Our 2010/11 MainStage Season
The Grand Theatre's 2010/11 MainStage Season
2010/11 will be a season of music, mystery and a magical coat
Experience excitement and the spirit of adventure with The Grand Theatre’s 2010/11 MainStage Season.
“Our 2010/11 MainStage Season will be filled with journeys. Both internal and external quests are taken in far away mystical lands, and take a look at who we really are,” Susan Ferley, Artistic Director of The Grand says. The season, she adds, offers entertainment for all ages and interests. “It will be a season full of musicals, mystery, drama, romance and comedy.”
The 2009/10 MainStage Season saw the largest increase in subscribers in 20 years for the theatre and according to Deb Harvey, Executive Director at The Grand, the theatre wants even more individuals to subscribe this coming season. “Subscribers are the heart of any theatre,” Harvey says. “Just as we did last year we are asking our subscribers to renew their own subscriptions and to sell one new subscription to a friend, family member or coworker. Our subscribers love this theatre and have been so helpful in spreading the word about the world-class shows that we produce at The Grand.”
The year begins with a journey to the 1930s with the Fall High School Project, Anything Goes. “This is a classic story of romance and shenanigans,” Artistic Director Susan Ferley says of the lively musical. Audiences will be taken on board the SS American, sailing from New York to London, England. It’s a brash comedy of a love sick Wall Street worker stuck on the ocean liner with his boss and his boss’ daughter – who happens to be the one of his heart’s desires. It’s a story of love and mistaken identity, “Complete with exuberant tap dancing,” Ferley adds. The project will feature the talent of more than 60 local high school students.
The Grand kicks off the MainStage season with Side by Side by Sondheim. The show is a musical revue of the legendary composer Stephen Sondheim. It will feature some of his greatest hits from shows such as: Company, A Little Night Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Gypsy and West Side Story. “Once again we launch a season with the wonderful music of Stephen Sondheim,” she says, reflecting on the 2001 season that opened with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. “He is a witty and clever lyricist,” Ferley notes. “There is both a playful and richness in his music.” The show will feature Sondheim favorites like “Comedy Tonight” (from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) and “A Boy Like That” (from West Side Story).
“Next we have a show that appeals across generations,” Ferley says of The Grand’s holiday production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat. It tells the Old Testament Story of Joseph and his 11 brothers taken from the book of Genesis. Joseph is the dreamer and the interpreter of dreams. He takes an inspirational journey from slavery to power and journeys down the path of forgiveness. “It’s a story about triumphing in the face of challenges,” she says. “It is also great fun because it features a range of musical styles,” Ferley says of the holiday production she is set to direct. The Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber Musical showcases familiar songs such as “Any Dream will Do” and “Go, Go, Go Joseph”.
Next we take a trip to cottage country in the Canadian Shield in Kingfisher Days. “This story speaks so profoundly to me because it’s a story of a little girl at her cottage in the Canadian Shield and her name is Susan,” Ferley says, referring to her own childhood in Winnipeg. “We follow a little girl who befriends her neighbor, a retired school teacher, who introduces her to a world of fairies and the language and characters of Shakespeare. Kingfisher Days captures the luxuriousness of time when you’re a child,” The Grand’s Artistic Director explains. “This is a story that speaks to our imagination.”
The season then takes a detour to 221B Baker Street with Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. “It’s a who-dunnit adventure filled with intrigue and mystery,” Ferley explains. Playwright and adapter Steven Dietz took the story from two Holmes stories, A Scandal in Bohemia and The Final Problem. We follow the famous detective Sherlock Holmes on his last case, accompanied by his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson. In this story it seems Holmes has met his match with the genius of crime, Professor Moriarty. “I love that we are doing this show,” Ferley says. “It is a Victorian story, and we are a Victorian theatre. It is a perfect match.”
The theatre is bringing back a patron favourite, Shirley Valentine. Shirley Valentine is a one-woman show about a frustrated housewife who takes an external journey to Greece. “This is where her internal journey takes place; it’s a wonderful tale of self discovery,” Ferley says.
From Greece we travel to the mystical Middle Earth, with one of the greatest fantasy stories of all time: The Hobbit. We follow Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, as his comfortable life is turned upside down when he is recruited by Gandalf the Sorcerer on his quest to fight for their kingdom and treasure. “We are excited to have these characters from The Shire and Middle Earth come to life on The Grand’s MainStage,” says Ferley of The Lord of the Rings prequel.
Join us for a season of adventure! Subscriptions are available now. Single tickets go on sale July 1, 2010. Please call The Grand Theatre Box Office at (519) 672-8800 or visit grandtheatre.com.
Artistic Director Susan Ferley introduces the 2010*11 Season.
2010 11 MAINSTAGE SUBSCRIPTION SERIES
SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM
A MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
and music by Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers,
Richard Rodgers, Jule Styne
OCTOBER 19 - NOVEMBER 6
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR® DREAMCOAT
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Tim Rice
Directed by Susan Ferley
NOVEMBER 24 - JANUARY 2
KINGFISHER DAYS
By Susan Coyne. Directed by Susan Ferley
JANUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 5
SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL ADVENTURE
By Steven Dietz
Based on the original 1899 play by William Gillette
and Arthur Conan Doyle
FEBRUARY 15 - MARCH 5
SHIRLEY VALENTINE
By Willy Russell
MARCH 22 - APRIL 9
THE HOBBIT
Adapted by Glyn Robbins from the book entitled
“The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien
Directed by Susan Ferley
APRIL 27 - MAY 26
HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT FALL 2010
ANYTHING GOES
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Original Book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton
and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse
*High School Project not included in the Subscription Series
SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 2
THE GRAND THEATRE
The Grand Theatre is a cultural icon in London, Ontario and is recognized nationally as a cultural leader. The Grand is committed to producing some of the best professional, live theatre in Canada and to enriching, engaging, entertaining and transforming the lives of members of its community. With its MainStage, UnderGrand and Theatre for Young Audiences performances, the theatre takes great pride in providing world-class entertainment to London and Southwestern Ontario residents each season from September to May.
For further information: Contact Julie Bell, Public Relations Coordinator at The Grand Theatre at (519) 672-9030 ext 247 or jbell@grandtheatre.com.