Weddings, The Bard, Savannah, Avenging and Winnie the Pooh Hit Sunset Players Stage Next Season

CINCINNATI, OH – March 11, 2016 —Sunset Players unveiled its 37^th season of performances at the Arts Center at Dunham.

“The upcoming Sunset Players’ season brings a host of characters, premieres and laughs to the Arts Center at Dunham stage,” said Mike Burke, president of Sunset Players. “This schedule is sure to entertain audiences of all ages.”

The 2016-2017 Sunset Players season line-up is: 

THE WEDDING SINGER, Book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, Music by Matthew Sklar. Lyrics by Chad Beguelin, Performances in October 2016.

Go back in time to 1985 when hair was big, greed was good, collars were up, and a wedding singer was the coolest guy in the room. New Jersey’s favorite wedding singer Robbie Hart is the life of the party, until his fiancée leaves him at the altar. Enter a winsome waitress, Julia, who is engaged to a Wall Street shark and captures Robbie’s heart. Now he must pull off the performance of a decade before the girl of his dreams is gone forever.

THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER, by A.A. Milne. Performances in December 2016.

Christopher Robin has decided to run away with his friends Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and the gang after hearing a dark, mysterious threat that he’s to be sent away to Education. Nobody knows exactly what that is or what they can possibly do without him? As the situation becomes clearer, Christopher Robin isn’t so sure that running away is the answer.

THE COMPLETE WORK OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) (REVISED), by Jess Borgeson, Adam Long and Daniel Singer. Performances in February 2017.

No time to read all of William Shakespeare’s works? Never fear. This much-produced, fast-paced, gag-a-second delight deconstructs all 37 of the Bard’s plays—plus the sonnets—into a single two-hour whirlwind.

THE SAVANNAH SIPPING SOCIETY, by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten. Performances in May 2017.

A Regional Premiere, meet four Southern women, all needing to escape the sameness of their day-to-day routines, are drawn together by Fate—and an impromptu happy hour—and decide it is high time to reclaim the enthusiasm for life they’ve lost through the years. Over the course of six months filled with laughter, hilarious misadventures, and the occasional liquid refreshment, these middle-aged women successfully bond and find the confidence to jumpstart their new lives.

THE TOXIC AVENGER, Book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, Music and lyrics by David Bryan. Performances in July 2017.

A Regional Community Theater Premiere and winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, The Toxic Avenger is a charming love story and laugh-out-loud musical that has it all — an unlikely hero, his beautiful girlfriend, a corrupt New Jersey mayor and two guys who play everyone else, from bullies, mobsters, old ladies, and stiletto-wearing back-up singers. Featuring a wailing rock score, this comical musical has something for everyone to enjoy and will leave audiences laughing in the aisles as it rocks the house.

Sign language interpreters from Cincinnati State will continue to sign for select shows throughout the season.

Tickets remain on sale for the remaining 2015-2016 Season. Performances include:

• Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, by Mitch Albom. Performances in May 6-21, 2016.
  This uproarious story centers on two bumbling Alabama brothers who think they shot an angel while duck hunting. As they lament their fates, they are chased by a cynical tabloid journalist and a reluctant photographer who don’t believe any of it—until feathers, wings and a tiara are discovered. The play interweaves a love story, sibling rivalry, tawdry media, race relations and cultural stereotypes as the chase ensues to find the angel in the swamp.
• American Idiot, Book and Lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong, Book by Michael Mayer, Music and Lyrics by Green Day. Performances in July 8-23, 2016.
  A regional community theater premiere, a trio of friends: Johnny, Tunny and Will, struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world. When the disgruntled men flee the constraints of their hometown for big city thrills, their paths quickly diverge. Tunny enters the armed forces, Michael goes home to manage family responsibilities, and Johnny’s attention becomes divided by a seductive love interest and a hazardous new friendship. The energy-fueled rock opera relies on the lyrics from Green Day’s groundbreaking album to propel the story. 

Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 pm. Sunday matinee starts at 3 pm, and Thursday performance is at 7:30 pm

To learn more or reserve tickets, call 513-588-4988 or visit www.sunsetplayers.org.

Sunset Players, Inc. is a community theater group located on the west side of Cincinnati. Founded in 1979, the group performs at the Arts Center at Dunham and has produced more than 120 plays. Its mission is to bring a smile, and its plays include comedies, farces, dramatic comedies and musical comedies—as long as there is some “comedy” in the performance somewhere. For more information, visit our website at www.sunsetplayers.org or like us on Facebook.