The Aiken Community Theatre 2022-2023 Season
The Aiken Community Theatre is excited to announce its 2022-2023 season. This season is full of excitement, laughter, music and drama and looks to be one of the best yet. There is no better time to get into the ACT!
Roald Dahl’s
Matilda
September 9-17 2022
Matilda is a little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers. She's unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Over the course of her first term at school, Matilda and Miss Honey have a profound effect on each other's lives, as Miss Honey begins not only to recognize but also appreciate Matilda's extraordinary personality. Matilda's school life isn't completely smooth sailing, however – the school's mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don't abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils' saving grace!
Book Dennis Kelly Music & Lyrics Tim Minchin
Orchestrations and Additional Music – Chris Nightingale
Blithe Spirit
by Noel Coward
October 21-29 2022
The smash comedy hit of the London and Broadway stages, this much-revived classic from the playwright of Private Lives offers up fussy, cantankerous novelist Charles Condomine, re-married but haunted (literally) by the ghost of his late first wife, the clever and insistent Elvira who is called up by a visiting “happy medium,” one Madame Arcati. As the (worldly and un-) personalities clash, Charles’ current wife, Ruth, is accidentally killed, “passes over,” joins Elvira, and the two “blithe spirits” haunt the hapless Charles into perpetuity
Blithe Spirit is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Elf - The Musical
December 9-17 2022
Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa's permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh realities that his father is on the naughty list and his half-brother doesn't even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.
This modern-day holiday classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner elf. After all, the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear.
Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin Music by Matthew Sklar Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Based upon the New Line Cinema film written by David Berenbaum
Elf - The Musical is presented through special arrangement with Musical Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MIT. www.mtishows.com
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Youth Wing Show Feb 17-25 2023
This dramatization of C.S. Lewis' classic work faithfully recreates the magic and mystery of Aslan, the great lion, his struggle with the White Witch, and the adventures of four children who inadvertently wander from an old wardrobe into the exciting, never-to-be-forgotten Narnia. The intense action features chases, duels and escapes as the witch is determined to keep Narnia in her possession and to end the reign of Aslan. All the memorable episodes from the story are represented in this exciting dramatization: the temptation of Edmund by the witch, the slaying of the evil wolf by Peter, the witnessing of Aslan's resurrection by Susan and Lucy, the crowing of the four new rulers of Narnia, and more. The supporting characters are also here: the unicorn, the centaur and other forest animals, along with Father Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and Tumnus the Faun. This story of love, faith, courage and giving, with its triumph of good over evil, is a true celebration of life.
Love Song
by Abi Morgan
April 14-22 2023
Abi Morgan’s Lovesong is inspired by the T.S. Eliot's poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The play revolves around a couple, William and Margaret/Billy and Maggie, who are depicted at two key stages in their lives. After forty years of marriage, Maggie is ill and riddled with pain. As they enter the final week of her life, the house becomes full with memories of their marriage and their desperation to conceive a child. Past and present literally intertwine as the older and younger couples move around each other across the stage. All relationships have their ups and downs and theirs has been far from perfect. However, their marriage survives his addictive tendencies, temptations of infidelity on both sides, and an inability to have children that affects them both profoundly but manifests in different ways. While Margaret/Maggie struggles with loneliness, William/Billy hits the bottle when times are hard. However, as Margaret/Maggie prepares to take her own life and end her suffering, Billy is at her side.
Copyright by ABI MORGAN copyright agent: Catherine King of 43 M&P Ltd, Palladium House, 7th Floor, 1-4 Argyll Street, London, W1F7TA.
Monty Python’s Spamalot
May 19-27 2023
Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bevy of beautiful show girls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people. Did we mention the bevy of beautiful showgirls? The 2005 Broadway production won three Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, and was followed by two successful West End runs. The outrageous, uproarious, and gloriously entertaining story of King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake will delight audiences as they search for the Holy Grail and “always look on the bright side of life.”
Book and lyrics by Eric Idle Music by John Du Prez & Eric Idle
A new musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”
From the original screenplay by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
The video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited.
God of Carnage
By Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
July 14-22 2023
A playground altercation between eleven-year-old boys brings together two sets of Brooklyn parents for a meeting to resolve the matter. At first, diplomatic niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses, and the rum flows, tensions emerge and the gloves come off, leaving the couples with more than just their liberal principles in tatters.
GOD OF CARNAGE is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)