Production Archives

Directed by Adam Hester

A cabaret evening of songs and tributes to the life of Jeannette Lipford benefiting the ACU Theatre. Six ACU Theatre alums will be performing songs from musicals where Jeannette served as vocal director. Alums include Jonathan Bragg ’09 (All Shook Up, Aida); Griffin Jones ’21 (Bright Star, Beauty and the Beast); Payton Reeves Lauerman ’19 (Wonderful Town, Cats); Christine Tyndall Pinson ’03 (Jekyll & Hyde, For Such a Time as This); Annika Johansson Spalding ’06 (Jane Eyre, Seussical); and Department of Music chair, Rick Piersall ’93 (Meet Me in St. Louis).

• Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Book by Doug Wright
• Music by Alan Menken
• Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater
• Directed by Dawne Swearingen-Meeks
• Musical Direction by Dr. Chris Hollingsworth

Based on one of Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved stories and the classic animated film, Disney’s The Little Mermaid is a hauntingly beautiful love story for the ages. With music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, and a compelling book by Doug Wright, this fishy fable will capture your heart with its irresistible songs, including “Under the Sea,” “Kiss the Girl” and “Part of Your World.” In Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Ariel, King Triton’s youngest daughter, wishes to pursue the human Prince Eric in the world above, bargaining with the evil sea witch, Ursula, to trade her tail for legs. But the bargain is not what it seems, and Ariel needs the help of her colorful friends – Flounder the fish, Scuttle the seagull and Sebastian the crab – to restore order under the sea. The musical will include ACU’s full orchestra, conducted by Dr. Steven Ward.

Guide

• Written by Keith Bunin
• Directed by Adam Hester

One morning, a young man boards the Coast Starlight, the long-distance
train connecting Los Angeles and Seattle. He’s got a secret that can land
him in terrible trouble, and he has roughly 1,000 miles to enlist the help
of his fellow travelers, each of whom is reckoning with their own choices
in search of a way forward. Keith Bunin’s new play is a smart, funny and
compassionate story about our capacity for invention and reinvention
when life goes off the rails.

Playbill Guide

Directed by Mark Gold

One Night Only is back by popular demand! Join us for an evening of
dance, with themes of adventure, hope and story tied into this special
concert. A reception will follow in Hester Lobby.
Playbill

• Written by Kate Hamill
• Directed by Dawne Swearingen-Meeks

Jo March isn’t your typical Victorian lady. She’s indecorous and headstrong, and one day she’s going to be a great American novelist. As she and her sisters grow up in the middle of the Civil War, they strive to be brave, intelligent and imaginative young women. But as adulthood approaches, each sister must negotiate her ambitions with society’s expectations. In a war-torn world defined by gender, class and personal tragedy, Jo March gives us her greatest story: the March sisters, four dreamers destined to be imperfect little women.

Playbill Guide

• by John Cariani
• Student directors: Chloe Munson and Juan Rivera

The challenge for our student directors and team is to tell these quirky, punch-drunk love stories with a challenge! ACU Theatre students will have a limited budget and simple unit elements to create magic on the stage. The educational idea is that with limitations, creativity blooms.

Almost, Maine is a play by John Cariani, comprising nine short plays that explore love and loss in a remote, mythical almost-town called Almost, Maine.

Playbill Guide

• Directed by Joey Banks
• Musical directed by Dr. Chris Hollingsworth
• Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelak
• Music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
• Originally produced on the New York stage by Edgar Lansbury, Stuart Duncan and Joseph Beruh

Godspell was the first major musical theatre offering from three-time Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Children of Eden), and it took the world by storm. Led by the international hit, “Day by Day,” an eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, are employed as the story of Jesus’ life unfolds across the stage. Jesus’ messages of kindness and love come vibrantly to life.

