Dear SCCT Members:

The Play Selection Committee is excited to present the following slate of shows for the 2014 Summer Season.

We will be voting on six categories of shows at the Spring Membership Meeting at 4:30 PM on April 21st. One show from each of the six categories will be chosen for the 2014 season.

There will be a Play Selection Cabaret at 2:00 PM on the April 21st. This presentation will include songs and scenes from the shows as well as discussion time. Note that since there won't be time for discussion at the General Meeting, please come to the Cabaret if you would like learn more about the shows and discuss them!

More information about each show is available below!

AUNTIE MAME
By Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
25m, 12f, 3 Boys (extensive doubling is possible)
This fabulously successful hit hardly needs introduction. Besides being the source for one of America's most popular musicals, AUNTIE MAME set a standard for Broadway comedy that's been sought after ever since. "Auntie Mame was a handsome, sparkling, scatterbrained and warm-hearted lady who brightened the American landscape from 1928 to the immediate past by her whimsical gaiety, her slightly madcap adventures and her devotion to her young nephew, who grew up to be Patrick Dennis. Through fortunes that rose and fell and a pleasant but brief marriage to a likable Southerner, who had the bad luck to tumble down from the Matterhorn, Auntie Mame's chief concern was that nephew, whom she raised…[the play's] central figure is a woman of spirit, innate kindness and undefeatable courage…" —NY Post.

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
By Phillip Barry
9m, 6f
This Broadway hit starred Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord of the Philadelphia Lords, an inhibited and spoiled daughter of the privileged. Divorced from C.J. Dexter Haven, she is engaged to a successful young snob. A gossip weekly sends a reporter and a camera woman to report the wedding arrangements and they are injected into the house by Tracy's brother who hopes to divert their attention from father's romance with a Broadway dancer. Tracy finds herself growing interested in Connor, the fascinating reporter. At the end of a pre wedding party, Tracy and Connor take a moonlight dip in the pool and meet her ex husband and finance on their way back to the house. The following morning her intended agrees to forgive her, but his smug attitude enrages Tracy and she breaks off the engagement. Connor offers to marry her, but she turns him down and remarries Dexter, to the satisfaction of everyone.

PRIVATE LIVES
By Noel Coward
2m, 3f
Revived in 2002 by the Royal National Theatre in a production that sparkled on Broadway, Private Lives is one of the most sophisticated, entertaining plays ever written. Elyot and Amanda, once married and now honeymooning with new spouses at the same hotel, meet by chance, reignite the old spark and impulsively elope. After days of being reunited, they again find their fiery romance alternating between passions of love and anger. Their aggrieved spouses appear and a roundelay of affiliations ensues as the women first stick together, then apart, and new partnerships are formed. A uniquely humorous play boasting numerous successful Broadway runs boasting such as stars Coward himself, Laurence Olivier, Tallulah Bankhead, Gertrude Lawrence, Tammy Grimes, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

THE 39 STEPS
Adapted by Patrick Marlow, From the novel by John Buchan, From the movie of Alfred Hitchcock
3m, 1f
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This 2-time Tony® and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of 4), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance!

In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she's a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on the man's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale! A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, The 39 Steps amounts to an unforgettable evening of pure pleasure! The 39 Steps, was Broadway's longest running comedy, and played its 500th performance on Broadway, May 19th, 2009!

BOEING BOEING
By Marc Camoletti, Translated by Beverly Cross, Revised by Francis Evans
2m, 4f
Winner of the 2008 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Play. Revised 2008 Broadway Revival Edition. This 1960's French farce adapted for the English-speaking stage features self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German, and American fiancees, each beautiful airline hostesses with frequent "layovers". He keeps "one up, one down and one pending" until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris and Bernard's apartment at the same time.

NOISES OFF
By Michael Frayn
5m, 4f
Called the funniest farce ever written, Noises Off presents a manic menagerie as a cast of itinerant actors rehearsing a flop called Nothing's On. Doors slamming, on and backstage intrigue, and an errant herring all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classically comic play.

"The most dexterously realized comedy ever about putting on a comedy. A spectacularly funny, peerless backstage farce. This dizzy, well-known romp is festival of delirium." - The New York Times

Noises Off is a play within a play. It is about an ambitious director and his troupe of mediocre actors. The cast and crew are putting together a silly sex comedy titled, Nothing On - a single-set farce in which lovers frolic, doors slam, clothes are tossed away, and embarrassing hi-jinks ensue. The three acts of Noises Off expose different phases of the disastrous show, Nothing On: Act One: on stage during dress rehearsal. Act Two: backstage during a matinee performance, Act Three: on stage during a delightfully ruined performance.

THE CHILDREN'S HOUR
By Lillian Hellman
2m, 12f
The story concerns an attempt by Mary Tilford, a student at a New England boarding school, to explain to her rich, indulgent grandmother why she has run away from school. Angry over her mild altercation with Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, the women who own and run the school, Mary says that she knows the women to be lesbians, and she successfully blackmails another student into corroborating her accusation. Dr. Joe Cardin, Karen's fiancé, exposes Mary as a liar, but the school is forced to close. After Karen and Martha lose a libel suit, Karen realizes that Cardin's trust in her is altered and ends their relationship. Martha confesses her self-doubt to Karen and commits suicide.

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
By Christopher Hampton, From the novel by Choderlos de Laclos
4m, 6f (plus room for extras)
A tale of seduction set in France among aristocrats before the revolution, this is a classic drama for exploring decadent sexuality, morals and manipulation played as the ultimate game with tragic results. The Royal Shakespeare Company's stunning production met with acclaim in Stratford, London and on Broadway. The film, Dangerous Liaisons, starred Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer.

