The Footlight Players 79th Season Is An Exciting Collection Of Brilliantly Written Productions

CHARLESTON, SC – July 26, 2010 –  The Footlight Players 79thseason may be the company’s best collection of productions to date.Ranging from rare compositions and state premiers to classic and alltime favorites—Footlight Players 79th season will excite, enthrall andentertain patrons while emphasizing the talents and achievements of thecommunity.

 
According to Executive Director, Jocelyn Jenkins, “We wanted TheFootlight Players 79th season to offer the community a variety ofproductions. This season is an exciting collection of brilliantlywritten productions that emphasize what The Footlight Players strives to create—a preservation of the past with an emphasis on the future.”
 
Footlight Theatre, home to Footlight Players, is located at 20 QueenStreet in downtown Charleston and produces between eight and tenproductions per year marking the company as the most active communitytheatre in the southeast.
 
Footlight Players 79th season kicks off on August 27th with theproduction of Mark Twain’s long lost manuscript, Is He Dead? andcontinues through May 2011 with the following lineup:
 
MainStage Series

Is He Dead? Written by Mark Twain, adapted for the stage by David Ives and directed by Greg Tavares.

Authored by Mark Twain in 1897, this play was discovered by ShelleyFisher Fishkin and updated by David Ives. Jean-Francois Millet is abrilliant but unrecognized artist who can’t sell a painting to save hislife. With the help of his madcap bohemian friends, Jean decides tostage his own demise to revive sales. However, in order to keep an eyeon his success, he re-emerges as his imaginary twin sister. Is He Dead?is a hilarious piece that will have audiences laughing loudly enough towake the dead.

Performance dates for Is He Dead? are August 27–28; September 2–4;

9–11 at 8:00 p.m. and August 29th and September 12th at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, $15 for students.

*Recommended age 17+

The Lion in Winter Written by James Goldman and directed by Evan Parry
 
Back stabbing, spying, and rampant infidelity—just a typical familyChristmas for the Plantagenets, England’s royal family. This ingeniousdrama pits King Henry II against his strong-willed wife Eleanor ofAquitaine and their three heirs in the 12th-century struggle for loveand power. The winner of three Tony and seven Academy Awards, JamesGoldman’s historical comedy takes place in 1187, but is as timely astoday.

Performance dates for The Lion In Winter are October 1­–2, 7–9, 14–16 at 8p.m. and October 10 & 17 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, $15 for students.

*Recommended age 15+

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin; book written by David Ives & Paul Blake and directed by Robert Ivey.

Direct from Broadway, the classic holiday movie White Christmas comes to the stage at last in its South Carolina premier. This brand new musical shines with classic Berlin hits like Blue Skies, How Deep is theOcean? and, of course, the unforgettable title song, White Christmas. The story of two buddies putting on a show in a magical Vermont Inn and finding their perfect mates in the process, White Christmas is full ofdancing, laughter and some of the greatest songs ever written. Thismerry and bright theatrical experience is one that the whole family will remember for years to come.

Performance dates for White Christmas are December 3­–4, 9–11, 16–18 at 8 p.m. and December 5, 12 & 19 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $30 for adults, $27 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for Children 10 and under.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and directed by Henry Clay Middleton.

The intensely affecting drama chronicles how a financial windfalltouches the lives of an African-American family living in Chicago in the late 1950’s. A simple desire for a home of their own becomes thetouchstone of their integrity. This modern classic, remembered from thefilm starring Sidney Poitier and most recently, Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs,is an inspiring, moving and poignant tale that includes themes relevantand as universal today as they were then. 

Performance dates for Raisin in the Sun are January 28 & 29;February 3–5; 10–12 at 8 p.m. and February 6 & 13 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, $15 for students, $10 for Children 10 and under.

Messiah on the Frigidaire by John Culbertson and directed by Don Brandenburg

The small town of Elroy, South Carolina is thrust into the evangelicalspotlight, when what seems to be the image of Jesus appears on arefrigerator in a trailer park. The discovery sets into motion a frenzyof conflict, communion and good old-fashioned commerce. When theNational Investigator turns the appearance into front-page headlines,the trailer park becomes a Mecca for miracle seekers, soul searchers and disciples with a decidedly political agenda. In an area where religionis as much a part of life as grits and cotton fields, God surely movesin mysterious ways.

Performance dates for Messiah on the Frigidaire are March 18 &19;24–26 & 31; April 1& 2 at 8 p.m. and March 27 & April 3 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, $15 for students.

*Recommended for age 17+

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas music by Carol Hall; book by Larry L. King & Peter Masterson; directed by Robert Ivey.

Based on the true story of the Texas brothel known as the ChickenRanch this fun, tongue-in-cheek musical that features a country-western score and brims with rousing chorus numbers and beautiful ballads.Throw in a classy madam with a heart of gold, a hotheaded sheriff, anevangelical television reporter (not to mention a championship footballteam and a house full of beautiful women) for a down-home good time.

Performance dates for Best Little Whorehouse in Texas are May 6 & 7, 12–14,

19–21 at 8 p.m. and May 15 & 22 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $30 for adults, $27 for seniors, $20 for students.

*Recommended age 17+

Late Night Series

Tickets for our Late Night series are $10 on Thursdays and $15 for Friday and Saturday shows. All seating is General Admission.

The Weir by Conor McPherson and directed by Jo Ellen Aspinwall.

Set in a small tavern in rural Ireland, local men swap spooky stories in an attempt to impress a young woman who recently moved into a nearby“haunted” house. The tables are soon turned when she tells a tale of her own and an innocent evening soon becomes a night of personalrevelation. Beautiful, devious and darkly magical, The Weir celebratesold fashioned story telling and guarantees to serve up more thanchilling ghost stories about what goes bump in the night.

Performance dates for The Weir are October 28-30 & November 4-6, 2010 at 9 p.m.

Fat Pig by Neil LaBute and directed by Robbie Thomas.

How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? Tom faces just that question when he falls for Helen, a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sized—and thensome. Forced to explain his new relationship to his shallow (althoughshockingly funny) friends, Tom finally comes to terms with his ownpreconceptions of the importance of conventional good looks.

Performance dates for Fat Pig are February 24-26 & March 3-5, 2011 at 9:00 p.m.

For information on the 2010-11 schedule or to purchase tickets, contactthe Footlight Players box office at (843) 722.7521 or visitwww.FootLightPlayers.net <http://www.FootLightPlayers.net> and reserve your tickets online.

Footlight Players

Footlight Players theatre is the longest continuously performingtheatre company in the Southeast and has been producing performancessince 1931. Presenting on average six Main Stage and two Late Nightproductions annually, Footlight Players is notably one of the leadingcommunity theatres in the South focused on providing qualityentertainment for and by the community. For more information onFootlight Players, Inc. call (843) 722.7521 or visit FootLightPlayers.net