Uptown Players announced the line-up for its 17th season this morning, which starts in October and continues until next September, with a slate of two full-length plays, three full-length musicals and the company’s annual fundraising performance, Broadway Our Way.
The season begins with The Full Monty (Oct. 20–Nov. 5), the Terrence McNally-penned musical about out-of-work laborers who decide to put on a strip show to raise money. Cheryl Denson will direct at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.
That will be followed, also in 2017, with the regional premiere The Legend of Georgia McBride (Dec. 1–17), pictured, a “play with music.” Kyle Igneczi (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) plays a small-time Elvis impersonator who, in order to pay the bills (sound at all like The Full Monty?) becomes a drag queen. Bruce R. Coleman will direct.
Next up will be A Chorus Line, which will play one weekend only at the Moody Performance Hall (Feb. 2–4, 2018). Jeremy Dumont will direct this Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical about the lives of dancers longing for a Broadway show. Unlike in previous years, the Turtle Creek Chorale will not be participating.
The next show will be the Broadway Our Way fundraiser (June 14–17), written and directed, for the seventh straight (well, sort-of straight) year by B.J. Cleveland.
The big summer musical will be the locally-produced debut of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (July 13–29). Based on the Oscar-winning 1994 film, this jukebox musical dealt with drag queen crossing (and cross-dressing) the Australian Outback in pursuit of a gig. Cheryl Denson will again direct.
The season will end with Perfect Arrangement, a regional premiere about two State Department workers in 1850 Red Scare” America tasked wit unearthing “sexual deviants” within the department… only they are two of those deviants BJ, Cleveland will direct (Aug. 24–Sept. 2).
The expected other play, Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika, will not be staged until the 2018–19 season.
The current season continues next week with La Cage aux Folles, followed by the regional premiere of The Tribute Artist.
Tickets range from $25–$65, with discounted season tickets now available at UptownPlayers.org.