SEASON 14 (2022-2023) MAIN STAGE SERIES SHOWS

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LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL

By Lanie Robertson
September 28 - October 16, 2022

The time is 1959. The place is a seedy bar in Philadelphia. The audience is about to witness one of Billie Holiday’s last performances, given four months before her death. In Robertson’s Tony award-winning play, Holiday engages the audience with salty, often humorous reminiscences of her troubled life as a traveling performer in a segregated south. With the help of her piano man, Jimmy Powers, she lets music tell her story, sharing soulful and heart-wrenching songs from her memorable canon including: “Strange Fruit,” “God Bless the Child,” “When a Woman Loves a Man,” and “Ain’t Nobody’s Business if I Do.”

FENCES

By August Wilson
November 2 - 20, 2022

Set in segregated Pittsburgh in the 1950s, Fences depicts the life of Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball star now scraping by as a sanitation worker. A towering figure facing thwarted aspirations, Troy attempts to assert control in his life through his relationships with his wife and son. But even as he takes responsibility for their safety and well-being, he betrays them each in ways that will forever alter their lives. Part of August Wilson’s 10-play Century Cycle, Fences explores the walls we build around ourselves and our loved ones, while also illuminating one family’s struggles in a racist society. Fences is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, two-time Tony Award-winner, and one of the most groundbreaking plays of the 20th century.

INDECENT

By Paula Vogel
January 25 - February 26, 2023

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel tells the explosive and deeply moving story of the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Jewish playwright Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance—a play about a forbidden lesbian romance that enchanted and outraged audiences. We follow the path of the artists who risked their careers in order to perform it. It actively pays tribute to the Yiddish, immigrant families, Jews, theater makers, and the women, specifically the queer women, who are erased from historical narratives. Indecent is a riveting backstage drama filled with music, groundbreaking theatre, and stage magic.

WEBSTER'S BITCH

By Jacqueline Bircher
May 31 - June 18, 2023

World Premiere!
When their Editor-in-Chief gets caught using some unexpected profanity, the employees of Webster's Dictionary find themselves at the center of an internet uprising over gender and obscenity in the age of social media. As office politics collide with ambition, morality, and lexicography, the future of the English language hangs in the balance. A play about vulgar words and the people who define them. HELP SPONSOR THIS PRODUCTION: Info here!

BANDSTAND

Music by Richard Oberacker
Book and Lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker
July 12 - August 20, 2023

It’s 1945. American soldiers return home to ticker-tape parades and overjoyed families, and Private First Class Donny Novitski, singer and songwriter, returns with the hope of rebuilding his life. When NBC announces a national competition to find the nation’s next swing band sensation, Donny joins forces with a motley group of fellow veterans, and together they form a band unlike any the nation has ever seen. However, complicated relationships, the demands of the competition, and the challenging after-effects of war may break these musicians. Victory will require every ounce of talent, stamina, and raw nerve that these musicians can muster.

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STOP TIME DANCE MACHINE

stop/time dance theater
Conceived, Directed and Choreographed by Darlene Zoller
March 22 - April 2, 2023

stop/time dance theater is gearing up to take the stage for their next annual production. This will be the 18th original stop/time show and their 14th show as the Resident Dance Company of Playhouse on Park. Our cast of 18 promises to entertain you with original choreography and memorable music. Singing, dancing, and lots of heart make stop/time an audience favorite. Whether it’s a blast from the past or a look toward the future, stop/time dance theater will take you on a trip you won’t soon forget. 

 

THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

A CHARLES DICKENS CHRISTMAS

Music by Douglas J. Cohen
Lyrics by Tome Toce
Book by Robert Owens

Scott Conceived and originally directed by Bruce Colville
December 10 - 29, 2022

A CHARLES DICKENS CHRISTMAS is a highly original and humorous take on A Christmas Carol that follows a young Charles Dickens, unable to find much joy in life, struggling to write the Christmas story that will become the most famous holiday tale of all time. With the intervention of a magical muse, the elements of his famous A Christmas Carol begin to take shape. Dickens learns the true meaning of Christmas and finds in his past the inspiration for his immortal holiday classic. A Charles Dickens Christmas' rich musical score is sure to put the holiday cheer into every member of the audience.

DANDELION

Adapted From the Children’s Book by Don Freeman
Book & Lyrics by Joan Ross Sorkin
Music by Mary Liz McNamara
April 25 - May 14, 2023
World Premiere!

This musical tells the story of Dandelion, a shy, awkward lion. He is filled with middle school angst when he is invited to Jennifer Giraffe’s impromptu party. Dandelion decides to reinvent himself, but ultimately discovers it is better just to be yourself! In addition to the theme of being yourself, the musical raises issues of bullying and social exclusion.

HELP SPONSOR THIS PRODUCTION: Info here!

POLKADOTS: The Cool Kids Musical

Book by Melvin Tunstall, III
Music by Greg Borowsky & Douglas Lyons
Lyrics by Douglas Lyons
Original Concept by Douglas Lyons
February 21 - March 17, 2024

Literature Alive: On the Road in 2024 - NOW BOOKING!

Playhouse on Park’s first ever touring production! Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical follows 8-year-old Lily Polkadot who just moved to the “Squares Only” small town of Rockaway. As the first Polkadot in an all Square school, Lily faces an almost impossible task of gaining acceptance from her peers. From daily bullying to segregated drinking fountains, Lily’s quest seems hopeless until she meets Sky, a shy Square boy whose curiosity for her unique polkadot skin blooms into an unexpected pal-ship. Inspired by the events of The Little Rock 9, Polkadots serves as a colorful history lesson for children, reminding them that our individual differences make us awesome, not outcasts.