Theatre of the Republic Announces Exciting Line Up
for 2012-2013 Season

April 2, 2012, Conway, S.C.  ― Making a deal with the Devil for a winning baseball season and a faded, delusional silent screen movie actress; from a dysfunctional Oklahoma family turning on its own to the story of triumph over a lifetime of abuse based on a hit Steven Spielberg movie, these are some of the elements that make up the Theatre of the Republic’s just-announced 2012-2013 season.

 “We are all extremely excited about the variety and breadth of our upcoming 2012-2013 season,” says Executive and Artistic Director Tim McGhee. “Ticket buyers will definitely find a slew of exciting performance choices with our new schedule.”

The musicals and plays scheduled are: “Damn Yankees” in August,  written by the classic Broadway team of  Richard Adler and Jerry Ross; Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” in October; “Holiday on Main Street: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” in December; “August: Osage County” by playwright Tracy Letts in February; Oprah Winfrey’s “The Color Purple” in April; and “Curtain Up: A Musical Celebration of Broadway’s Favorites” in June (please note that shows are subject to change).

“We contend that Theatre of the Republic is still the greatest deal in

all the Grand Strand to see the best in non-professional, non-equity theatre. All of our performers, both onstage and behind the curtain, donate their time and resources. It is through their hard work that we can offer the high-quality performance endeavors that are the bedrock of Theatre of the Republic’s solid artistic reputation,” says McGhee.

Season ticket brochures are scheduled to be mailed to current subscribers by the end of April. Renewing subscribers and new season ticket buyers are encouraged to get their forms in as quickly as possible to ensure getting their choice of preferred reserved seating. Prices for levels of season ticket buyers remain the same as last season: Individual (1 ticket per show), $102; Friend (2 tickets per show), $198; Patron (4 tickets per show), $378; and Benefactor (6 tickets per show), $540. Individual reserved tickets for each show remain at $18.

“We will be revising our performance schedule this upcoming season, to meet the demands and requests of our ticket buyers,” says McGhee. “We are switching our Wednesday night performances to create two Saturday matinees. We think this will be very popular with our audience.”

If you are not a renewing season ticket subscriber and would like to become one, or to receive more information on the upcoming season, you are encouraged to go to www.theatreoftherepublic.com for ever-changing, up-to-the-minute information. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; 843-488-0821.

When describing the new season, McGhee is effusive about the upcoming shows. “I know ‘Damn Yankees’ is going to be a hit with our ticket buyers-many are fans of both baseball and classic American musical theatre. ‘Sunset Boulevard’ will be a great artistic challenge, capturing the sweep of Classic Hollywood in the 1940s, from the movie sound stages of Paramount Pictures to the crumbling mansion of our troubled star, Norma Desmond. I can’t wait!

“Tony Award-winner for best play in 2008, ‘August: Osage County,’ is a gritty, emotional book play that challenges both the creative team and the audience. It will be a production that makes you remember what is so special about live theatre. ‘The Color Purple’ captures all the raw emotions and triumph from the film, but sets it to joyous, soul-lifting music, spanning jazz to the blues to gospel. It is a powerfully wonderful musical.

“We will offer two original productions next season: another warm and entertaining production of ‘Holiday on Main Street.’ Once again, it will capture the magic and mystery of everything that is Christmas. We are also very excited about ‘Curtain Up: A Celebration of Broadway’s Favorites’.  This musical review will encompass huge, well-known showstoppers and scene stealers, but then also showcase beautiful, more obscure Broadway gems that will surprise and delight our audience. It will be a show for lovers of Broadway.”

Here is a brief synopsis of each show scheduled for Theatre of the Republic’s 2012-2013 performance schedule:

Damn Yankees
Some men really like their baseball. Middle-aged real estate agent Joe Boyd is a long-suffering fan of the Washington Senators. “I’d sell my soul for a long-ball hitter,” Boyd says, and soon the Devil, disguised as smooth-talking salesman Mr. Applegate, appears. The Devil makes a deal Boyd just can’t resist—and ultimately might live to regret! This modern retelling of “Faust,” delivers great entertainment set against America’s great pastime. Winner of the 1956 Tony Award for Best Musical and the 1994 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, “Damn Yankees” features music by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Songs include such classics as “Heart,” “Whatever Lola Wants,” and “Two Lost Souls.”

Sunset Boulevard
It’s Hollywood 1949, and struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis needs work. At Paramount Studios, all he finds is Betty, a pretty script editor. A near escape from repossession agents finds Joe at the faded, dilapidated mansion of once-great silent screen star Norma Desmond. “You used to be in pictures—you used to be big,” Joe says, to which Norma responds, “I am big ... it’s the pictures that got small!” Under the watchful eye of her ever-present and devoted manservant, Max, Norma proposes that Joe and she collaborate on the script for her comeback movie, Salome, to be directed by the one and only Cecil B. DeMille. Each senses an opportunity with the other: room and board for Joe, and a young kept man to make Norma feel young again. Joe soon discovers that Norma is not what she seems to be, and Norma finds Joe may not be the man to make her dreams come true and bring her back to her “glory days.” From blockbuster composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, “Sunset Boulevard” won 1995 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Glenn Close); and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (George Hearn).

Holiday On Main Street: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
A beloved annual holiday tradition since 2002, “Holiday on Main Street” brings the best, brightest and warmest things of the holiday season to the Theatre of the Republic’s stage. An original production each year, “Holiday on Main Street” features singing, dancing, spectacularly sparkling sets and performances filled with all the warmth and love of Christmas.

August: Osage County
A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Mix in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you’ve got a major new play that unflinchingly—and uproariously—exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family. Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and 2008 Tony Award for Best Play, “August: Osage County” is “a fraught, densely plotted saga of an Oklahoma clan in a state of near-apocalyptic meltdown. Fiercely funny and bitingly sad… (a) turbo-charged tragicomedy,” according to the New York Times. Please note that “August: Osage County” portrays adult situations with adult language. Discretion is advised.

The Color Purple
“I'm poor, black, I might even be ugly, but dear God, I'm here. I'm here.”

Adapted from author Alice Walker’s 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed 1985 movie, “The Color Purple” is an inspiring family saga that tells the unforgettable story of Celie, a black woman from Georgia who finds the strength to triumph over a lifetime of abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father and her husband, Mister. Through the love of troubled juke-joint singer, Shug Avery, the powerful strength of Sofia, and the memory of her long-absent sister, Nettie, Celie discovers her unique voice in the world. Set to a joyous score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, and blues, “The Color Purple” is a story of hope, a testament to the healing power of love and a celebration of life. Nominated for the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, LaChanze won the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.

Curtain Up: A Musical Celebration of Broadway’s Favorites
Featuring showstoppers, scene stealers and some hidden musical gems from many of Broadway’s best-known productions, “Curtain Up: A Musical Celebration of Broadway’s Favorites” is an evening of the songs and melodies from the American Musical Theatre. An original-scripted production by Theatre of the Republic’s Executive and Artistic Director Tim McGhee, “Curtain Up” showcases the best, brightest and brassiest of the voices that together make TOR’s stage come alive. This is a show for all lovers of the Great White Way!

For more information contact:

Seán Patrick Smith, Theatre of the Republic, 843-488-0821