Whitefish Theatre Co. announces 14 shows for season
Whitefish Theatre Company, celebrating 41 years of quality community theatre, world music and more, is proud to introduce its 2019-2020 season.
With 14 shows, WTC’s season is diverse, inspiring and fun, offering entertainment for all to enjoy.
“With our 40th anniversary season behind us, it seems like a time of new beginnings — new stories to be told, new music to hear, and new faces on our stage,” says Executive Director Gayle MacLaren. “As with each season, WTC strives to showcase something for everyone. This year’s line-up is especially spectacular as we explore original voices in theatre and music, as well as present some tried and true classics.”
“I couldn’t be more excited about our 41st season,” adds Artistic Director Kim Krueger. “Our main stage season is a combination of comedies and dramas that include the hilarious and heartwarming ‘Over the River and Through the Woods,’ the epic musical ‘Into The Woods,’ the beloved ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,’ the timeless ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ and the fresh and funny ‘The Revolutionists.’ Our music series brings in tremendous ensembles of award-winning, talented artists that include the vibrant Jarabe Mexicano, modern classical trio TAKE3, the 20th Anniversary Tour of International Guitar Night, the acclaimed Klezmer Gypsy-Rock band Mostly Kosher, and the Celtic sensation Derina Harvey Band. Add in four thought-provoking Black Curtain plays and this season promises something intriguing and entertaining for all.”
Whitefish Theatre Company’s 2019-2020 season:
- The Roommate (Black Curtain theatre): Sept. 21 and 22
“The Roommate” is a funny and beautiful story about the joys and the terrors of personal reinvention as two women in their 50s become roommates to make ends meet. Called “an out and out laugh riot,” this chance cohabitation sets two lives spinning and explores what happens when the wheels come off.
- Jarabe Mexicano (music): Sept. 27
Jarabe Mexicano invites audiences on a joyride through a vibrant songbook of Mexican folk as well as rock & roll, Tex-Mex, Latin Rock and Reggae-Cumbia. Performing on traditional stringed folk instruments accompanied by live percussion, Jarabe’s dramatic, harmonized vocals in Spanish and English have gained them the admiration of audiences across the country.
- “Over the River and Through the Woods” (mainstage theatre) Oct. 17-20 and 24-26
Nick is a young single man who has managed to be the only member of his family who still lives near his two sets of Italian-American grandparents in New Jersey. However, when Nick tells his famiglia that he is moving for his dream job, the wily elders decide to launch a barrage of emotional blackmail, including a cooked-up matchmaking scheme, to keep Nick around. A warm-hearted, boisterously funny, and touching story about deep familial love and the inevitable little heartbreaks that occur as time passes and children grow.
- “A Doll’s House, Part 2” (Black Curtain theatre): Nov. 2 and 3
Nora, the heroine of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 revolutionary masterpiece “A Doll’s House,” is back in the newly imagined Part 2 of the story with an incredibly awkward request for Torvald, the husband whom she abandoned 15 years prior. As long-simmering resentments boil over, she must navigate some hilarious and harrowing negotiations with her family, as we watch the woman who once up-ended the rules of marriage return to set the record straight.
- TAKE3 (music): Nov. 9
With a flair for the wild and unexpected, the genre-bending trio TAKE3 brings the refinement of a rigorous classical background and infuses it with rock star charisma. Trained at the Colburn and Juilliard Schools, this modern classical ensemble brings roof-raising energy to their performances as they put their own spin on pop, jazz and classical pieces.
- “Into the Woods” (mainstage musical): Dec. 5-8 and 12-15
When a baker and his wife learn they have been cursed with childlessness by the witch next door, they embark on a quest to break the spell, meeting an ambivalent Cinderella, a rebellious Rapunzel, a chatty Little Red Riding Hood, and simpleton Jack of beanstalk fame. What begins as a lively irreverent fantasy becomes a moving life lesson about working together, the stories we tell our children, and the real meaning of “happily ever after.”
