinkable). The Broadway original ran almost two years; won five Tony awards, including best musical; and helped cement the careers of Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark and Brian d’Arcy James. The score, which calls for soaring choral vocals, includes “How Did They Build Titanic/There She Is,” “I Must Get on That Ship,” “Godspeed Titanic,” “The Proposal/The Night Was Alive,” “Lady’s Maid” and “Dressed in Your Pyjamas in the Grand Salon.” Says Clowdus: “We will be creating a Titanic and sinking it nightly while honoring the lives and stories that made this moment in history so iconic.”
The Seagull. SEPT. 5-30. The first of four major plays by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov takes place on a Russian estate and dramatizes the romantic and artistic conflicts of four characters: a writer, an ingenue, a fading actress and her playwright son. All yearn to be elsewhere and fear they’ve squandered life’s opportunities. Bulgarian-born Elizabeth Dinkova directs. She has an M.F.A. in directing from the Yale School of Drama and is the 2017/18 Yale Directing Fellow at the Alliance Theatre.
Serenbe also plans to reprise its holiday shows again in 2018 — The Sleepy Hollow Experience (Sept. 26-Nov. 4) and The Snow Queen (Nov. 28-Dec. 30).
Single and season tickets go on sale soon HERE or at 770.463.1110.
