ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE

by Ted Swindley with songs by Patsy Cline

Dates: August 10-26

Director: Leigh Ann Evans

Sponsored by: First Tennessee

Summary: Always...Patsy Cline is based on the true story of Patsy Cline's friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger. Having first heard Cline on the "Arthur Godfrey Show" in 1957, Seger became an immediate and avid fan of Cline's and she constantly hounded the local disc jockey to play Cline's records on the radio.

In 1961 when Cline went to Houston for a show, Seger and her buddies arrived about an hour-and-a-half early and, by coincidence, met Cline who was traveling alone. The two women struck up a friendship that was to culminate in Cline spending the night at Seger's house--a friendship that lasted until Cline's untimely death in a plane crash in 1963.

The relationship, which began as fan worship evolved into one of mutual respect. It is the kind of relationship that many fans would like to have with their heroes. Over a pot of strong coffee, the two women chatted about their common concerns. When Cline finally left for Dallas, her next job, the two women had exchanged addresses and telephone numbers. Seger never expected to hear from Cline again, but soon after she left, Seger received the first of many letters and phone calls from Cline. The pen-pal relationship provides much of the plot of the show.

The play focuses on the fateful evening at Houston's Esquire Ballroom when Seger hears of Cline's death in a plane crash. Seger supplies a narrative while Cline floats in and out of the set singing tunes that made her famous--Anytime, Walkin' After Midnight, She's Got You, Sweet Dreams, and Crazy--to name a few.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

by Oscar Wilde

Dates: October 5-21

Director: John Rone

Sponsored by: Conwood Company

Summary: Jack Worthing, who lives in the country, pretends to have a younger brother, Ernest,

whose escapades frequently call Jack to London. Algernon Moncrieff pretends to have an invalid friend, "Bunbury," whose attacks call Algernon into the country whenever there is a distasteful social function in prospect. This activity Algernon refers to as "Bunburying."

Jack has managed to hide from Algernon the location of his country place and the existence of an attractive ward, Cecily Cardew. In Algernon's bachelor flat at the tea hour, Jack confesses he has come to town to propose to Algernon's cousin, Gwendolyn, who knows him as "Ernest." Algernon refuses his help unless Jack explains the inscription on his cigarette case which Algernon has found. Thus Cecily's existence is revealed, but Jack stubbornly refuses to reveal her whereabouts.

Gwendolyn accepts Jack, confessing she has always felt that a man named "Ernest" was her fate. During a subsequent catechism by Gwendolyn's mother, Lady Bracknell, Jack gives his country address which Algernon takes down with the intention of going "Bunburying" during Jack's absence from home. When Lady Bracknell learns that Jack's identity dates from the discovery of a baby in a large black handbag in Victoria station she refuses to consent for the marriage.

Cecily, alone in the country with her governess, Miss Prism, is agreeably surprised at the appearance of Algernon in the guise of the much-discussed "Ernest." The young couple lose no time in becoming engaged for, Cecily admits, the name "Ernest" has always fascinated her. When Jack returns unexpectedly to announce "Ernest's" sudden death in Paris, he is disagreeably surprised to learn that "Ernest" is at the very moment in the house.

While Jack and Algernon are separately arranging with the rector for a rechristening, Gwendolyn arrives. The discovery of Gwendolyn and Cecily that they both seem to be engaged to "Ernest Worthing" results in a strained situation. The appearance of both young men clarifies the matter of engagements, but also reveals that neither is named "Ernest." When the girls learn that their fiancés had been about to be rechristened for their sakes, they forgive the deception.

With the arrival of Lady Bracknell the question of consent again comes up. Lady Bracknell is quite willing that Algernon shall marry Cecily and her fortune. Jack, however, as Cecily's guardian, refuses his consent unless Lady Bracknell permits his marriage to Gwendolyn. The appearance of Miss Prism who is recognized by Lady Bracknell, results in the identification of Jack Worthing as Algernon's lost elder brother, Ernest, thus settling matters to everyone's satisfaction.

The Importance of Being Earnest was originally produced at the St. James Theater, London, on February 14, 1895.