Playbill

Love’s Labour’s Lost

• Songs by Michael Friedman; Book Adapted by Alex Timbers
• Based on the play by William Shakespeare
• Directed by Adam Hester
• Vocal Direction by Christopher Hollingsworth

The Taming of the Shrew

• By William Shakespeare
• Directed by Gary Varner

Love’s Labour’s Lost

Romance, revelry and enchanting music ignite in this contemporary, yet lovingly faithful, musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy. The King and his best buds decide at their five- year college reunion to swear off the joys of women. But when four cute, clever girls from their past show up, they’re forced to reconsider all of that nonsense! Add in an outlandish Spanish exchange student love and devotion are put to the test with hilarious results. Love’s Labour’s Lost is a madcap celebration of true love and coming of age. Featuring an ensemble cast and an infectious pop score, don’t miss this fresh, clever and outrageously fun modernized classic.

The Taming of the Shrew
Shakespeare’s sassy romantic comedy is more hilarious than ever in a new style improvised by director Gary Varner. Blossoming beauty Bianca can’t get married until her caustic older sister Kate has tied the knot. But who can tame wild Kate? Enter Petruchio and resentment surrenders to romance in this exhilarating battle of the sexes.

PLAYBILL

• By ACU Theatre alumna Crystal Rae
• Directed by Ren Jackson, New York City guest artist

In 1963 the world lost four little girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, including the youngest daughter of Daniel, a devoted husband and father. This one-man play is presented in a staged reading performance with Samuel Cook, Ren Jackson and Jeremiah Taylor representing the many versions of Daniel’s journey. Brilliantly woven together with poetry and truth, Tied brings hope in the midst of heartache.

• Musical Direction by Dr. Chris Hollingsworth
• Directed by Gary Varner
• Written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Lyrics by Tim Rice
• Choreography by Lily Balogh

One of the most enduring shows of all time is a reimagining of a beloved biblical story. Told entirely through song, the musical follows Joseph, who, after being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, ingratiates himself to Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the amorous advances of the ruler’s wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers the ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of Pharaoh, who makes him his right-hand man and reunites him with his family.

Joel Edwards (’16)

A cabaret evening of faith and joy with Joel Edwards (’16)

• Written by Neil Simon
• Directed by Adam Hester

Successful Long Island businessman Joe Benjamin is a modern-day “Job” with a demanding wife, ungrateful children and wise-cracking household employees. Just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, he is visited by Sidney Lipton (a.k.a. “A Messenger from God”) with a mission: Test Joe’s faith and report back to “the boss.” The jokes and tests of faith fly fast and furious as Neil Simon spins a contemporary morality tale like no other in this hilarious comedy.

More About the Show

• Lead choreography by Balogh
  New York City Ballet guest artist.
• Directed by Lily Balogh

Dances of Courage emerges as a celebration of movement, music and a God-given art form. Lily Balogh has invited student choreographers to create distinct, powerful pieces reflecting courage, love and light as we dance into the world. The result is an inspiring production of creative energy erupting into a joyous celebration of life.

• Book by Craig Lucas
• Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel
• Directed by Adam Hester
• Musical Direction by Chris Hollingsworth

Margaret, an elegant and strong-willed Southern woman, and her daughter, Clara, are touring the Tuscan countryside in 1953 when Clara meets Fabrizio, a handsome Italian gentleman. But a secret about Clara threatens to destroy her chance at happiness. With operatic melodies that set it apart from most contemporary musical theatre, The Light in the Piazza is a story about mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and the deeply intertwined emotions of love and loss.
Study Guide

Highlights

• Written by William Inge
• Directed by Gary Varner

In the middle of a howling snowstorm, a bus from Kansas City pulls up at a cheerful roadside diner. All roads are blocked, and the weary travelers are going to have to hole up until morning. They include Cherie, a nightclub chanteuse in a sparkling gown and a seedy fur-trimmed jacket, and a 21-year-old cowboy with a ranch of his own and the manners of a headstrong bull. The hilarious storyline includes the proprietor of the cafe and the bus driver at last finding time to develop a friendship of their own, a middle-aged scholar who comes to terms with himself; and a young girl who gains her first taste of love.

• Guest produced by Jason Baumgardner
• Video by L.A. Film Team
• Directed by Jeff Smith, NYC guest director
• Choreographed by Lily Balogh

ACU Theatre is stepping up to the challenge by creating a COVID-safe original film. Fall in love all over again as you watch ACU Theatre’s new retelling of this beloved, magical fairy tale. In a beautiful, lyrical short film Cinderella meets her prince through an updated lens set in the 1980s. A perfect fit for the entire family!

