June 2008

June 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 8:00 PM, June 22, 29 at 2:30 PM

by Sam Shepard, directed by Quinton Cockrell

June 19, 21, 26, 28 at 7:30 PM, June 22, 29 at 2:00 PM

The timeless fairy tale meets the magic of Disney in this adaptation of the

Tickets are $8 for Adults, $6 for Students.  Reservations or ticket info at 879-0411

June 12 - 28 Thursday - Saturday at 8 PM

Adapted by Steve Martin

Steve Martin’s adaptation of the original “wardrobe malfunction”! Humor and intrigue result from the failure of a fastener on a woman’s undergarment. No, this isn’t the Superbowl, but the instant fame and unusual consequences have Janet Jackson written all over it!

Tickets are $20, call 933-2383 for reservations

June 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 7:30

by Harvey Fierstein

Theatre Downtown celebrates Gay Pride Month with Harvey Fierstein's fiercely personal and utterly moving drama, Torch Song Trilogy, which took home the 1983 Tony Award for Best Play.  Comprised of three acts, the play follows the adventures of Arnold Beckoff, a flambuoyant Jew living in New York City who spends his nights working at the local drag club and spends his days searching for meaning and romance in the Big Apple.  The play follows a decade in Arnold's life as he deals with everything from a lover who decides he doesn't want to be gay anymore, a terrible tragedy that comes out of nowhere and his overbearing mother who comes for a visit.  Torch Song Trilogy has been riveting audiences for years and has become a signature piece of theatre for the Gay Movement.  The play was a huge hit on Broadway and was eventually turned into a major motion picture starring Harvey Fierstein, Matthew Broderick & Anne Bancroft. 

Tickets are $17.00 ($12.00 for students and seniors).  Thursday nights are 'HOBO NIGHTS', where we ask that you pay what you can afford, with a $5.00 minimum.  

For reservations, please call: (205) 306-1470, or e-mail theatredt@gmail.com.  For more information on this production or the rest of our exciting second season, please visit us at: www.myspace.com/theatredt .

June 13 - 29

Adapted from the book by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey- directed by Cindy deSa

Tickets $15, $12 for Students and Seniors.  Reservations at 621-2128

Public Performances June 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 at 10AM and 1 PM weekdays, 10AM on Saturdays

by Lee Shackleford (based on the story by O. Henry)

Call 934-3237 for tickets

June 5 - 15

            On Sunday, June 1 at 2:30 p.m., The Seasoned Performers, Alabama’s only Senior Adult Theatre, celebrates its 25^th season of touring. On that afternoon, TSP will present a special public performance of two comedies by Randy Marsh: The Canton Culture Club -- a reading directed by Martha Haarbauer -- and It’s Perfectly True -- a one-act play directed by Ellise Mayor. The play and readings will take place at Birmingham Festival (1901 ½  11^th Avenue South), a theatre that Marsh helped found. The performances will be followed by a wine reception.

            This group of volunteer actors and readers tour Jefferson county and the surrounding areas, taking readings and one act plays to schools, senior centers, libraries, and underserved communities throughout the state. Begun in 1984, the theatre is recognized nationally, and is listed on the National Endowment for the Arts website.

            Start your Sunday afternoon at a meeting of The Canton Culture Club read by Leigh Anne Botters, Frances Cook, Jane McCrary, and M.H. Smith. The goings on at this meeting will make you chuckle. Finish the day at an appointment with Charlene at the Curl Up & Dye Beauty Salon in the thriving metropolis of Pushmataha, Alabama. The things you hear at this salon will make your hair curl, it’s perfectly true! Based on a fable by Hans Christian Andersen, this one act comedy stars Boots Carroll, Amy Grohs, Arlene Hall, Dorvy Jean, and Beth McCord.

July 2008

July 10 - August 3, Thursday - Saturday at 7:30 PM, Sunday matinee at 2:00 PM

Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, Book by Linda Woolverton

Travel to an enchanted world filled with mystery and magic with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast! Based on the Academy award-winning animated feature, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a charming love story about the lovely Belle who must endure captivity under the horrible Beast. Filled with incredible costumes, beautiful sets and bubbly music, you’ll be entertained by such memorable characters as Lumiere and Mrs. Potts singing songs like “Be Our Guest” and “Tale as Old as Time.” A modern classic and currently the longest-running American musical on Broadway, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is delightful fun for the entire family. Enjoy a tale as old as time that proves true love can break all barriers.

Tickets are $30, call 324-2424

July 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 at 8:00 PM, June 20, 27 at 2:30 PM

by Sam Shepard, directed by Marlene Johnson

August 2008

August 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 at 8:00

by Charles Busch

Theatre Downtown takes a walk on the wild side with Charles Busch's campy tribute to the Frankie & Annette beach blanket movies of the 1950's & 1960's, the most frightening comedy of our time – Psycho Beach Party.  Chicklet is a typical California teen who wants desperately to fit in with the local surfer gang.  One problem – Chicklet has multiple personality disorder and seeing the color red sends her into her psychosis, sometimes letting loose a split personality known as Ann Bowman, who is hell bent on world domination!  Along with the local stud, Star Cat, and the leader of the surf gang, Kanaka, Chicklet must confront her disorder as everyone tries to grapple with a string of murders in the community.  Could Chicklet be responsible?  The answers to this question and many more can be found in this exciting mystery that is both 'hip' and 'far out' at the same time!  Psycho Beach Party was a hit Off-Broadway and turned into a major motion picture starring Lauren Ambrose, Charles Busch, Thomas Gibson and Amy Adams. 

Tickets are $17.00 ($12.00 for students and seniors).  Thursday nights are 'HOBO NIGHTS', where we ask that you pay what you can afford, with a $5.00 minimum.  

For reservations, please call: (205) 306-1470, or e-mail theatredt@gmail.com.  For more information on this production or the rest of our exciting second season, please visit us at: www.myspace.com/theatredt .

by John Ford Noonan, directed by Cindy DeSa

This zany comedy takes place in the kitchen of the archetypal suburban housewife in Westchester County, N.Y. Maude is having a tough day: her husband is off on a weekend spree with his secretary and she can't get rid of her pesky neighbor who has just moved up from Texas. The neighbor pesters Maude until they become friends and eventually join forces against their errant and erring husbands.

Tickets are $17, call 306-1470

November 13, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23 at 7:30 PM, November 16, 23 at 2:00 PM

The dangers of a workplace romance are explored to hysterical effect in this romantic comedy from the creators of Damn Yankees. Conditions at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory are anything but peaceful, as sparks fly between new superintendent Sid Sorokin and Babe Williams, leader of the union grievance committee.

Tickets are $15 for Adults, $12 for Students.  Reservations or ticket info at 879-0411