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Performances start at 8 pm, except for matinees (m), which start at 2:30
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Last updated August 19, 2008
Albany Civic Theater
ACT's 58th season, 2008-2009
ACT offers an unprecedented three musicals, along with a holiday classic, a Halloween thriller and a host of fascinating plays for our 2008-2009 season.
Season tickets are on sale now!
Note: All productions are tentative until performance rights are secured. Musicals are indicated by an asterisk (*).
September: Play Ball, aka Chicago, by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Directed by John Elliott. You've seen the musical, now see the original 1927 play that started it all. Beautiful dames and hard-boiled cops, crime, corruption and the yellow press of the 1920s all come to life in this wicked satire of Chicago-style crime and punishment. Auditions July 14, 15, 16; performances Sept. 12-27, 2008.
Oct. 4: The Big Night, ACT's annual volunteer recognition party.
October: The Vampyre, by Tim Kelly. Directed by Russ Roberts. A charming and ruthless aristocrat insinuates himself into the lives of a weak-willed young man and his family and launches a chilling campaign of seduction and blood. A Halloween chiller based on the original vampire novel. Auditions Aug. 11-13, performances Oct. 17-Nov. 1, 2008.
December: Miracle on 34th Street, adapted by Will Severin, Patricia Di Benedetto Snyder and John Vreeke from the novel by Valentine Davies. Directed by Jackie Tasker. Kris Kringle is the personification of good will and holiday spirit - but as Macy's holiday Santa, he enchants shoppers and their children to the point where his fellow employees plot his ruin. A holiday movie tradition brought to the stage. Auditions Sept. 15, 16, 17. Performances November 28-December 20, 2008.*January: Forever Plaid, by Stuart Ross with arrangements by James Raitt. Directed by Lisa Bell Sramek. The Plaids are the quintessential 1950s doo-wop quartet - but when their career is cut short by a tragic accident, they're miraculously revived to give the show that never was. Close harmony and a clever script bring to life such memorable 1950s hits as Three Coins in the Fountain," "Moments to Remember," "Cry," and "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing." Auditions Oct. 20, 21, 22, 2008. Performances Jan. 9-17, 2009.
February: A Love Affair, by Jerry Mayer. Directed by Miranda Prince. Jerry and Alice Diamond clear out the attic of their Malibu home in preparation for moving into a cramped condo, and find themselves reliving the flawed masterpiece that is their 38-year marriage. Two pairs of actors play the Diamonds – in their youth, and in the present – observing and commenting on each other and the transitions of their lives in this funny and moving Valentine of a comedy. Auditions Dec. 1, 2, 3, 2008. Performances Feb. 6-21, 2009.
*March: Cabaret, by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff. Directed by Leah Burgy. This Tony Award-winning musical brings to life the dark, sexually charged decade of 1930s Berlin, beckoning the audience into the Kit Kat Klub on the eve of Hitler’s rise to power. Defiant and melancholy, brazen and gleeful, Cabaret sizzles and provokes with classics such as Wilkommen, Money, and of course, Cabaret. Auditions. Jan. 12, 13, 14, 2009, performances March 20-April 11, 2009.
May: Humble Boy, by Charlotte Jones. Directed by Harriet Nixon. A gentle comedy about broken vows, failed homes - and the joys of bee-keeping. Thirty-five year-old astrophysicist Felix is called home from Cambridge by the death of his father to face a difficult and demanding mother, who is confronting challenges of her own. Filled with humanity and the search for love and acceptance, Humble Boy is by turns sad, wickedly funny and beautiful. Auditions Feb. 9, 10, 11, 2009. Performances May 1-16, 2009.
June: Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Directed by Kay Roth. Set in Depression-era California, Of Mice and Men is an American literary classic about the unlikely friendship between George and Lennie, their dreams of "living off the fat of the land" and the tragedy that occurs when the gentle, dim Lennie loses control. Auditions March 23, 24, 25, 2009, performances June 5-20, 2009.
* July: The Music Man, by Meredith Willson. Directed by Christi E. Sears. "We've got trouble! Right here in River City!" What fan of the American musical stage doesn't know and love the story of salesman Harold Hill and his scheme to con the citizens of a small town into forming a boys' band – and then run off with the money? A loving slice of early 1900s Americana, filled with such beloved songs as "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Till There Was You" and "Goodnight, My Someone." Auditions May 4, 5, 6, 2009. Performances July 17-August 8, 2009.