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• By Christopher Demos-Brown
• Directed by Dawne Meeks & Vincson Green II (’12), L.A. Guest Artist

This explosive new drama examines our nation’s racial divide through the eyes of an estranged, interracial couple. Over the course of one evening, the couple’s disparate backgrounds collide as they confront an unexpected crisis involving their son, the police, and an abandoned car. Christopher Demos-Brown’s play is a gripping tale about who we are as a nation, and how we deal with family relationships, love, loss and identity. Special thanks to the Carl Spain Center for supporting this Cornerstone production.

Study Guide

• By James Sherman
• Directed by Hannah Sanza

Sarah is a good Jewish girl with a serious problem – her boyfriend
isn’t Jewish! There is no way her opinionated parents will ever approve. So, to placate them, Sarah hires a male escort, Bob, to portray the perfect Jewish boyfriend. Only one problem: Bob isn’t Jewish! Things get even more complicated when Sarah’s family and Sarah find themselves falling for Bob!

Choreography by Lily Balogh

Hopeful, energetic and ethereal, ACU Theatre’s Dancers perform a thrilling night of dance
featuring dance faculty member, Lily Balogh. Don’t miss her innovative and original
choreography challenging students to take risks and dazzle with unflinching honesty.

• Musical Direction by Marc Sanders
• Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
• Originally Produced by the WPA Theatre, New York City, 1995 (Kyle Renick, Artistic Director)
• Original Orchestration by Brian Besterman and Jason Robert Brown
• Directed by Dawne Meeks
• Musical Direction by Marc Sanders

It’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice… or take a stand… or turn around and go back. These are the stories and characters of today, the Songs for a New World. The first musical from Tony Award winner, Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Bridges of Madison County), this moving collection of powerful songs examines life, love and the choices that we make.

Following their honeymoon, Jenavene and Seth toured the country together in How the Grinch Stole Christmas before she went on to appear at New York Musical Festival’s Greenwood and Mother Divine, Babes in Toyland at Lincoln Center (with Seth), and The Sound of Music (Paper Mill Playhouse and national tour) She workshopped The Bridges of Madison County with Tony Award-winner Kelli O’Hara. Seth sang Franki Valli in Oh What a Night, touring the Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands and played Huck Finn in Big River regionally. ACU audiences most recently saw the couple in After Zoey, with original music by Jenavene. Both are deeply involved with Wellspring Church NYC, where Seth serves as pastor and Jenavene is pastor of care.

• Music by Alan Menken
• Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
• Book by Linda Woolverton
• Originally directed by Robert Jess Roth
• Originally produced by Disney Theatrical Productions
• Directed by Dawne Swearingen Meeks
• Choreography by Lily Balogh

Featuring an enchanting score, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a mesmerizing experience that embodies the magic of the theatre. Based on the classic fairy tale, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast tells the story of an arrogant prince who is transformed into a hideous beast Placed under this spell by an enchantress, he must find a way to get the beautiful, bright Belle to love him before it is too late, and he is doomed to stay a beast forever. Join ACU Theatre as the “tale as old as time” returns in a beautiful and sumptuous new production! “Beauty and the Beast revels in joy and enchantment” – A.O. Scott, NY Times

Study Guide

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• by Lillian Groag
• Directed by Adam Hester

It’s1942. In Germany, dissent is forbidden and the Gestapo stands ready to execute those who resist the Nazis. And yet, a handful of college students calling themselves the White Rose are circulating pamphlets criticizing the Fuhrer. When 21-year-old Sophie Scholl is arrested in Munich with her brother, Hans, a local policeman investigating the case of the White Rose must determine if they are confused children, dangerous rebels, or idealistic patriots.

