Sam Bass Theatre 2018-2019 Season
Miracle on 34th Street Radio Play
(Adapted from the 1947 Lux Radio Broadcast
by Lance Arthur Smith)
Directed by Melanie Lewis
Thurs., Fri., Sat. evenings Nov. 29-Dec. 21
"Miracle on 34th Street" is the story of the real Santa Claus, who goes to work at Macy's toy department. The story begins on Thanksgiving day in New York City as the annual Parade given by Macy’s department store gets underway to herald in the Christmas season. Away from the crowd are two of the stores public relations staff pleased with the Santa they have employed – the best Santa in Macy’s history.
This radio play was first broadcast at the Lux Radio Theatre. December 22, 1947.
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
(by Barbara Robinson)
Directed by Veronica Prior
Sat. & Sun. afternoons only, Nov. 30-Dec. 22
In this hilarious Christmas classic, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids--probably the most inventively awful kids in history. You won't believe the mayhem - and the fun - when the Herdmans collide with the Christmas story head on!
This delightful comedy is adapted from the best-selling Young Adult book, and has become a holiday staple for groups across the United States!
Love, Loss, and What I Wore
(by Nora and Delia Ephron)
Directed by Deborah Hanna
Jan. 10-26, 2020
A play of monologues and ensemble pieces about women, clothes and memory covering all the important subjects—mothers, prom dresses, mothers, buying bras, mothers, hating purses and why we only wear black. Based on the bestselling book by Ilene Beckerman.
Night Watch
( by Lucille Fletcher)
Directed by Kerry Coward
Feb. 14-Mar. 8
Unable to sleep, Elaine Wheeler paces the living room of her Manhattan townhouse, troubled by unsettling memories and vague fears. Her husband tries to comfort her, but when he steps away for a moment Elaine screams as she sees (or believes she sees) the body of a dead man in the window across the way. The police are called, but find nothing except an empty chair. Elaine's terror grows as shortly thereafter she sees still another body, this time a woman's, but by now the police are skeptical and pay no heed to her frantic pleas. Her husband, claiming that Elaine may be on the verge of a breakdown, calls in a lady psychiatrist, who agrees with his suggestion that Elaine should commit herself to a sanitarium for treatment. From this point on, the plot moves quickly and grippingly as those involved (Elaine's old friend and house guest Blanche; the inquisitive and rather sinister man who lives next door; and the nosy German maid Helga) all contribute to the deepening suspense and mystery of the play as it draws towards its riveting and chilling climax.
Gin Game
(by Donald L. Coburn)
Directed by Ashley Zeh-Perez
Apr. 3-26
This winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, uses a card game as a metaphor for life. Weller Martin is playing solitaire on the porch of a seedy nursing home. Enter Fonsia Dorsey, a prim, self-righteous lady. They discover they both dislike the home and enjoy gin rummy, so they begin to play and to reveal intimate details of their lives. Fonsia wins every time, and their secrets become weapons used against one another. Weller longs for a victory to counter a lifetime of defeats, but it doesn’t happen. He leaves the stage a broken man, and Fonsia realizes her self-righteous rigidity has led to an embittered, lonely, old age.
Almost, Maine
(by John Cariani)
Directed by Various
May 22-June 14
Welcome to Almost, Maine, a place that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States. It’s almost in Canada. And it’s not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it almost doesn’t exist.
One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.
Sam Bass Youth Guild Production of
School House Rock Live! JR.
Originally Adapted and Produced for the Stage by: Theatre BAM
From the Series Created by
George Newall and Tom Yohe
Based on an Idea by David McCall
Originally Conceived and Directed by Scott Ferguson
Book by: Scott Ferguson, Kyle Hall and George Keating
Music and Lyrics by: Lynn Ahrens, Bob Dorough, David Frishberg, Kathy Mandry, George Newall and Tom Yohe
MTI Billing
Directed by - TBD
Everybody Loves Opal
(by John Patrick)
Directed by Sara deSoto
Sept. 20-Oct. 13, 2019
Opal Kronkie, a middle-aged recluse, lives in a tumbledown mansion at the edge of the municipal dump. The general disarray of her establishment is aggravated by the fact that Opal collects things—anything that can be toted home in her little red wagon. Opal is also an optimist, for no matter how mean her "friends", Opal responds with unfailing kindness and an abiding faith in the goodness of human nature.
Into her rather strange world comes Gloria, Bradford and Solomon, three purveyors of bogus perfume on the lam from the authorities. Opal's home is the perfect hideout—and Opal, herself, might be the remedy for their shattered finances. They decide that what she needs is plenty of insurance, a rapid demise, and three beneficiaries named Gloria, Bradford and Solomon. Attempted murder wouldn't seem to be funny, but in Mr. Patrick's magic hands it is uproarious.