MOUNT CARROLL – Timber Lake Playhouse (TLP), the premier professional summer theatre of northwest Illinois, announced its 57th consecutive summer season for 2018. Current Artistic Director James Beaudry and Executive Director Dan Danielowski made the announcement at the company’s annual Gala in Freeport on July 14th.
The subscription series will begin on June 7th with Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, an international sensation that has played to over 35 million people worldwide in 13 countries, and most recently seen in Disney’s live-action movie. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version includes all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice.
Following is a play that was a precursor to Legally Blonde, Born Yesterday. Judy Holliday won a Tony Award and an Oscar for creating the standard for “dumb blondes” with her character, Billie Dawn. Garson Kanin’s famous comedy features an egotistic junkman Harry Brock and his naive girlfriend Billie, who have come to a swanky hotel in Washington to make some deals with government big-wigs. Billie must be taught some Washington manners--and that “sometimes, self-respect matters more than filthy lucre.” As she begins to understand Harry's crooked schemes, the hilarious fallout precipitates a political and personal crisis, as Billie decides to take matters into her own hands.
Based on the hit film of the same name, The Full Monty, a ten-time Tony Award nominee, returns to TLP after blowing the roof off the playhouse in 2005. This scandalous musical is filled with honest affection, engaging melodies and the most heart-pounding, suspenseful closing number in musical theatre. A group of unemployed steelworkers attempt to seduce the hearts of their disillusioned wives and the wallets of the town by coming up with a bold and unclothed way to make some quick cash. In shedding their clothes they expose themselves physically and emotionally until they are forced to confront their fears, self-consciousness, and prejudices.
Baskerville by Ken Ludwig is a reimagining of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mystery, “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and continues TLP’s season. This murderously funny adventure features the male heirs of the Baskerville line as they are mysteriously dispatched one by one. To find their ingenious killer, Holmes and Watson must brave the desolate moors before a family curse dooms its newest heir.
Touching audiences worldwide with its humor, warmth and honesty, Fiddler On The Roof, a staple of the musical theatre canon, continues TLP’s tradition of providing classic musicals. Winning nine Tony Awards when it debuted in 1964, Fiddler on the Roof is the brainchild of Broadway legends, Jerome Robbins and Harold Prince; songwriters, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick; and book writer, Joseph Stein. With iconic and beloved songs such as "Sunrise, Sunset," "If I Were a Rich Man" and "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," Fiddler on the Roof is the perfect mix of audience-pleasing humor and heart.
The summer season will conclude with Forever Plaid, one of the most popular and successful musicals in recent memory. This deliciously fun revue is chock-full of classic barbershop quartet harmonies and pitch-perfect melodies! The show has been a huge hit with groups and all ages since its premier.
Subscription tickets to see all six productions are available now at the price of $105, a savings of 30% of the full ticket price. That price will increase to $119 in September. Student subscriptions are available for only $68. Subscribers will be able to purchase additional tickets for shows starting on August 10th. Individual ticket sales to non-subscribers will begin in 2018. Gift certificates are available.
Subscriptions may be purchased in person at the playhouse, located at 8215 Black Oak Road, Mount Carroll, Illinois, 61053. Phone sales are available at 815-244-2035, and online purchases will be available at www.timberlakeplayhouse.org.
Youth productions, extended season shows and special events will be announced this fall. Casting and additional directors will be announced in 2018.
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