A tribute from Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor) to the great English farces of the 1930’s and 1940’s, The Fox on the Fairway is filled with mistaken identities, slamming doors, and over-the-top romantic shenanigans. It’s a furiously-paced comedy that recalls the Marx Brothers’ classics and a charmingly madcap adventure about love, life, and man’s eternal love affair with... golf.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Lakewood Playhouse
May 29th through June 28
The Musical with 236 Possible Different Endings chosen by YOU! Directed by TLT's own Chris Serface!
This wildly warm-hearted theatrical experience kicks off when the Music Hall Royale (a hilariously loony Victorian musical troupe) “puts on” its flamboyant rendition of Dickens’ unfinished mystery. The giddy playfulness of this “play-within-a-play” is capped off by YOU choosing the solution to the mystery every night from one of 33 Possible Endings! Never the same show twice because you decide what the unusual, and hilarious, finale will be!
Cabaret
May 22 through June 14, 2015
Fridays & Saturdays: 7:30pm
Sundays: 2:00pm
Tickets $15 & $25
Tacoma Little Theatre closes our 96th season with one of the best known musicals of all time, CABARET.
Directed by John Munn, with Musical Direction by Pamela Merritt-Caldwell, and choreography by Lexi Barnett.
Written by John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago and New York, New York), CABARET has won over 10 Tony Awards, plus countless other awards including The New York Drama Critics Award for Best Musical.
At the dawn of the 1930’s in Berlin, the Nazis are rising to power. In the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy cabaret full of interesting characters and decadent celebration, we find the naïve English cabaret performer Sally Bowles (Elise Campello), along with the cabaret girls and boys, and the infamous Emcee (Mauro Bozzo). We follow her relationship with American writer Cliff (Niclas R. Olson) as the Nazis begin their takeover of the city.
This production also features Kyle Sinclair, Rosalie Hilburn, Joseph Grant, Rachel Fitzgerald, Jeremy Thompson, Amanda Jackson, LaNita Hudson, Haley Kim, Kathy Kluska, Stephen Nishida, Addison Daniels, Charlie Stevens, and Derek Wisher.
2012-2013
Sylvia
September 7th through September 30th, 2012
Directed by Elliot Weiner
Night Watch
October 19th through November 11th, 2012
Directed by Randy Clark
Miracle on 34th Street
November 30th through December 23rd, 2012
Directed by Casi Wilkerson
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks
January 18th through February 10th, 2013
Directed by Frank Kohel
The Joy Luck Club
March 15th through April 7th, 2013
Directed by David Hsieh
Little Shop of Horrors
May 3rd through May 26th, 2013
Directed by Maria Valenzuela
A down-and out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Soon “Audrey II” grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination!
2011-2012
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
September 2nd through September 25th, 2011
Directed by Suzy Willhoft
Six nerdy teens (played by adults) compete in a highly charged annual county spelling bee. The competition is intense, the words outrageous. Let the spelling and the singing begin! Judged by outlandish adults: a nostalgic former bee winner, a mildly insane Vice Principal, and the Official Comfort Counselor who is completing his community service obligations. Both tender and sardonic, this hilarious, irreverent Tony Award-winning musical about brainy kids takes you inside the wacky, end all spelling championship.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
October 14th through November 6th, 2011
Directed by Elliot Weiner
An elegant re-telling of the classic horror story: however, this is not your grandfather's version. The dark Mr. Hyde, indeed, comes out, but he is not entirely evil: he loves, and is loved. Likewise, Dr. Jekyll is not the pure soul we've come to believe him to be. While Hatcher's play honors the original, it gives a more complex interpretation of the duel nature of personalities and the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. A perfect play for mystery lovers on a dark fall night!
A Christmas Carol
December 2nd through December 24th, 2011
Directed by Brie Yost
Dickens' beloved ghost story comes to life in a whole new way as seen through the eyes of Dickens himself. On Christmas Eve 1843, friends and family gather at his home and ask him to tell a story, but he refuses to work on Christmas Eve. If there is going to be a story told, each must take a part in its telling. Thus they are transformed into the familiar characters of the classic tale with the cast often playing over 40 parts. We are reminded once again of the true meaning of Christmas.
