September 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14   7:30pm   September 8 2pm

Based on the Victor Hugo novel and songs from the Disney animated feature, The Hunchback of Notre Dame showcases the film’s Academy Award-nominated score, as well as new songs by Menken and Schwartz. Peter Parnell’s new book embraces story theatre and features verbatim passages from Hugo’s gothic novel.

The musical begins as the bells of Notre Dame sound through the famed cathedral in fifteenth-century Paris. Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer who longs to be "Out There," observes all of Paris reveling in the Feast of Fools. Held captive by his devious caretaker, the archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo, he escapes for the day and joins the boisterous crowd, only to be treated cruelly by all but the beautiful gypsy, Esmeralda. Quasimodo isn’t the only one captivated by her free spirit, though – the handsome Captain Phoebus and Frollo are equally enthralled. As the three vie for her attention, Frollo embarks on a mission to destroy the gypsies – and it’s up to Quasimodo to save them all.

A sweeping score and powerful story make The Hunchback of Notre Damean instant classic. Audiences will be swept away by the magic of this truly unforgettable musical.

Directed by Kyle Seconi

The Aiken Community Playhouse's Bechtel Theater Coffeehouse, built upon the beatnik style coffeehouses of the 60s, will come alive Friday, October 4th featuring Robb Underwood!

October 17,18,19,24,25,26 7:30pm   Oct 20 2pm

Two drifters, George and his friend Lennie, with delusions of living off the "fat of the land," have just arrived at a ranch to work for enough money to buy their own place. Lennie is a man-child, a little boy in the body of a dangerously powerful man. It's Lennie's obsessions with things soft and cuddly that have made George cautious about who the gentle giant, with his brute strength, associates with. His promise to allow Lennie to "tend to the rabbits" on their future land keeps Lennie calm, amidst distractions, as the overgrown child needs constant reassurance. But when a ranch boss' promiscuous wife is found dead in the barn with a broken neck, it's obvious that Lennie, albeit accidentally, killed her. George, now worried about his own safety, knows exactly where Lennie has gone to hide, and he meets him there. Realizing they can't run away anymore, George is faced with a moral question: How should he deal with Lennie before the ranchers find him and take matters into their own hands?

Directed by Bob Franklin

By: John Steinbeck
Presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. New York