A Star Studded 29th Season at Lutcher Theater

Lutcher Theater announces it’s 2008/2009 Season. The new season line-up is filled with big name stars and Southeast Texas Premiers, continuing the Lutcher’s legacy of Incredible Entertainment.

TUNA DOES VEGAS, the hilarious new installment from the legendary Greater Tuna creative team, opens the Lutcher’s 29th Season, Friday, September 19 through Sunday, September 21, 2008. Shows time are at 7:30pm on the 19th and 20th, 2:00pm on Saturday the 20th and Sunday, September 21st at 3:00pm.

Starring the incomparable duo, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams, Tuna Does Vegas re-unites the lovable and eccentric characters from the ‘third smallest town in Texas’ as they take a rambling romp in Sin City. The hilarity begins when oddball-conservative radio host Arles Struvie announces on air that he and his wife Bertha Bumiller are heading to Vegas to renew their wedding vows...but everyone in Tuna, Texas goes along for the ride!

Written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard, Tuna Does Vegas will feature favorite characters from the award-winning “Greater Tuna” productions with some new characters too! The eclectic band of citizens that make up this town are portrayed by only Mr. Sears and Mr. Williams, making this satire on life in rural America even more delightful as they depict all of the inhabitants of Tuna - men, women, as well as Vegas showgirls, Elvis impersonators and more!

THE PAJAMA GAME, the must-see musical of the season, scampers onto stage Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 7:30pm.

Bright and riotously funny, this all-new production of the Tony® Award winning, Broadway smash hit, THE PAJAMA GAME is contemporary musical theatre comedy at its very best.

In this fast-paced, frisky tale, feisty employee representative, Babe Williams and handsome factory superintendent, Sid Sorkin are on opposite sides of heated negotiations when they suddenly find themselves also having to negotiate the racy affair that is quickly heating up between them! The high-energy score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross brims with popular hits and musical theatre standards such as “Hey There,” “Steam Heat” and the hilarious “Hernando’s Hideaway” that will keep you humming all the way home.

The show won 2006 Tony® Awards for Best revival of a Musical and Best Choreography.

A RIDE WITH BOB, THE BOB WILLS’ MUSICAL featuring Asleep at the Wheel is the first-ever play about the life and music of Bob Wills. Written by Ray Benson and Anne Rapp, and performed by twenty-five actors and musicians, with several dozen costume changes on a colorful theatrical set, A Ride With Bob includes the live performance of 15 of Wills’ most well-known songs in a plot that interweaves Ray Benson’s present day with various stages in Wills’ storied career.

Ray Benson’s 36-year odyssey leading the band Asleep at the Wheel seems to have lost direction.

He briefly met his musical mentor Bob Wills in 1973, but never got to chat; the interstates all look the same, and the bus feels like a dead end, especially when the new driver begins to rant about actually being the Ghost of Bob Wills.

Ray isn’t convinced, so “Bob” takes him on a series of song-filled remembrances of his illustrious and sometimes outrageous life.

Bob’s music and his life story become one in songs such as “San Antonio Rose,” “Faded Love,” and “Roly Poly.” The bus trip concludes with Ray having finally gotten to know his hero, awestruck and re-energized to keep the band and Wills’ music on the road forever.

Ride the roads with Bob on Friday, November 14, 2008 and Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 7:30pm.

NEIL BERG’S 100 YEARS OF HOLLYWOOD features songs from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, New York, New York, Goldfinger, Titanic, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Moulin Rouge, Dreamgirls and many more.

Following the enthusiastic response to 2006/2007 Season’s 100 Years of Broadway, creator Neil Berg now brings Tinseltown to Southeast Texas for a memorable evening that audiences of all ages will enjoy.

A cast of five of Broadway’s greatest talents will perform forty of Hollywood’s greatest movie songs.

It’s an evening of classic songs from the movies sung by five of the finest singers on Broadway; stars of such hit Broadway musicals: Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables, and Wonderful Town.

You don’t want to miss it on Friday, November 21, 2008 at 7:30pm.

“Consider Yourself” enchanted by OLIVER! on Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 3:00pm.

Hailed the world over as one of the best-loved family musicals of all time, Oliver! brings to the stage some of Charles Dicken’s most unforgettable characters, including Oliver, Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sikes, The Artful Dodger and Bumble, along with one of Broadway’s most memorable scores.

Hits such as “Consider Yourself At Home,” “Food, Glorious Food” and “Where Is Love” surround this heartwarming tale of the young orphan Oliver Twist in this all new production of Lional Bart’s magical musical.

The Baltimore Sun calls Oliver! “An ideal show to introduce children to the world of musical theatre.”

In the Tony®-Award winning new musical comedy THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser.

SPELLING BEE has been hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “perfect in every possible way – that rarity of rarities, a super-smart musical that is also a bona fide crowd pleaser.” This tuneful, offbeat and at times heartwarming show offers audience members the opportunity (strictly voluntary) to become part of the action as on-stage spellers.

The New York Times calls SPELLING BEE, “irresistible, riotously funny and remarkably ingenious – gold stars all around.” Brush up on your spelling skills, Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 7:30pm.

On Wednesday, January 14, 2009 and Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 7:30pm, DRUMLINE LIVE, a show-stopping new attraction created by the music team behind 20th Century Fox's hit movie, DRUMLine, brings show-style marching bands to the theatrical stage for the very first time.

