Season 2010-2011

Slow but steady wins the race! In spite of being baffled by the overnight appearance of what appears to be a rock with a leg attached, all of the woodland creatures must decide which events will take place to honor Sports Day. Mr. Sett, a badger, is disturbed that there is not much interest in the Grass Eating Competition, the Tree Climbing Competition or even the Curling in a Ball and Rolling Down a Hill Race. Reynard, the fox, has sprained a paw and can not compete with Mr. Fleet in the Cross Country. None of the other animals want to race the boastful Hare until suddenly the rock with a leg moves. Meet Mr. Sloe, a Tortoise who accepts the challenge. Get a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most celebrated of all competitions, the race between the slow-moving Tortoise and the scatter-brained boastful Hare as the two contestants dash through a world of confusing, foolish and unintelligible humans.

Today’s lesson: winning isn’t everything and losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser. The word for this show, direct from Broadway, is W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L. Six young people in the throes of puberty compete for the title of Spelling Champion of Putnam County Middle School: the painfully shy Olive Ostrovsky, whose mother has abandoned her to join an ashram in India; William Barfée, the sinus-challenged former finalist with a most unusual spelling technique; Logainne Schwarzandgrubenierre, a politically aware speller with two gay dads and a lisp; Leaf Coneybear, the second runner up to the bee who is constantly told by his family that he is “not that smart;” Chip Tolentino, a boy scout at the mercy of his unfortunately timed hormones; and Marcy Park, a classic Type-A personality who learns that it is ok not to be the best at everything. For each performance four audience volunteers will be recruited to participate on-stage as guest spellers. Winner of two 2005 Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical.

And The Winner Is is a quirky, heartfelt and slightly wicked tale of life, death and sacrifice with plenty of digs at Hollywood, lengthy awards shows and celebrity egos. The show has all the charm of It’s A Wonderful Life for life in the fast lane. Playwright Mitch Albom uses humor as a window into the human heart.

The Piano Lesson is set in the 1930s and the place is Pittsburgh, PA. Boy Willie arrives from the south to claim his "half of the piano." The piano is a family heirloom carved with the images of enslaved ancestors of the family and his sister Berniece is not willing to part with it. To her family, it meant more than a piano... it was their legacy and their future.

Set deep in a jungle of India, Jungalbook tells the classic story of Mowgli, the human child who is raised by wolves. He is befriended by Baloo the bear and kept under the watchful eye of Bagheera, the lone panther. We follow Mowgli as he learns that he is not actually a wolf but instead a human who must defend himself against Sherakhan, the fearsome tiger who killed his parents. When Mowgli finally meets Sherakhan face-to-face he uses rope stolen from a nearby village to defend himself which is against jungle law. He is forced to choose between defying jungle law and facing the consequences, or leaving the jungle forever.

The beautiful lass-who-lost-her-slipper makes her 27th annual appearance in hopes of finding her Prince Charming. This beloved fairy tale, retold in the style of English pantomime, has been delighting audiences in the Triangle area for more than a quarter century. Combine elegant costumes and magical scenery with song and dance, conniving steprelatives with a zany Fairy Godmother, and you have all of the ingredients for holiday cheer.

While on his way to dinner at a suburban family's home, Sheridan Whiteside, an insufferably arrogant radio personality, accidentally falls and breaks his hip. A tumultuous six weeks of confinement follow, during which Whiteside monopolizes the living room and, along with an offbeat cast of characters who come to visit him, proceeds to drive his hosts round the bend! "He would have his mother burned at a stake if that was the only way he could light his cigarette!" says his secretary, Maggie.

Rosie, the sassiest kid on her block of Brooklyn’s Avenue P, entertains herself and her friends by acting out show biz fantasies, notably directing and starring in an Oscar winning movie. Rosie takes her playmates on a journey into the fantastic Technicolor movie studio of her imagination as she creates the “movie of her life.”

A romantic comedy drama from Alfred Uhry author of "Driving Miss Daisy". It's December of 1939. "Gone with the Wind" storms the silver screen and is in town for its world premiere. Hitler invades Poland. But the biggest concern of Atlanta's Freitag family is Ballyhoo, a lavish ball for southern Jewish socialites.

There was a bit of an error made in the construction of Wayside School. Instead of making thirty classrooms side by side, it was built one classroom on top of another, thirty stories high…except for the 19th floor which seems to have been forgotten. Strange encounters and skewed adventures challenge the students: Mrs. Gorf - the meanest teacher in the history of Wayside School, Ms. Jewls' possessed blackboard, pigtails that talk, a lunch-money-stealing principal, ghosts in the mashed potatoes, and the ethereal Miss Zarves who may or may not reside on the mysterious missing 19th floor.

The exotic musical saga of the villainous but irresistible Mack the Knife and his marauding band of thieves. A revolutionary musical theater piece that inspired such hits as Cabaret, Chicago, and Urinetown. An opera in name only, composer Kurt Weill created the sound of 1920s Berlin dance bands and playwright Bertolt Brecht created its book that, 82 years after its premiere, remains an outrageous and cunning satire of society.