News

Welcome to RLT’s 2022-2023 Season: Stepping Forward!

The collection of plays that comprise our 2022-23 season feature characters who must find the courage, determination, and hope to step forward. These characters understand their path forward requires them to initiate the movement towards the life they desire. On their path to winning the spelling bee, finding true love, challenging tradition, or winning a prize that could lift them out of their struggle – they must each put one foot in front of the other in spite of the obstacles they will face.

After the past two seasons of hardship, surprises, cancellations, and postponements, Raleigh Little Theatre finds inspiration in these stories. As an organization we have learned – and are reminded daily – the path forward always starts with stepping up. For RLT, stepping forward means reengaging in our community. It means inviting our community back into the work of creating plays, engaging events, and classes that inspire citizens of the Triangle to move forward. We invite you to join in taking this step forward together.

– Patrick Torres, Artistic Director

2022-2023 Season

See below for a quick overview of our new season! Scroll down to continue reading more about each production.

Click here to watch a recording of our live season announcement from 2/22/22!

FOUR-SHOW SERIES, presented in all venues

• The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Musical
  • August 11 – 20, 2022
  • Performed in the Stephenson Amphitheatre
• Pride and Prejudice*, Romantic Comedy
  • September 16 – October 2, 2022
  • Performed in the Cantey V. Sutton Theatre
• Blood Wedding*, Folk Tragedy
  • January 27 – February 12, 2023
  • Performed in the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre
• Hands on a Hardbody*, Musical
  • June 2 – 18, 2023
  • Performed in the Cantey V. Sutton Theatre

*These shows also comprise our Three-Show Series.

FAMILY SERIES, presented in all venues

• The Surprising Story of the Three Little Pigs, Comedy
  • October 22 – 30, 2022
  • Performed in the Stephenson Amphitheatre
• Fancy Nancy: The Musical, Musical
  • March 17 – 26, 2023 + sensory-friendly April 1
  • Performed in the Cantey V. Sutton Theatre
• My Wonderful Birthday Suit, Young Audiences
  • May 5 – 21, 2023 + sensory-friendly May 20
  • Performed in the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre

SPECIALTY PRODUCTIONS

• Xanadu, Teens on Stage / Teens Backstage Production
  • July 22 – 31, 2022
  • Performed in the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre
• Cinderella, Holiday Musical
  • December 2 – 18, 2022
  • Performed in the Cantey V. Sutton Theatre

Click here to view our 22-23 season calendar! (PDF)

Photo by Cindy McEnery of RLT’s “Cinderella” in 2021

Returning Subscribers

If you were a season ticket holder during our 2019-20 season, you will finally have an opportunity to renew your subscription! You will receive a packet in the mail with your subscription renewal information in late March – early April. Former Sutton Series or Gaddy-Goodwin Series subscribers will be automatically renewed into the Four-Show Series option. Family Series subscribers will renew as normal.

If you have any questions or need to make changes to your subscription, please contact our box office at BoxOffice@nullRaleighLittleTheatre.org. If you prefer to renew by phone instead of by mail, you can call the box office at 919-821-3111 during their normal operating hours.

New Subscriptions & Single Ticket Information

Tickets for the Teens on Stage/Teens Backstage presentation of Xanadu will go on sale Friday, April 1. Single tickets for all remaining shows will be available Friday, July 1, at noon.

New subscriptions are available for purchase now, and we have some brand new options for you to choose from! Select our Four-Show Series, Three-Show Series, or Family Series (including a sensory-friendly option) for the best pricing and to lock in seats that renew in years to come. Create your own series by selecting our Choose Your Own subscription option! This option offers a slightly smaller discount versus the prior series options, but you are able to mix and match across all our season offerings.

Learn more about all four subscription options here!

Safety Precautions

In line with how we have operated over the past two years, we will constantly review the best practices for keeping our audiences and volunteers safe during our upcoming season. Health and safety regulations are always subject to change, and we commit to keeping an open line of communication with ticket holders as restrictions ease or tighten. Click here for RLT’s current COVID policies.

Photo by Jeannine Borzello of RLT’s production of “Beehive: The 60’s Musical” in 2021

2022-2023 Season: Stepping Forward

Xanadu | Musical

July 22 – 31, 2022
Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre
General Admission
Thursday – Saturday at 7:30PM, Saturday – Sunday at 3:00PM

Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Music and Lyrics by Jeff Lynne & John Farrar
Based on the Universal Pictures film
Screenplay by Richard Danus & Marc Rubel

RLT’s Teens on Stage and Teens Backstage program presents Xanadu! Xanadu follows the journey of a magical and beautiful Greek muse, Kira, who descends from the heavens of Mount Olympus to Venice Beach, California in 1980 on a quest to inspire a struggling artist, Sonny, to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time – the first ROLLER DISCO! (Hey, it’s 1980!) But, when Kira falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation, and chaos abounds. Tickets on sale April 1!

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | Musical

August 12 – 20, 2022
Louise “Scottie” Stephenson Amphitheatre
General Admission
Thursday – Saturday at 8:00PM

Music & Lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Conceived by Rebecca Feldman

An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box.