- “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (Black Curtain theatre): Jan. 25 and 26
Vanya and his sister Sonia reside in their old family home, mourning their lost dreams and missed opportunities. However, when their fortune-telling maid, Cassandra, warns of impending dangers, and their movie star sister, Masha, arrives unexpectedly with her hunky boy toy, Spike, a lifetime of sibling rivalry explodes into a rollicking weekend of one-upmanship, exposed nerves, and a lot of broken mugs.
- International Guitar Night (music): Feb. 12
Back by popular demand, International Guitar Night will once again grace our stage with four of the best and most innovative acoustic guitarists in the world. IGN will be celebrating an incredible 20 years of U.S. touring with their most eclectic lineup yet, including Mike Dawes, a two-hand contemporary guitarist from England, Cenk Erdogan, a maestro on the Turkish fretless guitar, Olli Soikkeli, an electrifying jazz virtuoso from Finland, and Jim Kimo West, a Hawaiian Slack Key master.
- “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (mainstage theatre): Feb. 27-29, March 1, and March 5-8
This beloved story follows the classic version of the tale with the beautiful Snow White serving her stepmother, the evil Queen Brangomar, who goes to great lengths to get rid of Snow White when she falls in love with Prince Florimond, including conspiring with Witch Hex to make Snow White take a bite of the infamous poison apple. A new cast of supporting characters breathes new life into this treasured story, as the lovable and clever seven dwarfs save the day, surprising and entertaining audiences of all ages.
- Mostly Kosher (music): March 26
Mostly Kosher, an acclaimed klezmer gypsy-rock band, has been praised for their “exquisite musicianship, contagious energy, and poignant light-hearted humor.” Hailing from Los Angeles, this entertaining sextet’s take on klezmer music is fresh and unique, seamlessly merging modern musical styles, like soul, funk, jazz, Latin and Hip Hop, with traditional klezmer songs and reimagining modern songs with fun klezmer beats.
- “Sense and Sensibility” (mainstage theatre): April 9-11 and 16-19
Based on Jane Austen’s famous novel, the Dashwood sisters — prudent Elinore and impulsive Marianne — find their world turned upside down after their father’s death, which robs them of their wealth, social standing, and most importantly, chances for marriage. Mix in a few dashing love interests and a gaggle of gossipy socialites, the sisters must learn to mix sense with sensibility, their opposite temperaments, to find true happiness.
- The Derina Harvey Band (music): April 22
With a show that offers a fresh take on traditional folk songs as well as a few originals, the Derina Harvey Band has a rocky, rhythmic undertow layered with guitars, fiddle, and topped by Derina’s powerful voice and vibrant personality. A Celtic rock sensation from Edmonton, Canada, the band offers high-energy live shows “bringing color to your cheeks and creating music and joy that will fill your heart and soul.”
- Seminar (Black Curtain theatre – mature audiences only): May 2 and 3
Four young writers have signed up for a writing seminar with Leonard, a known literary hotshot. Under Leonard’s recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some of these writers thrive in the seminar, while others flounder. As alliances are made and broken and insecurities rage, the wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this biting Broadway comedy.
- “The Revolutionists” (cabaret theatre): May 28-31 and June 4-6.
In this new and fast-paced comedy, a quartet of beautiful, strong women raise hell in Paris during the French Revolution. The Revolutionists are real-life characters that include playwright Olympe De Gouge, assassin Charlotte Corday, Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle, and the one-and-only Marie “Let Them Eat Cake” Antoinette who conspire to avoid losing their heads — literally — during the insanity of the Reign of Terror. This bold and blisteringly funny play is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world.
All shows are at the O’Shaughnessy Center. Season Passes and Build-Your-Own-Season Passes, offering 10% to 15% discounts off regular ticket prices, are available by calling 406-862-5371, or visiting 1 Central Avenue in Whitefish. Box office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Individual tickets for all shows can also be purchased on at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.