“It is possibly the most spectacular moment of resistance that I can think of in the 20th Century… The fact that five kids, in the mouth of the wolf… had the tremendous courage to do what they
did.” – Lillian Groag, playwright

Study Guide

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• by Hugh Whitemore
• Directed by Adam Hester

A spy thriller in the vein of The Americans, the intrigue in Pack of Lies is based on a true story. The Jacksons are a nice middle-aged English couple. Their best friends are the Krogers, their Canadian neighbors. All is blissful in their world until a detective from Scotland Yard asks to use their house as an observation station to foil a Soviet spy ring operating in the area. They are really put to the test when the detective asks them to help set a trap. Should they betray their friends… Or their country?

“A shocking, true spy tale” – The Columbian

Study Guide

Watch Trailer

Choreographed by Lily Balogh

Whimsical, energetic and ethereal, ACU Theatre’s Dancers perform a thrilling night of dance featuring dance faculty member, Lily Balogh. Don’t miss her innovative and original choreography challenging students to take risks and dazzle with unflinching honesty. Last year’s electric performances by the BFA dance track majors and other ACU Theatre dancers was an awe-inspiring night for theatregoers.

PLAYBILL

Watch Trailer

Directed by Adam Hester

Currently (2024) on tour with Hamilton, ACU Theatre alum Eean Cochran experienced a meteoric rise in professional theatre. He has performed in tours of Newsies, Bring It On!, Dreamgirls and Freaky Friday.

• Book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov
  (Based upon the play “My Sister Eileen” by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov and the stories
  by Ruth McKenney)
• Music by Leonard Bernstein
• Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
• Choreography by Lily Balogh
• Directed by Adam Hester

Two sisters. One incredible city. Unlimited possibilities. Join Ruth and Eileen Sherwood as they leave behind their mundane Ohio lives in pursuit of making it big in New York City. Chock-full of swinging show tunes, breathtaking choreography and effervescent charm, Wonderful Town captures the thrill of chasing one’s dreams like no other musical.

This lavish revival of Leonard Bernstein’s classic musical, featured one of the largest orchestras in ACU Homecoming history conducted by Steven Ward.

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Study Guide

• Music by Andrew Lippa
• Lyrics by Tom Greenwald
• Book by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald
• Directed by Dawne Swearingen-Meeks

Set against the background of a changing America between 1950 and 1990, this truly original musical sheds a heart-warming light on the power of family. With a cast of only two people, John & Jen is a tour-de-force, taking them from playful childhood, through awkward adolescence, and far beyond. Audiences will find themselves uplifted by this sentimental gem, perfect for anyone who values the love, connection, and commitment of family.

Study guide

• ACU dance track students
• Choreographed by Lily Balogh

This thrilling night of dance featuring new dance faculty member Lily Balogh, highlighted ACU Theatre’s new dance track in our BFA program. Her innovative and original choreography along with electric performances by the BFA dance track majors and other ACU Theatre dancers were not to be missed!

Playbill

• by Robert Harling
• Directed by Dawne Swearingen-Meeks

Steel Magnolias is a hilarious and heart-warming play set in a Louisiana beauty shop. It follows the hopes, dreams, triumphs and tragedies of six colorful characters and inspired the 1989 film which starred Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Dolly Parton. It’s a story exploring the bond between a mother and daughter, and friendships of those who feel like family. When tragedy strikes, however, the women pull together in this play about life, laughter, love, loss, and the inner strength that helps us go on.

Study guide

• Music, Book & Story by Steve Martin & Edie Brickell
• Directed by Adam Hester
• Inspired by a real event and featuring the Grammy-nominated score by Steve Martin and Edie

Brickell, Broadway’s Bright Star tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ’40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past – and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives. The story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion, beautiful melodies and powerfully moving performances. An uplifting theatrical journey that holds you tight in its grasp, Bright Star is as refreshingly genuine as it is daringly hopeful.