California Suite
January 20th through February 14th, 2012
Directed by Frank Kohel
Seldom staged in recent years, this Simon classic uses one of the author's favorite devices: a posh Beverley Hills hotel suite and four different pairs of occupants. Simon, the quintessential quipster, is a genius at two-character scenes particularly those involving spouses caught in highly charged dilemmas. If only the walls could talk. But this is the theatre and we, the audience, become the fourth wall as we glimpse into the lives of the Visitors from New York, the Visitors from Philadelphia, the Visitors from London and the Visitors from Chicago. Prepare for a night of verbal sparring and rib-tickling laughter.
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me
March 9th through April 1st, 2012
Directed by Doug Kerr
Winner of the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Foreign Play, this script was also nominated for several Tony Awards, including Best Play, in 1993. From Ireland's foremost playwright, Frank McGuinness, comes a tale that is as current as it was twenty years ago. Three men, an American doctor, an Irish journalist, and an English professor have been kidnapped and are being held captive in Beirut. How do they survive as they attempt to overcome their dilemma when their only weapons are hope, humor, and sheer determination? This play is an incredible journey into the soul that will make you laugh out loud, cry, and affirm your faith in the human spirit.
Footloose the Musical
April 20th through May 20th, 2012
Directed by Chris Nardine
Based on Kevin Bacon's 1984 hit movie which captured the heart of America, this musical bursts on to the stage with a youthful spirit, dazzling dance scenes and electrifying music. Ren, a teen from Chicago, is forced to move with his mother to a puritanical small town in Texas after his father abandons the family. To his shock, dancing and rock and roll are forbidden! He and his classmates want a senior prom. It doesn't take Ren long to shake up the status quo and soon the whole class is on their feet sending the town into a frenzy. This show will have everyone ready to join in as the cast dances across the stage!
2010-2011
Sleuth
August 27th through September 26th 2010
The ultimate game of cat-and-mouse is played out in a cozy English country house owned by celebrated mystery writer, Andrew Wyke. Invited guest Milo Tindle, a young rival who shares not only Wyke's love of the game but also his wife, has come to lay claim. Revenge is devised and murders plotted as the two plan the ultimate whodunnit. Winner of the Tony and Drama Critics Circle award for Best Play.
Eleemosynary
October 22nd through November 14th 2010
Eleemosynary probes into the delicate relationship of three women: the grandmother, Dorothea, who has sought to assert her independence through strong-willed eccentricity; her brilliant daughter, Artie (Artemis), who has fled the stifling domination of her mother; and Artie's daughter, Echo, a child of exceptional intellect-and sensitivity-whom Artie has abandoned to an upbringing by Dorothea. As the play begins, Dorothea has suffered a stroke, and while Echo has reestablished contact with her mother, it is only through extended telephone conversations, during which real issues are skirted and their talk is mostly about the precocious Echo's single-minded domination of a national spelling contest. But, in the end, after Dorothea's death, both Artie and Echo come to accept their mutual need and summon the courage to try, at last, to build a life together-despite the risks and terrors that this holds for both of them after so many years of alienation.
Annie
November 26th through December 24th 2010
Leapin' Lizards! Just in time for Christmas! The popular comic strip heroine takes centerstage in one of the world's best-loved musicals. "Annie" is a spunky Depression-era orphan determined to find her parents, who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. In adventure after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan's evil machinations, befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and finds a new family and home in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary Grace Farrell and a lovable mutt named Sandy.
Frost / Nixon
January 14th through February 6th 2011
The writer of the award-winning The Queen and The Last King of Scotland tackles the question: How did David Frost, a famous British talk-show host with a playboy reputation, elicit the apology that the rest of the world was waiting to hear from former President Richard Nixon? This fast-paced new play chillingly recounts of one of the most monumental television interviews of all time. A Tony-winning play and Oscar-nominated film.
