The 2013 season will begin on June 13 with the Tony Award winning farce "Lend Me a Tenor."
Sam Rush New Century Theatre in Northampton is gearing up to begin its 23rd season of plays, a summer lineup focusing on comedies and plays with heart.
After conducting an extensive survey with theatre goers last season, Producing Director Sam Rush discovered that audiences were drawn to the theatre because of the quality of the productions it provided.
Using the feedback from the survey, Rush set out to create a lineup of plays that would meet audience desires.
"After the summary of our surveys I saw how choosing a season is a bit like thinking you can make everyone happy with one flavor of ice cream - it's just not possible," Rush says.
"Everyone prefers something different. I like to please the greatest number of people so I am excited that this summer's lineup tries to offer something for all tastes and, with luck, might be a season that will offer a comedy that the drama folks will love and vice-versa."
The 2013 season will begin on June 13 with the Tony Award winning farce ‘Lend Me a Tenor’. The season will continue on featuring shows such as ‘The Sunset Limited’ ‘Good People’ and ‘God of Carnage’.
All of the season’s plays will take place at the Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts, located on the Smith College campus.
If you are interested in seeing all the plays there are package tickets available now. Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night Subscription are $89, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Subscriptions $99, the Sunday night ‘pizza and a play’ subscription is $70.
Single tickets can be purchased for $30, seniors (65 and older) for $28, along with a student rush price of $15. These tickets will go on sale beginning May 28.
In addition to the plays hosted by the New Century Theatre Company, the PaintBox Theatre will also serve up interactive plays geared towards a younger audience. This season PaintBox will feature high energy productions of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ (July 3-6), ‘Once Upon a Very Cool Motorcycle Dude’ (July17-20), and ‘King Kong Jr. (July 31-August 3). Single tickets for PaintBox shows are $7, while season passes are $18.
The Plays
‘Lend Me a Tenor’ is a screw ball comedy complete with cases of mistaken identity, comedic romance, and bawdy humor. The play was written by ken Ludwig and has received nine Tony nominations throughout its Broadway history. The play will find a home at New Century Theatre, June13-22 under the direction of Jack Neary.
‘The Sunset Limited’ is a play written by ‘no Country for Old Men’ author Cormac McCarthy. The play is a drama focusing on the lives of two strangers who are brought together to debate the world from two different views. The New Century production will be directed by Sheila Siragusa and will run from June 27- July 6.
David Lindsay-Abaire’s ‘Good People’ is the story of South Boston’s Margie Walsh, whose paycheck won't even cover last month's bills. The comedic play tells the story of Walsh looking towards her ex-boyfriend in hopes he can help steer her life in the right direction. The play will be directed by Sam Rush and will run from July 11-20 at New Century.
The final play of the summer series will be ‘God of Carnage’ which revolves around the conflict between two sets of parents whose children partook in a playground brawl. The play has been viewed as a mix of ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe’ and ‘The Honeymooners’ by The New York Times. As the final play in New Century Theatre’s summer series, ‘God of Carnage’ will run from July 25-Aug. 3 and will be directed by Ed Golden.