• Based on Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
• Director/Choreographer – Jeremy Varner
• Assistant Choreographer – Lily Balogh
• Vocal Director – Jeannette Lipford
• Assistant Vocal Director – Kristin Ward
• Lighting Design – Jim Elliott
• Costume/Makeup Design – Mariel Ardila
• Production Coordinator – Gary Varner
• Stage Manager – Courtney Rhodes

Broadway’s long-running musical sensation CATS made its debut as the 2017 ACU Homecoming Musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s clever, magical, and glamorous felines performed October 20-22 in the Abilene Civic Center. Based on T.S. Eliot’s whimsical collection of poems and featuring such celebrated songs as “Memory,” “Old Deuteronomy,” and “Mr. Mistoffelees,” CATS is an international phenomenon running for 21 years in London and 18 years on Broadway, with a recent return to the Great White Way. (details as of 2017)

Rehearsal Trailer

• By Margaret Edson
• Directed by Kari Hatfield

“I was dismayed to discover that the play would contain elements of… humor.” So says Dr. Vivian Bearing as she introduces her story to us. Wit is a brilliantly crafted and unflinching look at the last chapter of Ms. Bearing’s life. Armed with a sharp intellect, this professor of 17th century poetry wrestles with the ultimate question of what it means to be alive.

Study Guide

• by‭ ‬Kate Hamill
• Adapted from the Novel by‭ ‬Jane Austen
• Directed by‭ ‬Adam Hester

A Gossip-Driven Comedy of Reason and Romance

“Perhaps the greatest stage adaptation of this novel in history‭.‬”‭ ‬—‭ ‬Huffington Post

This isn’t your grandma’s Jane Austen‭! ‬This rollicking‭, ‬ingeniously-theatrical new adaptation follows the Dashwood sisters‭ ‬–‭ ‬sensible Elinor and passionate Marianne‭. ‬When they lose their fortune‭, ‬marriage is their only hope‭. ‬But can love‭, ‬and marriage‭ ‬go together for women without money‭? ‬Surrounding them is a company of shape-shifting actors who transform into characters‭, ‬animals‭, ‬and even scenery to bring Austen’s story to life in this goofy‭, ‬joyous and deeply moving play‭.‬

Study Guide Trailer

By Donald Margulies

In this OBIE award-winning play, Jonathan Waxman is the art scene’s new visionary, with a waiting list to buy paintings he has yet to paint. In London for his first European show, Waxman is under the gun. He could be spurned, causing the American art world to re-evaluate his work, or he could be further lionized, causing more demand and greater expectations. Either way, something is missing. On impulse, he escapes to the country to search for the woman who was his first love and early inspiration and reconnect with those feelings that first made him an artist.

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• Directed by Dawne Meeks
• Words and music by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
• Book by Timothy Allen McDonald
• Based on the book James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

When James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion which results in a tremendous peach. Suddenly, James finds himself in the center of the gigantic peach on a journey with human-sized insects with equally oversized personalities. Thanks to James’ quick wits and creative thinking, the residents learn to live and work together to be alive.

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Study Guide

• Book by Adam Hester
• Music by Jenavene Bazacas
• Lyrics by Conrad Hester
• Additional music/lyrics by Martha Vickers Heady
• Music arrangements by Joseph Mohan
• Directed by Adam Hester

The ACU Theatre premiered this new musical direct from a New York workshop production in 2015. A musical romance infused with humor and heartache, After Zoey captures the passion of a 16-year-old dreamer who yearns for a full and healthy life as she battles a critical illness. Zoey exasperates her mother and sister with her cavalier attitude toward her health, but also finds in them her biggest champions. As a series of boyfriends sneak through her bedroom window, Zoey discovers love and a glimpse of eternity. Don’t miss this heart-warming, life-affirming musical!

Trailer

• Written by Dale Wasserman
• Music by Mitch Leigh
• Lyrics by Joe Darion
• Original Production Staged by Albert Marre
• Originally Produced by Albert W. Selden and Hal James
• Directed by Jesse Galvan

A celebrated Broadway hit and winner of five Tony Awards, Man of La Mancha will leave you breathless with a score that includes the touching ode to romance “Dulcinea” and the heroic “I, Don Quixote.”
Inspired by one of the greatest novels of all time, Man of La Mancha features Miguel de Cervantes and his faithful servant. Together they channel the power of storytelling to recount the legend of knight errant Don Quixote and his trusty sidekick, Sancho, as they embark on a journey full of laughter, love and unruly windmills. His quest dares everyone to dream “The Impossible Dream.”

