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Journey
the World During 2011-12 Season at MCCC's Kelsey Theatre; Subscription
Series Now on Sale
7/26/11
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West
Windsor, N.J. -- Mercer County Community College's Kelsey
Theatre invites audiences of all ages -- from youngsters to
senior citizens -- on a theatrical journey around the world
and through time during its 2011-12 season set to begin Sept.
9. Nineteen full-length adult and family productions will
take audiences to enchanted and mysterious places like Camelot,
Oz, Xanadu, and more, while the Kelsey Kids Series offers
12 productions featuring traveling professional companies
and local troupes. Kelsey Theatre is conveniently located
on the college's West
Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.
Discounted
series packages are on sale now; subscribers will receive
savings of up to 47% off regular ticket prices. Current subscribers
must renew by August 19 to receive priority seating. New subscribers
and tickets for single shows will be processed after August
26. (Based on audience polling, evening shows have been moved
back to an 8 p.m. start this year.)
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Preparing
for a new season are Kelsey staff members, from left, Kate
Pinner, Marc Flicker, Tracy Antozzeski, Amy Bessellieu, Dan
Spalluto, Marge Maurer, Kelsey Artistic Director M. Kitty
Getlik,and Lott Pittman.
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Full-length
performances are sure to delight with a mix of beloved classics
and intriguing new works. Pierrot Productions starts off the season
with "Blood Brothers, the Musical," the gripping
tale of twin boys separated at birth, only to find their lives inextricably
and tragically linked. It's the longest-running musical in London
history and it comes to Kelsey Theatre Sept. 9-18. Next up is The
Yardley Players' production of "And Then There Were None,"
based on the classic Agatha Christie murder mystery set on a secluded
island. The ever famous whodunit takes place Oct. 7-16.
Next, audiences journey back in time, then forward, then back again.
The magical medieval kingdom of "Camelot" comes
to life in Playful Theatre's production of the Lerner and Loew classic
Oct. 21-30. An unforgettable musical score recreates the majestic
reign of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and the Knights of the Round
Table. Next up, the Pennington Players present "Urinetown"
Nov. 4-13, a hilarious futuristic musical where a water shortage
has forced a government ban on private toilets and citizens are
in an uproar. This award-winning Broadway musical skewers civilization
with broad strokes as an unlikely hero emerges to fight back. Audiences
then travel to ancient Egypt with the award-winning Maurer Productions
Onstage, which presents Elton John & Tim Rice's "AIDA"
Nov. 18-27. Part Broadway musical, part dance spectacular, and part
rock concert, AIDA is an epic tale about the power and timelessness
of love.
Kelsey
Theatre will celebrate the holiday season with two family events.
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is presented
by the James Tolin Memorial Fund Dec. 2-4 as an live, on stage radio
play. A handful of costumed actors will create dozens of characters,
while sound effect artists produce clanging bells, crashing ghosts,
and ominous footsteps. It's all done live right in front of the
audience. "El Sueno" comes to Kelsey Dec. 20 for
one day only. Based on the Nutcracker story, the Alborada Spanish
Dance Theatre presents this holiday dance spectacular in the Spanish
and Latin American tradition at 7:30 p.m. (There is a special daytime
performance for groups at 11:15 a.m.)
Kelsey Theatre enters the new year with entertainment for the whole
family as PinnWorth Productions presents Gilbert and Sullivan's
classic musical "The Pirates of Penzance" Jan.
13-22. Comic cutthroats, bumbling policemen, fair maidens, and a
handsome young hero offer up some of the wittiest lyrics ever written
for the stage. More comedy awaits when Maurer Productions Onstage
presents Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor"
Jan.27-Feb. 5. The golden age of television, circa 1953, comes to
life with a side-splitting look behind the scenes at those who wrote
and starred in the dawning era of a new medium.
Lovers of folk rock will thrill to the sounds of the Reock And Roll
Revue, a modern day group that will pay tribute to a classic 1970s
band, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and its landmark album,
"Déjà Vu," Feb. 17-19. Combining
music and video, the show chronicles the paths that brought the
four folk greats together, including music from Buffalo Springfield,
The Hollies and The Byrds, and a performance of the Déjà
Vu album in its entirety.
Next, it's another journey back, this time to the late 1940s. Pierrot
Productions presents "Death of a Salesman" Feb.
24-Mar. 4, Arthur Miller's devastating, moving play about the prices
paid in pursuit of the American dream. The tempo and times quicken
considerably with "Xanadu," a musical mix of Greek
muses, 1980s chic, and roller disco. The Pennington Players will
have audiences "believing in magic" Mar. 9-18.
Families can journey over the rainbow and down the yellow brick
road with Dorothy, Toto and their friends when The Yardley Players
present "The Wizard of Oz" Mar. 23-Apr. 1. (Daytime
performances for school groups will be presented Mar. 29 and 30.)
MCCC Theatre and Dance students present the next musical, "Hairspray,"
Apr. 13-22. It's the early 1960s and change is in the air when lovable,
plus-size heroine Tracy Turnblad takes on the establishment and
vows to integrate a popular dance show in Baltimore. The production
will benefit from lighting and sound courtesy of MCCC's Entertainment
Technology program and a little help from Kelsey Theatre's friends
from the James Tolin Memorial Fund.