The plot focuses on the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, rivals who use sex as a weapon of humiliation and degradation, all the while enjoying their cruel games. Their targets are the virtuous Madame de Tourvel and Cécile de Volanges, a young girl who has fallen in love with her music tutor, the Chevalier Danceny. In order to gain their trust, Merteuil and Valmont pretend to help the secret lovers so they can seduce them later in their own treacherous schemes.

RABBIT HOLE
By David Lindsay-Abaire
2m, 3f
Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize. "David Lindsay-Abaire has crafted a drama that's not just a departure but a revelation—an in-tensely emotional examination of grief, laced with wit, insightfulness, compassion and searing honesty." —Variety.

Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could want, until a life-shattering accident turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting perilously apart. RABBIT HOLE charts their bittersweet search for comfort in the darkest of places and for a path that will lead them back into the light of day.

ANYTHING GOES
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter. Original Book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse. New Book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman
4m, 4f, Large Ensemble
The age-old tale of Boy-Meets-Girl and the complications which ensue intrigue every audience, and no musical puts it on stage better than ANYTHING GOES. This show is an amusing story wrapped around one of Cole Porter's magical scores. Two versions of it are available for presentation. The 1962 and the 1987 Beaumont versions are based on the same story. Both may be accompanied by a piano, a small instrumental combo or a full orchestra. The 1987 Beaumont version has twice as much dance music as the 1962 version, and the orchestration features a shipboard sound derived from the utility band and less-than-ideal acoustics on board. Terrific Cole Porter songs in both versions include It's De-Lovely, Friendship, I Get A Kick Out Of You, All Through The Night, Anything Goes, You're The Top and Blow, Gabriel, Blow. In addition the 1962 version includes Take Me Back To Manhattan and Let's Misbehave. Buddie Beware and Easy To Love are added to the 1987 Beaumont version. It's a wonder that all the romances are sorted out and disaster is averted aboard the magical ship where ANYTHING GOES!

BYE BYE BIRDIE
Book by Michael Stewart, Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Lee Adams
7m, 12f, Large Ensemble
It's the late 1950s and teenagers from across the United States are going crazy for the handsome rock star, Conrad Birdie. Meanwhile, his manager, Albert Peterson, is going into debt and has staked his financial future on Conrad's success. Albert's secretary, Rosie, is increasingly frustrated with the time and money Albert is losing on his project. Disaster strikes when Conrad receives a draft notice to join the military. Thus, Albert attempts to stage a farewell party for Conrad in which he is to kiss one lucky fan on the Ed Sullivan Show before he leaves for the army. Kim MacAfee, from Sweet Apple, Ohio, is the lucky girl chosen to be kissed. But conflict arises when her boyfriend, Hugo Peabody, gets jealous, and Rosie becomes fed-up with the abusive treatment she receives from Albert's mother. Eventually, things turn out alright. Kim and Hugo resolve their problems while Albert agrees to leave managing, become an English teacher, and marry Rosie.

SOUTH PACIFIC
Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan
Principals: 2f, 2m. Featured: 1f, 5m. Large Ensemble
Set in an island paradise during World War II, two parallel love stories are threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war. Nellie, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with a mature French planter, Emile. Nellie learns that the mother of his children was an island native and, unable to turn her back on the prejudices with which she was raised, refuses Emile's proposal of marriage. Meanwhile, the strapping Lt. Joe Cable denies himself the fulfillment of a future with an innocent Tonkinese girl with whom he's fallen in love out of the same fears that haunt Nellie. When Emile is recruited to accompany Joe on a dangerous mission that claims Joe's life, Nellie realizes that life is too short not to seize her own chance for happiness, thus confronting and conquering her prejudices.

CHICAGO*
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Featured: 9m, 10f. Large Ensemble
Premiering in 1975 and the hit of the 1997 Broadway season in a production that originated at City Center's Encore! series, Chicago won six Tony Awards including Best Revival and later the Academy Award as Best Picture of the Year.

In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap...until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess" Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the "American Dream": fame, fortune and acquittal. This sharp edged satire features a dazzling score that sparked immortal staging by Bob Fosse.

*Note: If we are unable to secure the rights for Chicago, Kander & Ebb's Cabaret will be considered as an alternate production.

COMPANY
Book by George Furth, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Featured: 8f, 6m
The clashing sounds and pulsing rhythms of New York City underscore this landmark "concept" show, considered by many to have inaugurated the modern era of musical theatre. COMPANY follows our anti-hero bachelor Robert as he makes his way through a series of encounters with April (the stewardess), Kathy (the girl who's going to marry someone else), Marta (the "peculiar" one), as well as with his married friends. On the night of his 35th birthday, confirmed bachelor Robert contemplates his unmarried state. In vignette after hilarious vignette, we are introduced to "those good and crazy people," his married friends, as Robert weighs the pros and cons of married life. In the end, he realizes being alone is "alone, not alive." An honest, witty, sophisticated look at relationships, COMPANY is as contemporary and relevant as ever (witness the recent hit revivals on Broadway and the West End). It features a brilliant energetic score containing many of Stephen Sondheim's best-known songs (including "Another Hundred People," "The Ladies Who Lunch" and "Being Alive").

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
Music and Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrision, Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar
Featured: 8m, 5f. Ensemble
A rare combination of unprecedented originality and blinding talent, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE boldly addresses a great unspoken desire in all of our hearts: to be entertained. If you've ever sat in a dark theatre and thought, "Dear Lord in heaven, please let it be good," this is the show for you!

It all begins when a die-hard musical-theater fan plays his favorite cast album on his turntable, and the musical literally bursts to life in his living room, telling the rambunctious tale of a brazen Broadway starlet trying to find, and keep, her true love.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE opened on May 1, 2006 at Broadway's Marquis Theatre. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, the show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score.