Trailer

• By David West Read
• Directed by Dawne Meeks

In The Dream of the Burning Boy, the sudden death of a high-school overachiever exposes a secret that could destroy those left behind or bring them closer together. Since the death of his favorite student, high-school teacher Larry Morrow has been falling asleep at his desk and dreaming. The school’s guidance counselor hangs inspirational posters designed to help everyone “process their emotions” while the student’s sister and friends find little solace in their schoolwork. The Dream of the Burning Boy is a bittersweet story of choices made, opportunities lost and finding the strength to move on.

Trailer

• By Michael Brady
• Directed by Dawne Meeks

This critically acclaimed play is an exploration of grief and coping as David celebrates the birthday of his wife, Gillian, who was killed in a boating accident two years earlier on her 35th birthday. The playwright examines the responsibilities of parents to children and the compromises of marriage, the futility of self-pity, and guilt. The efforts of a loving family and friends help David move beyond the excruciating pain of losing a loved one. This play is frank, touching, wise and generously sprinkled with humor.

Trailer

• By Katori Hall
• Directed by Laura Harris

Set in Memphis’ Lorraine Motel just hours before the civil rights leader was assassinated, The Mountaintop presents Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a very human man, stripped of the mountains of mythology now woven into his remembrance. This recent Broadway hit and the 2010 winner of Britain’s Olivier Award for Best New Play crackles with metaphysical magical realism. The Mountaintop throws lightning bolts of insight upon our societal strengths and frailties and our own personal accomplishments and failings as, with King, we ponder the cost of what we contribute and the legacy of what we leave behind.

Trailer Study Guide

• By Rick Elice
• Based on the Novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
• Music by Wayne Barker
• Directed by Kari Hatfield

In this grownup’s prequel to Peter Pan, Peter and the Starcatcher takes a hilarious romp through the Neverland you never knew. In this Tony Award-winning play with music, a dozen actors play more than 100 unforgettable characters using their enormous talent, ingenious
stagecraft and the limitless possibilities of imagination. This swashbuckling production will have you hooked from the moment you let your imagination take flight!

Trailer

• By Mark St. Germain
• Directed by Gary Varner

Don’t miss this return engagement to ACU this time with Mark Smith, artistic director of Atlanta’s Legacy Theatre, as C.S. Lewis, and Adam Hester, ACU Theatre professor, reprising his role of Sigmund Freud. Faith and science collide when Lewis pays Freud a visit. Love, sex, death and the existence of God: they’re all up for discussion in Freud’s Last Session, which imagines a late-in-life meeting between the devoutly atheist father of psychoanalysis and the philosophical Christian author-professor. Amidst the ominous sounds of World War II and just weeks before Freud’s death, Freud and Lewis engage in a riveting, tension-filled discourse on life’s most important questions.

“Delightful … a brainy fencing match of Olympic caliber” – Associated Press

PLAYBILL

A musical based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney Film

• Original music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
• Book by Julian Fellowes
• New songs and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe
• Co-created by Cameron Mackintosh
• Directed by Kari Hatfield
• Choreography by Melissa Zaremba

Based on the classic Disney film, Mary Poppins is the story of a mysterious nanny who magically appears at the Banks household in Edwardian London to care for Jane and Michael Banks. Adventure abounds as she whisks them away to meet dancing chimney sweeps, shopkeepers and an array of colorful characters. Featuring an irresistible story, eye-popping sets and costumes, breathtaking dance numbers and beloved songs such as the Academy Award-winning “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Feed the Birds,” “Step in Time” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” You’ll have a “Jolly Holiday” with Mary and discover a world where “Anything Can Happen” if you let it!

Trailer

Playbill

Study Guide

• By Lauren Gunderson
• Directed by Adam Hester

Anthony arrives unexpectedly at classmate Caroline’s door, carrying a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman’s poetry and an urgent assignment from their English teacher. Homebound because of illness, Caroline hasn’t been to school in months but she is as quick and sardonic as Anthony is athletic, sensitive and popular. When these two let down their guard and share their secrets, this seemingly mundane poetry project unlocks the much deeper mystery that brought them together.

