SAN DIEGO: Cygnet Theatre Company has announced its 2017-18 season, which will feature seven shows, including a Marx Brothers musical, a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, and a classic Sondheim work.
First up will be Animal Crackers (July 5-Aug. 13), based on the Marx Brothers movie, with book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind and music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. When a painting goes missing at a fancy house party, the guests embark on a series of madcap antics to try to catch the thief. Sean Murray will direct, and Terry O’Donnell will music direct.
Next up will be Paul Zindel’s Pulitzer Prize winner The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (Aug. 30-Sept. 24). The drama, set in the 1960s, follows a broken family as a single mother and her two daughters discover how to connect to the world.
Matthew Lopez’s The Legend of Georgia McBride (Oct. 11-Nov. 12) will be next. The play is about a broke Elvis impersonator who takes a job in a drag act to earn extra money. Murray will direct.
The company’s production of A Christmas Carol (Nov. 24-Dec. 24) will return next. The production, adapted by Murray and featuring an original score by Billy Thompson and lyrics by Murray, adds stagecraft and puppetry to the holiday classic. Murray will direct, and Patrick Marion will music direct.
The first show of 2018 will be Kate Hennig’s The Last Wife (Jan. 17-Feb. 11), a contemporary reimagining of the relationship between Henry VIII and Katherine Parr. Rob Lutfy will direct.
Next up will be A Little Night Music (Mar. 7-April 22), with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. The classic musical follows Desirée Armfeldt as she spends a weekend in the country with both her lovers and their wives. Murray will direct.
The final show of the season will be the world premiere of Nathan Alan Davis’s The Wind and the Breeze (May 16-June 10, 2018). The play follows Sam, an emcee in Rockford, Ill., as he navigates the politics of place and the unspoken expectations of friendship. Lutfy will direct.
Founded in 2003, Cygnet Theatre Company strives to produce thought-provoking and engaging shows and educational programming year-round at its space in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
