Nashville's Circle Players Reveals Shows for Upcoming 70th Anniversary Season

Circle Players, one of Tennessee's oldest community theater organizations, has announced the slate of shows for its 70th anniversary season, including some of the most requested shows in the company's history which will be "revisited" for the special season. Circle Players revealed the shows to be included in its upcoming 70th season during a party last night on the 30th floor of Nashville's L&C Tower.

Since its first season in 1949-50 (which included Heaven Can Wait, Home of the Brave and Three Men On A Horse), Circle Players has produced hundreds of the region's best received and most critically lauded plays and musicals. For the 70th season, Circle Players will do something a little different: "circling back" to celebrate some of the most requested shows from the last 70 years based on feedback from audiences, artist members and directors.

Performances begin on August 8 with Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's masterpiece, Into the Woods. First presented during Circle's 47th Season (directed by Dan McGeachy and starring Bonnie Keen as The Witch), the musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault fairy tale characters who go "into the woods" to find their wishes.

The stage musical explores the consequences of the fairy tale characters' wishes and quests. Winner of three Tony Awards (Score, Book and Actress), Into The Woods will be directed and choreographed by Katharine Boettcher and music directed by John Ray.

The season continues October 18 with one of Circle's most requested shows, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show. Time-warping back to our 54th Season (the first Circle production of The Rocky Horror Show was directed by Jeffrey Ellis) to celebrate a cult classic that pays homage to science fiction and horror B-movies of the late 1940s-70s. Filled with memorable moments, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple who get caught in a storm and end up at the home of a mad, transvestite scientist, Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Complete with audience participation and a planned midnight performance, this production will be a perfect way to spend the Halloween season. The production team will be announced at a later date.

Opening January 17, warm up with a trip to St. Tropez with Georges and Albin in Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman's La Cage Aux Folles. Winner of the Tony-Award for Best Musical in 1984 and Best Revival of a Musical in both 2005 and 2009, this heartwarming musical tells the story of a gay couple whose son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancee's ultra-conservative parents to meet them. With memorable songs, amazing choreography and story of unconditional love, La Cage Aux Folles will be a wonderful turn down memory lane back to Circle's 50th season, for which it was directed by Jeffrey Ellis and choreographed by Pam Atha (with a cast featuring Frank Preston, Kelvin Amburgey-Walton, Tony Domenico, Daniel Vincent, Keri Pagetta, Dan McGeachy and Ruth Johnson). Ellis returns to direct La Cage Aux Folles 2020, with Amburgey-Walton returning to choreograph and Nate Paul to music direct. It runs January 17-February 2, 2020.

In the fourth spot of the season on March 20-April 5, 2020, is Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. Produced during Circle's 61st Season, the play revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Youngers, an African-American family living in a Southside Chicago neighborhood in the 1950s, when a life insurance check comes through from the family's patriarch. This seminal American drama portrays the family's heroic struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world and truly is a story of hope and inspiration. What makes this throwback even more special is that it will be directed by Clay Hillwig, who directed this 2011 production.

For the season's grand finale in June 2020, Circle Players will make the reveal in June 2019 during its third annual Frolic on the Farm fundraiser on June 22.

Season tickets will be available for purchase at www.CirclePlayers.net beginning June 23, 2019. Individual tickets are available approximately six weeks before each show's debut. All productions will take place at the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre, located at 2301 Rosa L Parks Boulevard, Nashville.