Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Theatre Coppell reveals 2008-2009 season

By Shawn Parikh

Theatre Coppell still has Cabaret to close out their 2007-2008 season, but they have just announced their new year of 6 shows. Performances for all shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m., so make sure to check out what is coming from 2008-2009:

• Misery from August 22 - 31, 2008. By Stephen King and adapted for the stage by Simon Moore. Featuring Mike Arthur and Janis Arthur. Audiences will get a thrill out of this adaptation of the chilling novel by the “King of Horror” in which Paul Sheldon, world famous author of the “Misery Chastaine” romance novels, is crippled in a car wreck, only to be rescued by Annie Wilkes, his Number One Fan. When Annie reads his new novel and doesn’t like what she reads, we discover she isn't the angel of mercy she first appeared to be. Paul begins to realize that he has entered a new kind of hell beyond anything he might have dreamt up for his fictional heroin. Directed by Wheelice Wilson, Jr.
• Barefoot in the Park from October 3 - 19, 2008. By Neil Simon. From America’s most successful comedy playwright comes the story of newlywed couple Corrie and Paul Bratter, who are setting up house in a minuscule fifth-floor walkup apartment in a downtown-Manhattan brownstone. Paul is a straight-laced attorney, Corrie a far more spontaneous free spirit. The two must contend with a lack of heat, a skylight with a gaping hole, several long flights of stairs, oddball neighbor Victor Velasco, and Corrie’s well-meaning mother, in addition to adjusting to married life. A comedy inspired by the early days of Simon's marriage, it was the longest running show in his career. Directed by Wheelice Wilson, Jr.
• The Homecoming: A Christmas Story from December 5 - 21, 2008. By Earl Hamner, Jr. This adaptation of Earl Hamner Jr.’s autobiographical novel formed the basis for the television series “The Waltons.” Set during the Great Depression, the story centers on a poor family in the Virginia mountains worrying about having a lean Christmas, because there’s so little money to celebrate. This anxiety is heightened when the family learns that the bus on which the father commutes to work each day has crashed. The eldest son, feeling the first sensations of adulthood and responsibility, decides to leave home to reach the scene of the accident. As they wait for news of their father’s fate, the family members stick together and, in the process, discover the true meaning of Christmas. Directed by Wheelice Wilson, Jr.
• Shadowlands from February 6 - 22, 2009. By William Nicholson. This intensely moving play charts the extraordinary true love story between C. S. Lewis and American poet Joy Gresham. Famous in his day as a scholar and broadcaster, Lewis is perhaps best known today as the author of the classic books The Chronicles of Narnia. A confirmed bachelor into his fifties, Lewis met and married this remarkable American woman known for her outspoken views and acerbic wit, and their astonishing story has become a testament to the unpredictable nature of love and its enduring legacy. The story also deals with his struggle with personal pain and grief as Lewis must deal with Joy’s subsequent illness. Directed by Wheelice Wilson, Jr.
• Sylvia from April 10 - 26, 2009. By A. R. Gurney. This Tony Award winning comedy is about a man and his dog and. . .his wife. Greg is going through a mid-life crisis: he and his wife Kate have moved to Manhattan after twenty-two years of child-raising in the suburbs. With his career winding down and his wife’s taking off, Greg finds some measure of fulfillment and companionship from a stray dog he brings home from the park. A street-smart mixture of Lab and Poodle, Sylvia becomes a constant companion of Greg and a major bone of contention between husband and wife until, after a series of hilarious and touching complications, Greg and Kate learn to compromise, and Sylvia becomes a valued part of the family. A hilarious commentary on mid-life angst and the role pets play in our lives. Directed by George Morrow.
• Annie from July 10 - 26, 2009. Book by Thomas Meehan, Music by Charles Strouse, and Lyrics by Martin Sharnin. Based on the comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, this favorite musical tells the story of 11-year-old Annie, who was abandoned by her parents at birth. Living in the squalor of a lower east side orphanage during the Great Depression, Annie lands in the lap of luxury for a week as a part of a publicity campaign for Oliver Warbucks. However, Annie’s stay turns out to be much more than anyone had bargained for as she works her way into everyone’s heart and learns a few things for herself.

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