By Aila Boyd
aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Attic Productions has announced its 25th season. It will include comedies, dramas, and musicals.
The season will start with a country and western hoedown kick-off event on February 9 from 6-9 p.m. The event is free and will be catered by Country Cookin.
The first show of the season will be the Youth Ensemble production of “The Surprising Story of the Three Little Pigs” by Linda Daugherty. It will run on February 7, 8, 14, and 15. The show, featuring the classic fairy tales “The Three Little Pigs,” “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” starts off in the usual “Once upon a time” fashion. However, things take a sharp turn on the way to “happily ever after” as the pigs wonder what life would be like without the menacing wolf, the Billy goats decide they can’t deal with the troll’s bridge any longer, and Papa Bear gets his fill of the meddlesome Goldilocks.
The comedy/drama “Welcome to Mitford,” which was adapted by Robert Inman from Jan Karon’s Mitford novels, will play on March 26, 27, 28 and April 2, 3, and 4. Nine of Karon’s novels are condensed into two acts for this play, which follows Father Tim Kavanaugh, a 60-year-old bachelor and Episcopal priest living in a small North Carolina town. Two people end up changing his life remarkably: Dooley, a misguided youth for whom Kavanaugh becomes guardian, and Cynthia Coopersmith, a new neighbor and writer of children’s books who becomes a love interest. The town is also densely populated with an array of quirky and memorable characters.
“Class Reunion,” which is also a comedy/drama, will play on May 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23. It was written by D. Geraldine Lawson, the founder of Attic Productions. The play follows the class of 1960 as it comes together for a 40-year reunion. As one would expect, life brought varied experiences to the class members, ranging from exciting to challenging.
The musical “Annie Get Your Gun,” with the music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, will play on July 23, 24, 25, 30, and 31 and August 1, 6, 7, and 8. The show follows Annie Oakley, the best shot around who manages to support her young siblings by selling the game she hunts. Col. Buffalo Bill hires her for his Wild West Show. Annie quickly falls for competitor Frank Butler and soon outdoes him as a shooting ace. This is good for business but bad for romance.
Comedy/drama “Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harling will play on October 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10. The show follows a group of gossipy Southern ladies who enjoy their local beauty parlor and personify the eccentricity of the small-town South. These ladies are deeply connected to each other and possess extraordinary strength beneath their hilarious banter.
The last show of the season, “Christmas Belles,” will play on December 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12. The comedy was written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jaime Wooten. It’s a Southern farce about a church Christmas program that spins hilariously out of control, featuring squabbling sisters, family secrets, a surly Santa, a vengeful sheep, and a reluctant Elvis impersonator.
Tickets for shows are: $15 for non-musicals and $18 for musicals for adults and $12 for non-musicals and $15 for musicals for those 18 years of age and under.
Two weeks prior to each show, volunteers will be at the box office on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Ticket reservations can be made by calling 473-1001.
