On The Towne announces shows for upcoming season

STAFF REPORT ~ 7/6/2011

On The Towne, Anthem’s only no-cut, no-audition children’s theatre for ages 5 – 14, has released its schedule of shows for the upcoming season.

“Every year it is becoming increasingly more difficult to select fresh new shows for our next season,” Artistic Director Paul Towne said. “With two other theatre companies in Anthem doing children’s productions and a limited number of “name” youth shows it is very hard not to be redundant. Every year I try to do a least one show from one of the smaller publishing houses and last year we did two. It turned out that both of those shows were a huge success and favorites of our casts and audiences. This season I have chosen all our shows from the smaller publishing houses. All four of these shows have great dialogue and wonderful music.”

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (starts Aug. 23rd)
Audience members will meet the Princess Snow White, the prince, the evil queen and, of course, the seven mischievous dwarfs in the musical adaptation. There’s also a palace cat and an enchanted vixen. Following the traditional storyline, the fairy tale is brought to life with an eclectic score of tunes.

Nutcracker (early winter)
This unique version of The Nutcracker captures the magic and fantasy of the ballet story without requiring extensive choreography. On Christmas Eve, the mysterious Godfather Drosselmeier presents Marie with an unusual Nutcracker. That night she is awakened by a band of renegade mice, led by the evil Mouse King. The Nutcracker, joined by a Ballerina, Feline Legation and Mistress Clara, battle the rodents, and Marie defeats the Mouse King by hitting him with her slipper. The heroes travel to the Land of Toys to rescue Princess Pirlipat from the wicked Mouse Queen, including Sweet Tooth and the cowardly mouse Rudi. The Nutcracker and the princess are reunited, the curse is broken, and Marie returns home with her toys to celebrate Christmas with her family.

The Magic Machine (late winter)
Calvin is a slight youngster who can’t compete with the more athletically inclined kids in the neighborhood. A wise magician lends him an old “Magic Machine.” Through its erratic powers Calvin, his best friend Jenny, and a lost dragon drop into odd versions of three fairy tales. In "The Three Little Bears" Calvin stops the bears from eating them for dinner and teaches the bears how to be happy. In "Rumpelstiltskin" Calvin helps the miller’s daughter by shouting out the evil little man’s name, and in the third story, "Alice in Wonderland," Calvin stops the court from capturing the three of them with the use of his yo-yo. Finally the dragon gets to return to Camelot and Calvin and Jenny find themselves back on the street where they first found the Magic Machine. Calvin now realizes that his own gifts are equally important as physical prowess. The show’s songs include "Being Different," "Making Magic," "Whenever You Smile," and others.

The Big Bad Musical (Spring)
This smart and humerous musical has appeal for actors and audiences of any age. The jury — the audience — must decide the outcome of the biggest trial ever in the fairy-tale world. The notorious Big Bad Wolf is being slapped with a class-action lawsuit by storybooks of quirky characters who want to get even: Little Red Riding Hood, her Grandmother, the Three Little Pigs and the Shepherd in charge of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. With Sydney Grimm as the commentator on live Court TV, the two greatest legal minds in the Enchanted Forest — the Evil Stepmother and the Fairy Godmother — clash in a trial that will be remembered forever after. As our wronged fairy tale characters testify, the wolf seems deserving of all that’s coming. Yet, even though the infamous Evil Stepmother resents doing pro-bono work on such an obviously futile defense, Mr. Wolf makes a good case for himself. Was he born a criminal, or made one? This musical has multiple endings to make every performance unique along with Bill Francoeur’s tunes.
For information call 623-594-3832, email OnTheTowne@cox.net, or visit OnTheTowneTheatre.org.