Trailer

Playbill

Sudy Guide

• By Neil Simon
• Directed by Adam Hester

You want funny? Don’t miss Neil Simon’s love letter to his years as a young writer for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.” Capturing the hilarity and heart of television’s glory days, Laughter on the 23rd Floor is one of Simon’s funniest and most touching comedies. Prepare yourself for sidesplitting laughter!

3 Trailers in one

Playbill

Study Guide

• By Joan Holden
• Based on Nickel and Dimed, on (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
• Directed by FaithAnn Jones

Can a middle-aged, middle-class woman survive when she suddenly has to make beds all day in a hotel and live on $7 an hour? Maybe. But one $7-an-hour job won’t pay the rent: she’ll have to do back-to-back shifts as a chambermaid and a waitress. This isn’t the first surprise for acclaimed author Ehrenreich, who set out to research low-wage life firsthand, confident she was prepared for the worst. Joan Holden’s stage adaptation is a focused comic epic shadowed with tragedy.

“Involving, important and urgently topical.” – Philadelphia Inquirer

“A rare example of theater that tries to open people’s eyes to the way life is lived in the real world – and maybe even rouse them to action.” – Time magazine

3 Trailers in one

 PLAYBILL

Based on the documentary film by S. R. Bindler and Kevin Morris

• Book by Doug Wright
• Lyrics by Amanda Green
• Music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green
• Directed by Kari Hatfield

Inspired by true events … For 10 hard-luck Texans, a new lease on life is so close they can touch it. Under a scorching sun for days on end, armed with nothing but hope, humor and ambition, they’ll fight to keep at least one hand on a brand-new truck for a chance to win it . In the hilarious, hard-fought contest that is Hands on a Hardbody, only one winner can drive away with the American Dream.

“You can hear America singing in this daring new musical.” – New York Times

3 Trailers in one

Playbill

Study Guide

• By Mark St. Germain
• Directed by Gary Varner

Faith and Science collide when C.S. Lewis pays Sigmund Freud a visit. Love, sex, death and the existence of God. It’s all up for discussion in Freud’s Last Session, featuring ACU Theatre professor Adam Hester, as Freud, and audience favorite Jacob Alexander, a senior, as C.S. Lewis. Winner of the 2011 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Play, Freud’s Last Session imagines a late-in-life meeting between Dr. Sigmund Freud, the devoutly atheist father of psychoanalysis, and the philosophical Christian author-professor C.S. Lewis. Amidst the ominous sounds of World War II and just weeks before Freud’s death, Freud and Lewis engage in a riveting, tension-filled discourse on life’s most  important questions.

“Delightful … a brainy fencing match of Olympic caliber” – Associated Press

PLAYBILL

• Book by John Austin
• Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
• Directed by Dawne Meeks

Having just finished its Broadway run, Big Fish is quite a catch for the ACU Theatre, one of the first in the nation to mount a production. Big Fish centers on Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman who lives life to its fullest… and then some! Edward’s incredible, larger-than-life stories thrill everyone around him – most of all, his devoted wife, Sandra. But their son, Will, who is about to have a child of his own, is determined to find the truth behind his father’s epic tales. Overflowing with heart, humor and spectacular stagecraft, Big Fish is an extraordinary new Broadway musical that reminds us why we love going to the theatre –for an experience that’s richer, funnier and BIGGER than life itself.

PLAYBILL

Study guide

• By Sarah Ruhl
• Directed by Kari Hatfield

“Ruhl’s zany probe of the razor-thin line between life and death delivers a fresh and humorous
look at the times we live in.” – Variety

When Jean answers the cell phone of a recently deceased café patron, she holds on to the device to keep the man alive in a strange yet significant way. Jean’s quiet life is turned upside-down as she’s thrust into a world of mysterious strangers, shady business deals, and the potential for true love. A story about memory, redemption, and connection – and disconnection – in a technology obsessed world, Ruhl’s comedy is a mesmerizing reflection of today.

PLAYBILL

• Written and created by Roger Bean
• Directed by Dawne Meeks

This smash off-Broadway hit takes you to the 1958 Springfield High School prom where we meet the Wonderettes, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! As we learn about their lives and loves, we are treated to the girls performing classic ’50s and ’60s songs such as “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” “It’s My Party,” and more than 20 other classic hits! You’ve never had this much fun at a prom and you will never forget The Marvelous Wonderettes – a must-take musical trip down memory lane!