A Flea in Her Ear
March 4th through March 27th 2011
A Flea in Her Ear is the greatest of French farces, perhaps the greatest farce ever written. Raymonde Chandebise suspects that her husband, Victor, a placid and successful insurance executive, is secretly having an affair. To find out, she and her friend Lucienne write him an anonymous love letter suggesting a rendezvous at the shady Frisky Puss Hotel. Thinking the letter was intended for his coworker, the gigolo Tournel, Victor sends Tournel off to make the rendezvous in his place. Lucienne’s jealous Spanish husband, meanwhile, finds the letter, recognizes his wife’s handwriting and takes his pistols to the Frisky Puss, hoping to catch her in the act. Meanwhile,Victor’s nephew Camille tries to warn everyone about the mix-up, but his ridiculous speech impediment prevents anyone from understanding him. In Act Two, all decamp to the Frisky Puss where, it turns out, the drunken bellboy Poche is the exact double of the proper Victor Chandebise. Meeting Poche and thinking she’s been caught by her husband, Raymonde keeps trying to escape from the hotel with Tournel, but a revolving bed keeps flinging them from room to room, as more and more of the involved parties pile into the hotel in a climax culminating in the entrance of the jealous Spaniard and his pistols. In Act Three the vortex spins even faster as all the parties return to the Chandebise home utterly confused about what actually happened and who was who at the Frisky Puss. The drunken bellboy arrives, is mistaken once again for Victor, and all the threads of the multiple mix-ups are sorted out as Victor and Raymonde recognize their mutual confusions and are reunited.
Always Patsy Cline
April 29th through May 29th 2011
“Always…Patsy Cline” is more than a tribute to the legendary country singer who died tragically at age 30 in a plane crash in 1963. The show is based on a true story about Cline’s friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger, who befriended the star in a Texas honky-tonk in l961, and continued a correspondence with Cline until her death.
Chris Serface, Managing Artistic Director
Chris was raised in the Pacific Northwest (Olympia), where he discovered the theatre at an early age and became involved with the local community scene. At 17, he became the youngest board member of Capital Playhouse in Olympia, Washington, and helped that organization grow from a seasonal production schedule to year-round programming. During his educational and professional career, he has traveled throughout the West, working closely with many theatres as an actor, technician, director, musician, volunteer, or board member (sometimes all of them at the same time). In his previous professional experiences he served as; a District Manager for Hollywood Video (Utah, Arizona, California, and Washington), managing 18 retail locations; Company Manager for Capital Playhouse where he implemented and developed a Human Resources program, oversaw the reorganization of their accounting practices, developed a Community Outreach program, oversaw Profit & Loss management, and ensured patron retention. In his five years as the Director of Education at Tacoma Musical Playhouse he developed a year round curriculum. He currently sits on the boards of the Washington State Community Theatre Association as its Secretary (www.wscta.org), The Rotary Club of Tacoma #8, and is the immediate Past President for the American Association of Community Theatre (www.aact.org).
BLAKE R. YORK, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
NENA CURLEY, PRODUCTION MANAGER & EDUCATION MANAGER
DIANA GEORGE, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Micheal O'Hara
I am pleased to rejoin the Board of Director after serving on the Board from 2008- 2016. It is a great group of individuals looking to bring this community quality Theatre. I have been apart of the Theatre community for the past 35 years and want to bring the total sum of my experiences to the conversations of this Board in hopes of enhancing TLT’s ability to produce great theatre.
I own and have operated Glass Works, a retail glass shop, in Gig Harbor since 2004, graduated from The University of Puget Sound, live in Lakewood with my wife Sharry and 3 lovely canines and hope I can always be a positive addition to Tacoma Little Theatre.
RANDY CLARK
JEN NIEHAUS-RIVERS
2000-2010
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Abridged (Special)
2003-04
The Odd Couple
The Wizard Of Oz
The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Abridged (Special)
Of Mice And Men
Having Our Say
85 Years Gala Event
2004-05
Ten Little Indians
Treasure Island
Some Enchanted Evening
The Nerd
2005-06
2006-07
2007-2008
2008-2009
Much Ado About Nothing
Leading Ladies
On Golden Pond
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
2009-2010
1990-2000
1990-91
1991-92
1992-93
1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
LOVE LETTERS
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN
1996-97
LATER LIFE
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
1997-98
LOVE LETTERS
1998-99
1999-2000
THE MOUSETRAP
MY FAIR LADY
1980-1990
1980-81
1981-82
1982-83
LILY, THE FELON’S DAUGHTER
1983-84
MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION
1984-85
1985-86
1986-87
1987-88
1988-89
BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS
1989-90
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM