BRIGHT STAR is the story of one woman at two different points in her life: the first, when she is a wild young thing growing up barefoot and carefree in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina; the second, when she is a well-to-do magazine editor in Asheville, 22 years later. Her story is inevitably woven with that of an idealistic young man named Billy, with whom she shares a mysterious connection. As a young teen in Zebulon, North Carolina, Alice Murphy is hopelessly in love with small town heartthrob Jimmy Ray, the mayor’s son. Although their love was pure, it falls victim to the interference of ambitious parents, and their infant son is whisked away before their happy ending could ever begin. More than two decades later, Alice is the successful editor of The Asheville Southern Journal, and meets a promising young writer named Billy. Eventually they realize that they share a hometown, and when Alice sees the handmade sweater she knitted for her baby 20 years before in his personal belongings, she realizes that he is the son she lost so long ago. Their happiness is compounded at the end of the story with a Shakespeare-esque double wedding. Bright Star opened to generally positive reviews and closed after 139 performances. The cast recording was nominated for the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

October 19 - 22 [Opera]: Zombies of Penzance | at Patti Strickel Harrison Theatre

Think of the classic zany comedy Pirates of Penzance then put post-apocalyptic zombies in the place of the pirates. With a slight twist to the original concept and characters and a more modern take on the humor in classic Gilbert & Sullivan style it will be an evening to delight both young and old with giggles and guffaws.

Tuesday / Wednesday subscribers seats are pulled for Thursday Evening.

 

October 31 - November 5 [Theatre]: The Three Sisters | at Theatre Center Mainstage

THE THREE SISTERS is packed with action and emotion, including two tumultuous affairs, a fire that devastates the nearby town, and a duel that ends in the death of a major character. It chronicles three and a half years in the falling fortunes of the four children of a recently deceased Colonel in the Russian army: sweet Irina, the youngest and most impressionable; tempestuous Masha, who is trapped in a loveless marriage; practical Olga, who has resigned herself to spinsterhood; and their brother Andrei, whose ill-advised romance and compulsive gambling wreaks havoc on the family finances and eventually forces them out of their home. Weary of their small-town surroundings, the Prozorovs long to return to Moscow, the bustling metropolis they left eleven years ago. Unfortunately, ground down by disappointment, debt, and the oppressive ordinariness of their daily lives, they’re never able to get there. Ten other vivid characters round out the cast -- including a coterie of soldiers whose arrival in town in the first act is a cause for celebration and whose departure in the final act is a cause for dismay.

 

November 9 - 19 [Theatre]: The Wolves | at Theatre Center PSH Foundation Studio

THE WOLVES revolves around a girls indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals.

 

February 22 - 24 [Dance]: Merge Dance Company | at Patti Strickel Harrison Theatre

Merge Dance Company is a faculty directed student dance company. We are committed to presenting interdisciplinary performances with an aesthetic that weaves social, political and communal dialogues with innovative approaches to artmaking for the University, and the community at large. The company consists of dedicated and gifted students who are seeking a career in the performance and choreography arena.

 

February 28 - March 8 [Theatre]: When Thou Wakest by William Shakespeare adapted by Nick Lawson | at Theatre Centers PSH Foundation Studio

A mashup of Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, and Romeo and Juliet, When Thou Wakest looks at the lengths we go for love. The Shakespearean cross-over is adapted and directed by faculty member Nick Lawson.

 

April 2 - 7 [Theatre]: Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl | at Theatre Center Mainstage

In the overwhelming quiet of the woods, six runaways from city life embark on a silent retreat. As these strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the achingly human need to connect. Filled with awkward humor, this strange and compassionate new play asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.