President and Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard is proud to announce the 2014-2015 Mainstage season. Audiences will be treated to the delightful Broadway musical inspired by the hit Hollywood comedy 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL, the high-flying musical MARY POPPINS and the Tony Award-winning musical MEMPHIS. In addition, they’ll enjoy Noël Coward’s honeymoon of a comedy PRIVATE LIVES and Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.
THE SEASON
The Walnut will opens its 206th season with 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL, the hilarious new Broadway musical based on the blockbuster film. Pushed to the boiling point by their boss, three female co-workers concoct a plan to get even with their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical boss. They conspire to take control of their company and learn there’s nothing they can’t do, even in a man’s world! Set in the late 1970s, 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL is a story of friendship and getting ahead in the Rolodex era. Outrageous, thought-provoking and even a little romantic, 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL features Dolly Parton’s original hit title song along with her new Tony Award and Grammy-nominated score, including “Backwoods Barbie” and “Shine Like the Sun.” (September 2 – October 19)
Celebrate the holiday season with MARY POPPINS! Based on the classic Disney film, this is the story of a mysterious nanny who magically appears at the Banks household in Edwardian London to care for Jane and Michael Banks. Adventure abounds as she whisks them away to meet dancing chimney sweeps, shopkeepers and an array of colorful characters. Featuring an irresistible story, eye-popping sets and costumes, breathtaking dance numbers and beloved songs such as the Academy Award-winning “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Feed the Birds,” “Step in Time” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” audiences will have a “Jolly Holiday” with Mary and discover a world where “Anything Can Happen” if you let it. (November 4 – January 4)
Champagne and laughter will explode with Noël Coward’s timeless comedy PRIVATE LIVES. Glamorous, rich and reckless, Elyot and Amanda have been divorced from each other for five years. Now both are honeymooning with their new spouses in the South of France. When by chance they meet again across adjoining hotel balconies, their romantic feelings for each other are immediately rekindled. Without a care for scandal, new partners or memories of what drove them apart in the first place, they hurl themselves headlong into love and lust. PRIVATE LIVES is a dazzling, witty masterpiece and considered to be one of the greatest comedies ever written. (January 13 – March 1)
Next up its Agatha Christie at her murderous best! AND THEN THERE WERE NONE tells the story of ten strangers who are lured by a mysterious host for a relaxing weekend at a remote island resort. Once the guests have arrived there is a suspicious death. The guests are trapped. The host accuses each person, via a recording, of having escaped justice for a past murder. Unable to leave the island, the guests begin to share their darkest secrets…until they begin to fall, one by one! The ever dwindling party rushes to unmask the hidden killer in their midst. Who is the murderer? Who is next? Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE will keep you guessing right up until the very end. (March 10 – April 26)
Lastly, from the underground dance clubs of 1950s Memphis, Tennessee, comes a hot new Broadway musical that bursts off the stage with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. Inspired by actual events, MEMPHIS is about a radio DJ who wants to change the world and a club singer who is ready for her big break. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, MEMPHIS features an original score by Bon Jovi’s David Bryan that evokes the powerhouse funk of James Brown, the hot guitar riffs of Chuck Berry, the smooth harmonies of the Temptations and the silken, bouncy pop of the great girl groups of the period. Turn up that dial! It’s time for Broadway’s roof-raising rock ‘n’ roll musical, MEMPHIS! (May 12 – July 12)