MADELINE’S CHRISTMAS

Dates: November 30-December 23

Director: Megan Marcellini and Irene Crist

Sponsored by: Target

Summary: "In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight

lines." So begins this delightful story of Madeline's Christmas! The day begins like any other day. Miss Clavel takes the twelve little girls on their morning walk. They go to the zoo and then back to school for their French history lesson. Suddenly disaster strikes when everyone gets the flu! Everyone that is, except for the ever-resilient Madeline. Saddened that they may not be able to go home for Christmas, the girls and Miss Clavel take to their beds.

But on Christmas Eve, the adventure begins when there is a knock at the front door. Expecting to see Santa, Madeline meets the Rug Merchant who has brought twelve very special rugs. He reminds Madeline that Christmas is the time of miracles, and that these are not ordinary rugs! Soon everyone wakes up feeling healthy. The Rug Merchant shows them that they each have a magic carpet and that they can fly home to be with their families for Christmas! After saying goodbye to the girls, Miss Clavel finds a present that the girls left for her, befriends a little mouse, and counts her many blessings singing: "Everything Is Right Tonight." Before you know it, the girls fly back to the Old House and are together again on New Year's Eve. They thank Madeline for taking care of them and making their Christmas so special!

CRIMES OF THE HEART

by Beth Henley

Dates: January 18-February 3

Director: Julia Hinson

Sponsored by: We need you to sponsor our production!

Summary: The scene is Hazlehurst, Mississippi, where the three Magrath sisters have gathered to await news of the family patriarch, their grandfather, who is living out his last hours in the local hospital. Lenny, the oldest sister, is unmarried at thirty and facing diminishing marital prospects; Meg, the middle sister, who quickly outgrew Hazlehurst, is back after a failed singing career on the West Coast; while Babe, the youngest, is out on bail after having shot her husband in the stomach. Their troubles, grave and yet, somehow, hilarious, are highlighted by their priggish cousin, Chick, and by the awkward young lawyer who tries to keep Babe out of jail while helpless not to fall in love with her. In the end the play is the story of how its young characters escape the past to seize the future—but the telling is so true and touching and consistently hilarious that it will linger in the mind long after the curtain has descended.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

by William Shakespeare

Dates: February 29-March 16

Director: Andy Saunders

Sponsored by: We need you to sponsor our production!

Summary: Director’s Note: The "situation comedy" is, of course, not a modern invention as is clearly evidenced by Shakespeare's first work as a playwright for the London stage. . . and William stole the plot from Plautus' The Twin Menaechmi, written some 1600 years earlier. Regardless of the time, comedies based upon mistaken identity have always been audience favorites. The complications which arise in "Errors" when two sets of twins collide in ancient Ephesus are sure to please those who delight in the whimisical, frantic, and farcical upheaval which involves the entire city including its Prince. Shakespeare doesn't fail to deliver the joy and happiness one expects when the madness is resolved. Everyone is reunited and the city rejoices.

THE UNDERPANTS

by Steve Martin

Dates: April 11-27

Director: Chris Davis

Sponsored by: We need you to sponsor our production!

Summary: The renowned comic actor and author of Picasso at the Lapine Agile provides a wild satire adapted from the classic German play about Louise and Theo Maske, a couple whose conservative existence is shattered when Louise's bloomers fall down in public. Though she pulls them up quickly, he thinks the incident will cost him his job as a government clerk. Louise's momentary display does not result in the feared scandal but it does attract two infatuated men, each of whom wants to rent the spare room in the Maske's home. Oblivious of their amorous objectives, Theo splits the room between them, happy to collect rent from both the foppish poet and the whiny hypochondriac.

LITTLE WOMEN – THE MUSICAL

by Allan Knee, Mindi Dickstein and Jason Howland

Dates: May 16-June 1

Director: Julie Reinbold

Sponsored by: We need you to sponsor our production!

Summary: Louisa May Alcott's classic novel about a family of women in Civil War-era New England focuses on the March sisters: four young girls raised by their mother after their father leaves for battle as part of the Union Army. At the center is Jo March, an idiosyncratic would-be writer said to be based on Alcott herself, but the story also focuses on the stories of her sisters -- the more conventional Meg, the innocent Beth, and the precocious Amy. The book spans years, following the girls' struggles with life's challenges and illustrating how their family connection remains strong in the face of tragedies large and small.