Next, theater goers are heading for Broadway, where it's all on
the line for 17 dancers in "A Chorus Line," presented
by Playful Theatre Productions Apr. 27- May 6. Winner of nine Tony
Awards, this singular sensation is the longest-running American
Broadway musical ever. There's more dance in store when MCCC students
return to the stage for the Mercer Dance Ensemble's annual performance
May 12-13. "MDE-On The Move!" features dance majors,
alumni and community dancers in a performance that combines lyrical
movement with impressionistic and symbolic storytelling.
Theater
goers have more to look forward to with two additional award-winning
Broadway musicals. A show credited with paving the way for modern
Broadway is up next. Pierrot Productions presents Stephen Sondheim's
"Company" May 18-Jun. 3. Sondheim's wonderful songs
shine in this classic about a bachelor with commitment phobias.
Maurer Productions takes the stage next with a journey to another
era - and to a show within a show - in "The Drowsy Chaperone"
Jun. 8-17. When a die-hard musical fan plays his favorite cast album,
the fictional show, set in the 1920s, magically bursts to life in
a hilarious tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding
day.
The adult season concludes with a tenth anniversary benefit by the
James Tolin Memorial Fund. JTMF presents an encore performance of
"Jeffrey" Jun. 22-24, the first of JTMF's benefit
shows presented in memory of MCCC student James Tolin in 2001. The
treacherous HIV/AIDS landscape of 1990s New York is revisited in
Paul Rudnick's Obie Award-winning romantic comedy about a gay actor/waiter
who has just given up trying to find love when he meets the man
of his dreams.
The Kelsey Kids Series also provides plenty of travel destinations
for the younger set. This year, children will get their very own
Kelsey Kids passport and will receive a sticker every time they
attend a show. Special prizes will be awarded at the end of the
season. Children's shows run approximately 60 minutes and feature
award-winning professional touring troupes and local companies.
The season starts with Kaleidoscope Theatre's "Rapunzel
" Sept. 17, a magical musical based on the famous fairytale
and the inspiration for the recent hit movie, "Tangled."
Up next is another fairytale classic, "Snow White"
Sept. 23-Oct. 2, retold in a full-length musical by playwright Marilyn
Gerold in the style of the grand musicals of the 1950s. It's on
to Oz in "The Yellow Brick Road" Oct. 1 in a new
musical from Theatreworks/USA that offers up the familiar story
with a modern Latino twist. The irrepressible "Ramona Quimby"
returns to Kelsey Oct. 15, courtesy of the award-winning Theatreworks/USA,
while "The Gizmo Guys" return Nov. 12, with a new
rapid-fire comedy juggling act, including original routines in an
entertaining display of the ancient art of juggling.
Children will enjoy two holiday favorites in December. "'Twas
The Night Before Christmas" is presented by The Kelsey
Players Dec. 9-11, and "The Nutcracker" follows
Dec. 17-18 in an hour-long, fully narrated version presented by
the New Jersey Youth Ballet.
On to 2012 with "The Kazoobie Kazoo Band" Jan.
21, featuring Rick Hubbard and his interactive antics where everyone
receives a free kazoo and performs in the grand finale. Disney's
"Camp Rock!" comes to Kelsey Theatre Feb. 10-12.
Presented by MCCC's Tomato Patch and The Kelsey Players, this rocking
musical is based on the hit Disney Channel movies.
Giant puppets star in "Dinosaur Babies," presented
by Dino Rock Mar. 3. It's a musical fossil fantasy with Big Bad
Baby Rex, Doris the Stegasaurus, Tina Titanosaurus and more. The
traditional fairytale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"
has a surprise ending in Kaleidoscope Theatre's delightful romp
through the woods May 5. Concluding the children's season is "Skippyjon
Jones" May 19. In this new musical by Theatreworks/USA,
an adventurous kitten must prove he can live up to his superhero
dreams and defend his neighborhood friends.
Ticket prices for most full-length musicals are $18 for adults,
$16 for seniors, and $14 for students/children. Prices for non-musicals
are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors, and $12 for students/children.
Ticket prices for most shows in the Kelsey Kids Series are $10 for
all. Discounted subscriber packages include premium seating, exchanges
for performances of the same show, special "add-a-show"
rates, and advance sales of single tickets. Group discounts are
also available.
E-tickets may be purchased online
by visiting the 2011-12 schedule page and printing them out at home.
Tickets may also be purchased with a credit card by calling the
Kelsey Box Office at 609-570-3333; by mail with checks made payable
to MCCC/Kelsey Theatre, P.O. Box B, Trenton, NJ 08690; or by ordering
in person at the Box Office. Box Office hours are Monday through
Friday, 9 a.m. to noon; and one hour before show time for in-person
purchases only. Gift certificates are available in any amount. To
request a print copy of the 2011-12 season brochure, email kelsey@mccc.edu
or call the Box Office.
Kelsey
Theatre has open auditions for many of its productions and welcomes
assistance from community volunteers to usher and work behind the
scenes. The theater gratefully accepts donations to cover needed
upgrades to the lighting and sound systems. Call 609-570-3581 or
visit the website for more information.
The
theater is wheelchair accessible and has secure lighted parking.
Funding for performances is made possible in part by the Mercer
County Cultural and Heritage Commission through funding from the
Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey State
Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the
National Endowment of the Arts.
For
more on upconing event at Kelsey, visit:
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