LCT Announces 2019-2020 Season
La Crosse, WI – 04/08/2019 – La Crosse Community Theatre announced its 2019-2020 season on April 6 at its annual Patron Gala Fundraiser.
“Join us for another fantastic theatre season as we premiere seven shows that have never graced the LCT stage. From beautiful and haunting musicals to lighthearted, hilarious fare, our 2019-2020 season is sure to delight young and old. I hope you will take a chance on each and every one of these marvelous productions,” said Grant Golson, Producing Artistic Director of LCT.
The 2019-2020 season has 10 shows, including 5 musicals and 4 special offerings in the Veterans Studio Theatre. The season includes several titles that are new to the LCT stage.
The season opens with The Secret Garden, with book and lyrics by Marsha Norman, music by Lucy Simon, and based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Eleven-year-old Mary Lennox uses the power of hope and love to revive a secret garden with spiritual ties to her crumbling family.
New this year, a fall thriller in the Veterans Studio Theatre, Bad Seed. Little Rhoda Penmark is the evil queen of the story. She doesn’t fit in, has no sense of fair play, and is a poor loser. Bad Seed is by Maxwell Anderson, from William March’s novel.
LCT will become the 29th replication site in the country for The Penguin Project. The program was created by Dr. Andrew Morgan and empowers children with special needs through theatre. This year, the Artists will take the stage to perform Annie Jr. Little orphan Annie uses her charm and spirit to win the heart of billionaire Oliver Warbucks in 1930s New York. Book by Thomas Meehan; music by Charles Strouse; lyrics by Martin Charnin; presented on Broadway by Mike Nichols; originally produced by Irwin Meyer, Stephen R. Freidman, Lewis Allen, Alvin Nederlander Associates, Inc., The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Icarus Productions; based on “Little Orphan Annie”; by permission of the Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
LCT’s holiday show will be the smash hit, Elf: The Musical. Buddy the Elf is an over-optimistic lover of Christmas and must help New York City remember the true meaning of the holiday. With book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, the show is based upon the New Line Cinema film written by David Berenbaum.
Back by popular demand, LCT will also reprise The Santaland Diaries during the holiday season. Written by nationally renowned comedian, David Sedaris, and adapted by Joe Mantello, The Santaland Diaries will star a new face this year, LCT actor, Matt Springer. This production will be held in the Weber Center’s Veterans Studio Theatre. The show is still for mature elves only.
Next in LCT’s season will be the comedy, Don’t Dress for Dinner, by Marc Camoletti and adapted by Robin Hawdon. This hilarious sequel to Boeing Boeing sees the return of Robert and Bernard. Can they successfully host a dinner party when everyone is sleeping with everyone else?
In March, LCT will present a drama in the Veterans Studio Theatre. Proof, by David Auburn, is the story of the daughter of a recently deceased, brilliant mathematician who is trying to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his mental instability.
LCT’s spring musical will be Stephen Sondheim’s, Sweeney Todd. The infamous Sweeney Todd sets up a barber shop in London and forms a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant to seek revenge against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The show features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, originally directed on Broadway by Harold Prince, orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, and originally produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards, in association with Dean and Judy Manos.
Once again LCT will close out the season with a Theatre for Youth show, the ever popular Frozen Jr. After the kingdom is cast into eternal winter by Elsa, her sister, Anna, teams up with a rough mountaineer named Kristoff to break the icy spell. Music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez; book by Jennifer Lee; based on the Disney film written by Jennifer Lee and directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee; the original Broadway production of Frozen was directed by Michael Grandage and produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.
Finally, LCT’s children’s touring show features stories by the Great Brothers Grimm in Fantastic Folklore by the Great Brothers Grimm. It’s a fun and imaginative retelling of three classic tales: The Fisherman and His Wife, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and The Golden Goose. This production will travel to area schools, bringing theatre to young audiences throughout the Coulee Region. There will also be performances in the Veterans Studio Theatre. The show is by the Brothers Grimm and adapted by Kelsey Taunt.
“You will not want to miss a single production this season,” said Golson.
Season tickets are now available. The Lyche Theatre Package, which includes tickets to the four main stage shows, will be priced at an early bird discount of $100-$114 now through June 14, 2019. After June 14, the cost will be $106-$120. A Six-Pack Flex Package, whose tickets can be used in any combination to see any show, will be $146-$166. Bad Seed and Proof, the Veterans Studio shows, will be $25 each when ordered along with a season ticket package.
Single ticket prices will be $10 for youth productions, $24-$32 for non-musicals and $26-$34 for musicals. Student and military prices will be $16 and $10 ($18 and $12 for musicals), respectively, with ID required. Patron donors may reserve seats beginning April 15, and season ticket holders may do so one week before the public for each production.
For more information, visit www.lacrossecommunitytheatre.org or call 608-784-9292.
