Producing artistic director Robert Hupp will direct the Victor Hugo-inspired musical by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer. The MainStage presentation is a co-production between The Rep and Phoenix Theatre in Phoenix, AZ, and is supported by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust. It's billed as "the largest production The Rep has ever undertaken."
The season will also boast:
The Young Artists' program production of If You Sing It, They Will Come (Songs from the Silver Screen), conceived and directed by Nicole Capri. "You will be wowed by talented young Arkansans ages 10-23 as they entertain you with classics like 'Moon River' from 'Breakfast at Tiffany's and 'My Heart Will Go On' from 'Titanic,'" in this special non-subscription attraction. Nov. 5-16.It's a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play by Joe Landry, based on the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra and Jo Swerling. "It's the familiar story, told in its entirety, and the sentiment that you love, made fresh for the stage. Sit back, as if in your family living room in the 1940s, and listen to the story on the radio, complete with sound effects and commercials. See — and hear — angels get their wings on the MainStage. Hupp directs. Dec. 5-28.
Looking Over the President's Shoulder by James Still, starring Lawrence Hamilton. "This one-man show is based on the true story of Alonzo Fields, an aspiring opera singer who takes a job as a butler in the White House during the Depression and stays to serve four presidents." Gilbert McCauley (Fences, A Soldier's Play and others) directs. Jan. 30-Feb. 15, 2009.Larry Shue's The Foreigner, in a return engagement. "Audiences never tire of this classic, side-splitting comedy about the shy Englishman vacationing at a rural Georgia fishing lodge who pretends he understands no English." It is the Rep's most-requested title. Nicole Capri directs. March 13-29, 2009.The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance. Cliff Fannin Baker, The Rep's founder, directs the play about Victorian-era sensation John Merrick, deformed by disease, and his relationship with a doctor. April 24-May 10, 2009.The Who's Tommy, the Tony Award-winning rock opera by Des McAnuff (book) and Pete Townshend (music and lyrics), with additional music and lyrics by John Entwistle and Keith Moon. Lynn Kurdziel-Formatto directs. June 5-28, 2009. For more information, visit www.therep.org.
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Founded in 1976, Arkansas Repertory Theatre is the state's largest nonprofit professional theatre company. A member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT D), The Rep has produced more than 280 productions, including 40 world premieres, in its historic building in downtown Little Rock.
