Up & Coming Weekly

July 27, 2021

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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12 UCW JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2021 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM COVER New theater season brings something for everyone by KEYURI PARAB Local theaters in Fayetteville are back and ready to entertain the public with their upcoming season schedules full of new and exciting performances. With a mix of comedy, drama, mystery and musicals — there is something for everyone. Cape Fear Regional eatre Cape Fear Regional eatre will kick off their 60th season with six shows, starting with one of the world's most successful rock 'n' roll musicals – "Buddy: e Buddy Holly Story" from Oct. 14 until Nov. 7. Set in the 1950's, the show tells the story of a young man from Texas with big glasses and big dreams catapulting to the top of the rock 'n' roll charts. e show will feature Holly's popular songs like "Peggy Sue," and "at'll Be e Day," along with "La Bamba," and celebrate the man whose music and values were ahead of his time. It will be directed by Suzanne Agins, who also directed CFRT's productions of "Dreamgirls," "Memphis" and "Mamma Mia." "We're super excited about that, it was a part of a previously planned season but we didn't get to do it until now," said CFRT Artistic Director Mary Kate Burke. Next on their list is the 30th anniversary produc- tion of "e Best Christmas Pageant Ever." BCPE follows a group struggling to put on a church Christ- mas pageant while faced with casting the Herdman kids who are probably the most inventively awful kids in history. For local theater-goers, this is a traditional holiday fix. CFRT's Education Director, Marc de la Concha, will direct the show which runs Dec. 3-19. e third show in the season will be "e Wizard of Oz," a must-see for fans of the book, movie or original musical. Audiences will go on the journey with the classic characters of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy, and her little dog as well. e show will be directed by Tiffany Green, who previ- ously directed "Shrek: e Musical." "Next, a smaller play that's unfamiliar to a lot of people but is fantastic called 'Welcome to Arroyo's,'" said Burke. "It's like a hip-hop coming of age story that takes place in New York." Audiences can look forward to DJs/narrators spinning the story in a comic heartfelt piece. "Welcome to Arroyo's" is written by Kristoffer Diaz and runs March 10-27, 2022. e production will be performed with audience seating on stage. e fifth show in the line-up is "Clue: On Stage" directed by Burke herself, based on the best-selling board game and movie adaption. Audiences will join Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, and other colorful guests for this hilarious murder mystery. is show will also be performed with audience seating on stage. CFRT will end their season with "e Color Purple," directed by Brian Harlan Brooks. e show is based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. e musical follows a woman named Celie, her heartbreak and despair, until her friend Shug helps her realize her own self-worth. Celie uses her flair for fashion to build a better future. e show features jazz, gospel, blues and African music. e musical, like the book and the film adapta- tion, is a story of resilience and a testament to the healing power of love. e show is being produced with support from e Junior League of Fayetteville and the National Endowment for the Arts. "Other than our Christmas show that happens every year, the rest of the shows depend on what's happening in the world, what we think the com- munity would love," Burke said. "Sometimes we cast them based on conversations with the creative team that have done the show before." For more information on shows or to purchase in- dividual or season tickets, visit https://www.cfrt.org Gilbert eater e first show of Gilbert's season will be "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: e Musical," which runs Oct. 1-17. e story follows two con men, a beautiful woman and the elite of the French Riviera who will collide in a sexy and irreverent farce. "It's about con men and money and the upper crust of society and trying to swindle them out of money," said Gilbert eater Artistic Director Law- rence Carlisle. Next, "e Carols," a returning crowd favorite. e Christmas themed musical will play weekends Nov. 26 to Dec. 5 and Dec. 17-19. e show features the Carol sisters struggling to put up their annual production of "A Christmas Carol," but there is a shortage of men due to WWII. "We're excited to be doing this again, it's a really good show, it's funny and not enough people got to see it due to COVID," Carlisle mentioned. e third show of the season will be "e Last Days of Judas Iscariot," a dark comedy and thought- provoking work by Pulitzer-Prize winning play- wright Stephen Adly Guirgis. e play follows Judas in purgatory where he is on trial. is show will run Jan. 28 through Feb. 13, 2022. Carlisle said he hopes "Judas Iscariot" will be the show everyone talks about because it's weird and reflects how the intent of theater is to entertain people. Following that, the season will present "Othello," adapted and directed by Montgomery Sutton. e show will run March 25 through April 10, 2022, and will tell the story of a powerful general of the Vene- tian army, Othello, whose life and marriage are ruined by a conniving, deceitful and envious soldier, Iago. Gilbert is currently the recipient of the Lilly Endowment Challenge, a grant that will match all donations up to $50,000 for the theater. Donors can contribute to the Gilbert eater Endowment by visiting https://cumberlandcf.fcsuite.com/erp/do- nate/create?funit_id=1389. For more information on season tickets and shows, visit https://www.gilberttheater.com. Sweet Tea Shakespeare "As of spring 2022, we will have been in Fayetteville for 10 years and so with the upcoming season we are looking forward to our 10-year an- niversary," said Jeremy Fiebig, Artistic Director for Sweet Tea Shakespeare. eir upcoming season starts in August and the first show will be "HamLIT" directed by Traycie Kuhn-Zapata. It will showcase how the prince of Denmark goes off his rocker on the rocks in this "bLITzed" take on Shakespeare's most famous trag- edy, "Hamlet." "HamLIT" will play Aug. 13 and 27 COVER

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