Pride and Prejudice | Romantic Comedy

September 16 – October 2, 2022
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre
Reserved Seating
Thursday – Saturday at 8:00PM, Sunday at 3:00PM

By Kate Hamill
adapted from the novel by Jane Austen

This isn’t your grandmother’s Austen! Bold, surprising, boisterous, and timely, this P&P for a new era explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life. The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry, despite mounting pressure from society. But can she resist love, especially when that vaguely handsome, mildly amusing, and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn? Literature’s greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical or so full of life than it does in this effervescent and freewheeling adaptation. Because what turns us into greater fools… than the high-stakes game of love?

The Surprising Story of the Three Little Pigs | Comedy

October 22 – 30, 2022
Louise “Scottie” Stephenson Amphitheatre
General Admission
Saturday – Sunday at 1:00PM & 4:00PM

By Linda Daugherty

What would happen if three classic fairy tales – The Three Little Pigs, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears – got a little mixed up between “once upon a time” and “happily ever after?” When the pigs start to wonder what life would be like if the wolf were not always at their door, the billy goats gruff grow tired of trip-trapping over the troll’s bridge, and Papa Bear realizes he’s had enough of meddlesome little Goldilocks, the three trios join forces and swap a few things around! Families will roll with laughter as the narrator and performers juggle the interweaving stories in this fast-paced silly take on traditional favorites.

Cinderella | Holiday Musical

December 2 – 18, 2022
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre
Reserved Seating
Thursday – Friday at 7:30PM, Saturday – Sunday at 2:00PM & 6:00PM

Based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault
Adaptation and lyrics by Jim Eiler
Music by Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy

RLT’s holiday tradition returns for the 38th year! This musical comedy is a holiday sugarplum for the whole family. Just the right mixture of comedy and romance can add the sparkle of magic to your holiday season. This visually stunning musical combines elegant costumes and scenery with singing, dancing, conniving step-relatives, and resourceful fairy folk.

Blood Wedding | Folk Tragedy

January 27 – February 12, 2023
Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre
General Admission
Thursday – Saturday at 8:00PM, Sunday at 3:00PM

By Federico García Lorca

Blood Wedding is a gripping Spanish tragedy from Federico García Lorca. Inspired by a true story and first performed in 1933, this is a classic play that deserves our attention. Two families in rural Spain are intricately bound in an unbreakable cycle of murder and revenge. Violent and long-standing community tensions re-emerge when one mother learns her son – The Groom – is due to marry an ex-lover of the hot-blooded Leonardo Felix, who later steals The Bride away from the wedding celebrations. An entire town goes after the lovers in the middle of the night where pursuers and pursued plunge into a realm of deep darkness where the moonlight is not friendly and the forest not shelter enough. Lorca’s image-laden poetry unfolds the story with the fire and power characteristic of his work and the fateful resonance that marked his own tragically short life.

Fancy Nancy: The Musical | Musical

March 17 – 26, 2023
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre
Reserved Seating
Thursday – Friday at 7:30PM, Saturday – Sunday at 2:00PM & 5:30PM
Sensory-friendly performance on Saturday, April 1, at 2:00PM

Book & Lyrics by Susan DiLallo
Music & Lyrics by Danny Abosch

Fancy Nancy and her friends Bree, Rhonda, Wanda, and Lionel are going to be performing in their very first show, “Deep Sea Dances.” Nancy is positive, that’s fancy for 100 percent sure, that she and Bree will be picked to be mermaids. When another girl wins the coveted role of the mermaid, Nancy is stuck playing a dreary, dull tree. Can Nancy bring fancy flair to her role, even though it isn’t the one she wanted?

My Wonderful Birthday Suit | Young Audiences

May 5 – 21, 2023
Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre
General Admission
Thursday – Friday at 7:30PM, Saturday – Sunday at 2:00PM & 5:30PM
Sensory-friendly performance on Saturday, May 20, at 2:00PM

by Gloria Bond Clunie

Rainbows, moonbeams and a bit of birthday magic make for a super-fun party! But friendships are questioned when judgements and comments about skin color slip out. This spectacular story told with music, an awesome puppet named Bobo the bird and the wonder of a magical Thinking Tree will give everyone something to ponder. Each of us is “gift wrapped” in our own unique way but it’s what’s on the inside that truly makes us special. This powerful conversation-starter proves that you’re never too young (or too old) to be kind.

Hands on a Hardbody | Musical

June 2 – 18, 2023
Cantey V. Sutton Theatre
Reserved Seating
Thursday – Saturday at 8:00PM, Sunday at 3:00PM

Book by Doug Wright
Lyrics by Amanda Green
Music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green

For 10 hard-luck Texans, a new lease on life is so close they can touch it. Under a scorching sun for days on end, armed with nothing but hope, humor and ambition, they’ll fight to keep at least one hand on a brand-new truck in order to win it. In the hilarious, hard-fought contest that is Hands on a Hardbody, only one winner can drive away with the American Dream. Inspired by the true events of the acclaimed 1997 documentary of the same name by S.R. Bindler, produced by Kevin Morris and Bindler.

Photo by Jeannine Borzello of RLT’s “The Velocity of Autumn” in 2021