“The fun never stops!” – Associated Press

Trailer

PLAYBILL

Study guide

• By Brittany Taylor
• Directed by David Porter

After the publication of a startling photograph taken in Africa, a photojournalist undergoes a backlash of controversial public opinion ripping away his and his wife’s newlywed bliss. Their
innocence living in a comfortable, American culture is challenged and changed. Award-winning playwright Brittany Taylor, a 2012 ACU alumna, captures a close-up view of a couple struggling to make sense of love, choice and personal responsibility as citizens of the world.

PLAYBILL

Study guide

• Book and Lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin
• Music and Lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard
• Based on the film produced by Paramount Pictures and Bruce Joel Rubin
• Directed by Adam Hester
• Choreographed by Christine O’Grady

Based on the popular Oscar-winning movie that captured the hearts and imaginations of a generation back in the 1990s, Ghost is a timeless fantasy about the power of love. Sam is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next, trying to communicate with girlfriend Molly through a phony psychic in the hope of saving her from his murderer. Don’t miss this rollercoaster ride of music, romance and comedy.

TRAILER

PLAYBILL

Performed by Stephen Trafton

Experience Scripture in a whole new way. Living Letters: Encountering Philippians is a whole new approach to experiencing the biblical story. Living Letters recreates the historic circumstances surrounding Paul’s writing of the letter and invites the audience to leave their present-day culture behind and become members of the first-century church. The result is a dynamic, exciting, transformative encounter with scripture. You won’t want to miss the rare opportunity to see a Broadway performer bring Paul’s letter to the Philippians to life. Q&A to follow.

• Book by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer
• Directed by Adam Hester and Dawne Meeks

“Do you hear the people sing?” The musical that has captivated the world is officially ACU’s 2013 Homecoming Musical in a truly spectacular new production. Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables is a sweeping, heartfelt, epic saga. The fugitive, Jean Valjean, is pitted against the tenacious Inspector Javert in a
lifelong struggle to evade capture. What follows is a deeply personal and spiritual tale set against a historical backdrop of an unparalleled scale.

• Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
• Music by Tom Kitt
• Directed by Adam Hester

This inventive, emotional powerhouse (winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) captures the tender, insightful, funny and heart-breaking portrayal of a family trying bravely to come to terms with life and love and loss. With a thrilling
contemporary score, this multiple Tony Award-winner breaks new ground as it redefines the American musical.

• By Mark Twain, Adapted by David Ives
• Directed by Kari Hatfield

A sparkling slapstick comedy composed in 1898 in Vienna by Mark Twain, Is He Dead? was left virtually undiscovered until its heavily acclaimed Broadway production in 2007. To find success
in 1840s Paris, a penniless painter fakes his demise and disguises himself as his identical twin sister. Variety called Is He Dead? an “elaborate madcap comedy that reaches especially high comic heights.”

• By Kate Fodor
• Directed by Matthew Silar

In a compelling and heartrending journey, we meet a priest who must reconcile his desires with his role in the church, a teenage boy confused about his own sexual identity, and a young woman desperate for spiritual validation. They are all brought together on one fateful night in which they discover the tenuous common ground they share. Playwright Fodor doesn’t neatly tie up the story, but, rather, elicits profound unanswered questions of faith and our dependence on one another for our spiritual worth. 100 Saints You Should Know is a serious play with a sharp comic edge.

• by Tennessee Williams
• Directed by Dawne Meeks

Awarded Best Play in 1945 by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle and acclaimed as Williams’ first great Broadway success, this
emotionally devastating portrait of hope, glitters and reflects with a delicacy and beauty that will fix your gaze and move you to tears. In 1930s St Louis, aspiring poet Tom Wingfield reluctantly works in a shoe warehouse to support his overbearing, faded-Southern-belle mother and desperately shy sister, Laura. Pushed by his mother, he finds Laura a gentleman caller to try to coax her from her fragile private world. Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece is a touching tale of lost dreams, family bonds and survival.