2024 Production Schedule
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
June 6-8, 10-15
Book by Douglas McGrath
Words and Music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
Music by Arrangement with Sony Music Publishing
Orchestrations, Vocal and Incidental Music Arrangements by Steve Sidwell
Additional Music Arrangements by Jason Howland
Directed by Lysa Fox
It’s 1958, and pop music fills the airwaves. Against the wishes of her mother, a 16-year-old girl sets off for Manhattan to pitch her latest original tune to music publisher/producer Donnie Kirshner, who buys the song and asks for more! "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" tells the inspiring true story of her metamorphosis from aspiring teenage songwriter to one of the most prolific, successful, influential, enduring, and honored artists of a generation. Featuring more than two dozen chart-topping hits of the ‘60s and ‘70s, "Beautiful" traces Carole King’s journey from the early days of her romantic and musical collaboration with Gerry Goffin, to the 1971 release of her breakthrough solo album, "Tapestry," and her first live concert performance at Carnegie Hall. Get ready to "feel the earth move!"
Sponsored by KY3; KSMU; Chesterfield EyeWorks, Dr William H Holmes; Greg & Judy McManus; Missouri State Bookstore; Hy-Vee; Next to New, Chartwells; The Kinne Family.
Crimes of the Heart
June 21-22, 24-29
Written by Beth Henley
Directed by Sarah Wiggin
Old resentments simmer and passions bubble up in the Magrath family kitchen in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, where three sisters have reunited for the first time in five years. Thirty-year-old Lenny has deferred her own dreams to take care of their cantankerous "Old Granddaddy," who now is dying at the local hospital; Meg’s Hollywood singing career has failed; Babe is out on bail after shooting her husband; and their self-righteous cousin Chick is happy to point out where all of the sisters have gone wrong! In order to escape the past and move forward, each sister must come to terms with her own "Crimes of the Heart." Winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this Southern Gothic comedy makes the women’s journey of self-discovery both touching and hilarious!
Sponsored by...KY3; KSMU; All Klear-Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric; Chartwells; Missouri State Residence Life, Housing and Dining Services; Ozarks Coca Cola/Dr. Pepper Bottling Co.; TLC Properties
Mystic Pizza
July 5-6, 8-13
Book by Sandy Rustin
Based on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture
With Story and Characters by Amy Holden Jones
Musical Arrangements and Orchestrations by Carmel Dean
Directed by Rachel Stevens
It’s summer in the seaside town of Mystic, Connecticut, where Kat, JoJo and Daisy are waitresses at the local pizza parlor. Aspiring astronomer Kat is set to attend Yale University in the fall. To supplement her partial scholarship, she babysits four-year-old Phoebe, and has developed a serious crush on the little girl’s dad. Commitment-phobic JoJo is crazy about her fiancé, Bill, but has cold feet about the wedding. And Daisy just wants to have fun, preferably with Charles, the son of a wealthy family. Over the course of the summer, the three young women get a crash course in life, love, friendship and family. Based on the beloved 1988 rom-com movie, this new musical adaptation of "Mystic Pizza" is a moving coming-of-age story set to a soundtrack of 1980s and ‘90s mega-hits!
Sponsored by KY3; KSMU; Barefield & Hayes, LLC. Attorneys at Law; Kyle Insurance, Ethel Curbow, AMAX Realtors; Springfield Black Tie, Inc.; Clinvest Research; Dr. Stephen Adams and Randy Doennig