MGR & MTF Unveils 2012 Season
Kiss Me, Kate
May 30 - June 20
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse
Altar Boyz
June 6 - June 30
Auburn Public Theater
9 to 5: The Musical
June 27 - July 18
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse
My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding
July 5 - July 28
Auburn Public Theater
My Fair Lady
July 25 - August 15
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse
Fingers & Toes
August 1 - August 18
Auburn Public Theater
Cabaret
August 22 - September 8
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
September 12 - September 29
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse
Nunsense
October 3 - October 20
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse
THE PITCH
June 14 - August 18
Theater Mack at Cayuga Museum
Next summer Auburn will host the first Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival season. The season will include productions at three separate venues: Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Auburn Public Theater and the new Theater Mack, housed in the recently renovated Carriage House on the grounds of the Cayuga Museum. The 2012 schedule will include six productions at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse and three productions on the Auburn Public Theater Main Stage. The Festival will also include THE PITCH, an innovative concept that will feature over a dozen new musicals in their earliest stages of development. The schedule at the Playhouse will run from May 30 - October 20, 2012.
This announcement comes on the heels of a successful pilot production this past summer at the Auburn Public Theater. Cooking with the Calamari Sisters was extended for three weeks and was virtually sold out for its entire six week, 49-performance run. In all, over 8,500 were in attendance, with nearly a third of those visitors travelling from outside of CNY. The Musical Theatre Festival, Inc. was established to create a multi-venue theatre festival that will become a destination for musical theatre in the nation, initially drawing more than 100,000 visitors annually, and in the process, having a transformational impact on Central New York and the Finger Lakes Region.
The Festival was made possible by the support of its founding donors: the Allyn Foundation, Fred L. Emerson Foundation, Stardust Foundation of Central New York, Schwartz Family Foundation, the City of Auburn, and Cayuga County. To date, the Festival has raised over $7.5 million.
The 2012 season will open on May 30 in the Preston H. Thomas Theatre at Merry-Go- Round Playhouse with a Cole Porter classic, Kiss Me, Kate. This first ever winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical puts a raucous twist on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.
On June 6, we will welcome Altar Boyz, a spoof about a “heavenly” boy band, to the Main Stage at Auburn Public Theater. The sounds of Dolly Parton’s music will envelop the Playhouse on June 27 during 9 to 5: The Musical, as three women turn the tables on their tyrannical boss.
For a hilarious and heartfelt true story that celebrates love in all its forms, get your tickets for My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding. A hit at the 2009 Toronto Fringe and the 2010 New York Musical Theater Festival, this show will premiere on July 5 at the Main Stage at Auburn Public Theater.
A musical theatre masterpiece, My Fair Lady, tells the story of an unforgettable cockney girl and her transformation from poor flower girl to elegant lady. Complete with some of the most beloved songs of all time, this musical will begin its run at the Playhouse on July 25.
Opening August 1, Fingers & Toes rounds out the shows for 2012 at the Main Stage at Auburn Public Theater. A deliriously delightful and genuinely funny love-letter to the old-fashioned “let’s put on a show” musical. The Playhouse will be taken over by the dark, but exciting world of Cabaret on August 22, complete with beautiful girls and an unforgettable orchestra.
Two-time Tony Award Winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is coming to the MGR stage on September 12. Learn how to spell F-U-N as you’re taken into the lives of six young contestants participating in one of the most uproarious spelling bees ever.
Closing the season on October 3, Producing Director Ed Sayles has selected the much requested Nunsense, a musical about five sisters from Hoboken as they rally for their convent by putting on a talent show.
THE PITCH
Come see the next generation of playwrights and composers show off their work in Auburn! It’s a chance to be behind the scenes and a part of the creative process. Before the glamorous costumes and elaborate sets are even built or designed, there are just a few people in a room, writing and dreaming. You will get to meet them up close and personal.
This concept offers a brand new forum created to develop new works of musical theatre. Accompanied by piano, teams of three will receive 30-45 minutes each night to ‘pitch’ their newest ideas in front of a live audience. See vignettes of each show – including songs, scenes, and maybe even a few dance numbers! See what works, and what doesn’t. This unique series will be presented in the intimate Theater Mack space from June 14 - August 18.
There are many exciting musicals that never see the bright lights of Broadway. We’re here to provide an opportunity to artists to showcase their artistic and creative talent. You will become part of the show’s development as each team will be looking for your feedback after (and sometimes during) the performance. Be the first to see these productions – you just might be there for the birth of the next mega hit!
http://www.fingerlakesmtf.com/
