Summer 2008

City of Angels
Book by Larry Gelbart
Music by Cy Coleman and Lyrics by David Zippel
Directed by Robert Chapel
Culbreth Theatre
June 19-21, 24-28, 2008
What do theater audiences love more than a show with a happy ending?  How about one with a pair of them? This Tony-Award-winning musical, set in the 1940’s, features a plot within a plot, following Stine, a novelist and screenwriter looking to make his first big splash in the movies. The scene shifts from Stine’s own life to the fictional world he has created — a film-noir-lover’s paradise complete with dazzling dames, hard-boiled detectives and more. Audiences jump back and forth between the two worlds, complete with technicolor and black and white costumes and sets, with Stine fighting the studio for artistic integrity and his protagonist Stone tackling a puzzling murder case. Stine receives the support of an unlikely ally when Stone steps across the imagination boundary to spur the writer on in his battle, resulting in a most memorable duet and a doubly-satisfying finale.

I Am My Own Wife
By Doug Wright
Directed by Gillian Eaton
Helms Theatre
June 17, 19-21, 23-28, 2008
Doug Wright’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play recounts the true story of Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf, a German transvestite who somehow managed to stay true to who she was while enduring the two most oppressive regimes of the 20th Century. Playing more than 30 characters, actor Malcolm Tulip illuminates the struggles and triumphs of one of the era’s ultimate survivors, creating a vivid and three-dimensional portrait of a person who is truly impossible to forget. It’s a story of the power of the human spirit and the unique ability of theater to transform, transport and transfix. 

Master Class
By Terrence McNally
Directed by Douglas Sprigg
Culbreth Theatre
July 7-12, 2008
Playwright Terence McNally offers a fascinating window into the life of one of the most dynamic entertainment personalities of the 20th Century. Legendary opera diva Maria Callas, alternately bored and impressed by a parade of young singers performing for her, takes the audience on a remarkable journey through her life and career. We follow her from her early awkward years to her glorious triumphs on the world’s greatest stages and then go behind the curtain to hear about her storied romantic life, including her relationship with billionaire Aristotle Onassis. The Tony-Award-winning tragicomedy, which has thrilled audiences on Broadway and around the world, is a class in a class all by itself. 

Forever Plaid
Written by Stuart Ross
Directed by Renee Dobson
Helms Theatre
July 16-19, 21-26, 29-31 and August 1-2, 2008
You asked.  We listened. So this summer at Heritage, the boys are back in town! Forever Plaid, one of the most popular musicals in HTF history, returns to delight and enchant audiences with its trademark heavenly harmonies and jukebox-worth of 50’s and 60’s classics. After being on the wrong end of a careening bus full of Catholic schoolgirls on their way to hear the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, one of the most dearly beloved quartets in recent theatre history comes back to fulfill their dream with their own final really big show. It’s the Plaids — for one-night-only — in an evening of theatre that is nothing short of miraculous.

The Light In The Piazza
Book by Craig Lucas
Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel
Directed by Robert Chapel
Culbreth Theatre
July 23-26, 29-31 and August 1-2, 2008
Life and love are full of surprises, and there are plenty to be found in this lush and dreamy six-time-Tony-Award-winning musical set in the Tuscan countryside. What begins as a simple vacation for Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara takes on a whole new dimension thanks to a chance encounter that sets hearts soaring and changes lives forever. Composer Adam Guettel, the grandson of Richard Rodgers, puts his genes to great use by contributing what the New York Times called “the most romantic score of any Broadway musical since West Side Story.” And combined with a fantastical tale adapted by acclaimed playwright Craig Lucas, this is a perfect example of how a night at the theatre can literally take you places you’ve always wanted to go.