Since it’s so cold outside, this seems the perfect time to talk about … next summer.
Summer Repertory Theatre, Santa Rosa Junior College’s beloved festival and training program, has announced its 2010 lineup:
* “Forever Plaid” by Stuart Ross. A ‘50s pop song revival that includes “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Day-O,” “Catch a Falling Star” and “Love is a Many Splendored Thing.”
* “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ by William Finn, a musical tale about six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime.
* “The Full Monty,” the 2000 Broadway musical adaptation (book by Terrence McNally, original music and lyrics by David Yazbek) based on the 1997 film. The setting has been moved from Sheffield, England, to Buffalo, N.Y., but the story is essentially the same: out-of-work men plan a strip show. SRT had a hit with this one in 2005.
* “Peter Pan: or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up’ by J.M. Barrie. (Oh come on, you don’t need a description.)
* “Dangerous Liaisons (with Vampires),” a new adaptation of the 1782 French novel by Choderlos de Luclos about sex and intrigue, this time with extra bite.
The Summer Repertory Theatre Box Office will start selling season tickets April 1, at Burbank Auditorium, Santa Rosa Junior College, 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, 95401. 527-4343, summerrep.com. Season tickets run from $62 to $72, and individual ticket run from $10 to $25. (Basically, you can see five shows, for what one might cost in San Francisco.)
This program, which brings in promising young actors and technicians from all over California and beyond, has been a popular favorite with locals ever since it started in 1972 with two plays.
The energy level is always high, and its fun to watch the same company of actors perform five plays in rotation, with the same faces popping in different roles.
Here’s a Mark Aronoff photo from the previous SRT production of “The Full Monty.” It shows the guys getting a look at the g-strings they’d wear onstage. (Ultimately, it all came off, for just a moment):