Featuring a large cast of colorful and flamboyant performers from America’s top Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the production presents the rousing and rhythmic sounds of the great brass past including Earth, Wind, and Fire and Tower of Power side by side with the hottest contemporary hip hop and R&B. The stirring sound of trumpets, explosive choreography, and incredible feats of athleticism from the “steppers” and dancers, will bring the audience to its feet.

But the heart of the show is unquestionably the talented group of African American percussionists who form the “drumline.” The showdown of rhythm and speed between the “lines” will shock you with its precision and pulsing force.

MARK TWAIN TONIGHT-Starring Hal Holbrook is, quite simply, one of the most acclaimed and enduring performances in the history of theatre. Nearly 50 years ago, a young actor took the stage in a tiny off-Broadway theatre and introduced the world to a man they'd never forget. The actor was Hal Holbrook. The man was Mark Twain. Clive Barnes of the New York Times says, “Go and see it-it is full of the bile of human kindness and a black wit that has looked at man and preferred the housefly. It is also hilariously funny.” Enjoy this living breathing American Masterpiece at Lutcher Theater on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 7:30pm.

After a successful debut run in February 2008, MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL®, the blockbuster hit show that celebrates women, returns to Lutcher Theater Wednesday, March 4, 2009 through Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 7:30pm as well as a 2:00pm matinee on Saturday the 7th. The work of writer Jeanie Linders, Menopause The Musical® is a 90-minute production which includes 25 re-lyricized tunes from the ‘60s and ‘70s and culminates with a salute to women who are experiencing “The Change”.

Set in a department store where four women, with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra, meet by chance. The musical pokes fun at things such as hot flashes, memory loss, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats and eating binges. The show’s intended message is that menopause is a passage, but it should no longer be “The Silent Passage”. It is a stage in every woman’s life that is perfectly normal.

Published fifty years ago, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD proves to be as moving, poignant and resonant as when it first burst upon the American literary landscape.

This classic American tale of justice, acceptance, growing up and forgiveness lives from generation to generation as it passes on the tale of Atticus, Scout, Tom and Boo Radley to new audiences.

Having produced To Kill a Mockingbird a decade ago, The Montana Rep is delighted to be revisiting this powerful play while continuing to explore the heart of the American character.

In the tradition of A Streetcar named Desire (2004), Lost in Yonkers (2007) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), Montana Repertory Theatre once again brings new life to a classic of the American stage on Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 7:30pm.

On Wednesday, April 1, 2009 and Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 7:30pm, CIRQUE ÉLOIZE NEBBIA, a new show directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca and co-produced by Cirque Éloize and Teatro Sunil, takes the stage.

Following upon Nomade and Rain, Nebbia completes the trilogy dedicated to the sky.

The fog takes center stage.

A fog in which everything becomes possible, and in which reality is transformed into a dream in which “the sky descends like a mantle to cover our shoulders and protect our dreams.” At the crossroads where acrobatic theatre, modern circus, and performance come together, Nebbia combines theatrics, rhythm, acrobatic skills, circus acts and poetry.

Emotion and sensuality take up a pivotal position alongside music and singing in the collaborative process embraced by Cirque Éloize and Teatro Sunil.

The musical score for this new creation becomes a character in its own right, carrying on a dialogue with the twelve on-stage performers.

In 2002, THE TEN TENORS leapt to international attention as the surprise guest artists at the Eurovision Grand Prix de la Chanson held in Kiel, Germany.

On Friday, April 10, 2009 at 8:00pm they perform at Lutcher Theater.

The ensemble formed in 1995 while the tenors were university students, studying for careers in opera.

The Ten Tenors created and performed their first full-length show in 1998, while still full time students, and were undertaking an intensive touring schedule in Australia before the completion of that academic year.

The Ten Tenors have been a committed musical tour de force ever since.

Heroically striding through the classical tenor repertoire, swaying through the ballads of the Neapolitan crooners, and highlighting their youth with critically acclaimed performances of rock classics, The Ten Tenors and their unmistakable Australian charm have captured the hearts of countless fans worldwide.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE is structured as “a musical within a comedy.” At the center of the musical is Man in Chair, a lonely musical theatre enthusiast, whose cherished possession is a rare cast recording of the faux 1928 musical The Drowsy Chaperone.

As he plays the album and begins to tell the story of the show, it comes to life in his apartment, complete with its motley cast of gangsters, a butler, a playboy, an actress, an aviatrix, a Latin lover and, of course, the titular drowsy chaperone.

While the show gloriously plays out around him, Man in Chair periodically pauses the action to comment on the hammy performances, explain the silly plot and dish about the actors who starred in the original production.

It’s both a legitimate musical and a loving satire of one.

Join the fun and conclude the Lutcher’s 2008/2009 Season on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 7:30pm.

Season Brochures detailing both Full and Pick 4 Season Packages will be mailed in the near future. Call 745-5535 (within the Golden Triangle), 1-800-828-5535 (Louisiana) for more information. Information on the Lutcher’s 2008/2009 Season is also available on line at http://www.lutcher.org. Tickets for individual shows go on sale Friday, August 15, 2008. The Lutcher Theater, a privately owned not-for-profit organization, is located in downtown Orange at 707 Main Street. Major funding provided by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation. Dates, times and performances are subject to change.