Players Theatre announces 2015-2016 season

The Players Theatre announced the production lineup for their 86th Broadway season taking place between 2015 and 2016. With eight productions scheduled, the Players Theatre will offer a diverse season full of classic showstoppers as well as dramatic material new to the Sarasota area

“The theme of the new season is celebrating what makes us unique,” says Jeffery Kin, artistic director. “As I look at the season, these theatrical situations are unique and they present people overcoming something with an intense inner drive. It really is celebrating what makes the human condition so fascinating.”

Those unique stories that will visit the Players Theatre during the 2015-2016 season is as follows:

“Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee Williams. The classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning Southern familial drama will run Sept. 3 through 13.

“The 39 Steps” by Patrick Barlow. This British, action packed love letter to Alfred Hitchcock will run Sept. 30 through Oct. 11.

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” with music and lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman and book by Jeremy Sams. The high flying and spirited family-friendly musical will run Oct. 28 through Nov. 15.

“She Loves Me” with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the frequently-adpated short story by Miklos Laszlo, this 1963 musical comedy revolves around two perfume salespersons that detest each other at work but are secretly falling in love with each other through an anonymous pen pal exchange. The musical will run from Dec. 2 through 20.

“The Drowsy Chaperone” with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison and book by Bob Martin & Don McKellar. Running Jan. 13 through 31, 2016, this 2006 Broadway musical parodies the American musical theater genre through the story of a musical theater fan listening to his favorite cast album and commenting on its elements as it comes to life right in front of him.

“Hands On A Hardbody” with music by Trey Anastasio, music & lyrics by Amanda Green and book by Dough Wright. This musical based on the 1997 documentary of the same name depicts the lives of contestants as they try to win a “hardbody” truck in Longview, TX. This area premiere runs from Feb. 17 to March 6, 2016.

“La Cage Aux Folles” with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein. This blockbuster, mutli-Tony Award-winning 1983 musical depicts the comedic conundrum of when two gay men who operate a drag club on the French Riveria and their son becomes engaged to a conservative politician’s daughter. According to Kin, the Players Theatre already plans to extend the run of this popular musical scheduled to run from March 23 to April 10, 2016

And closing the 2015-2016 season is Michael Lowe’s play “The Smell of the Kill.” This drama premiered on Broadway in 2002 and concerns the relationships of three housewives and the revelations that all three of their respective marriages are on the brink of disaster. The show will run from April 27 to May 8, 2016.