CHARLESTON, S.C.: Charleston Stage Company has announced its 2018-19 season, which will be the company’s 41st.
The season will open with Mamma Mia! (Aug. 29-Sept. 23), a musical featuring the music and lyrics by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson, and a book by Catherine Johnson. It is about a young girl getting married who tries to determine who her father is, out of three men from her mother’s past. Cara Dolan will choreograph, Sam Henderson will provide musical direction, amd Marybeth Clark will direct.
Next will be Of Mice and Men (Oct. 17-Nov. 4) by John Steinbeck, about two migrant workers named George Milton and Lennie Small who try to make better lives for themselves on a California ranch during the Great Depression. Clark will direct.
Following will be A Christmas Carol (Nov. 28-Dec. 19), which was adapted for the stage by Julian Wiles. It is the classic Charles Dickens tale about the spirit of Christmas and will feature flying spirits and a musical score. Dolan will choreograph, Henderson will provide musical direction, and Wiles will direct.
Next will be The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Feb. 6-24, 2019) by Simon Stephens, based on the book by Mark Haddon. It is about a 15-year-old on the autism spectrum who is accused of killing his neighbor’s dog and sets out to uncover the mystery of who really did it. Wiles will direct.
Following will be Steel Magnolias (March 6-24, 2019) by Robert Harling, a comedic play about a group of Southern women who gather at a beauty parlor. Jesse Siak will direct.
Closing out the season will be Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (April 3-28, 2019), with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton. Based on the Disney movie, it is about a young woman from a provincial town who comes to love a prince trapped in the body of a beast, and about how beauty lies within. Clark will direct.
Charleston Stage will also feature its Family Series throughout the year. The first Family Series show will be a holiday production of Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (Dec. 8 and 15) by Allison Gregory. Based on Barbara Parks’ children’s series, it is about a first grader named Junie B. Jones who is assigned to give a Secret Santa gift to her nemesis. Clark will direct.
Next will be Number the Stars (Jan. 19-20, 2019), which was adapted from the Lois Lowry book by Dr. Douglas W. Larche and Susan Elliot Larche. It is about a young girl and her family as they hide her best friend, who is Jewish, during the Nazi occupation of Denmark. Siak will direct.
The last Family Series show will be The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley (April 20 and 27, 2019), based on the book series by Jeff Brown. It features book and lyrics by Timothy Allen McDonald, lyrics by Jonathan K. Waller, and music by David Weinstein, Waller, McDonald, and Stephen Gabriel. It is about a normal boy who wishes for a more exciting life and ends up becoming flat. Henderson will direct and music direct.
Charleston Stage was founded in 1978 and is South Carolina’s largest professional theatre company, housed in the historic Dock Street Theatre.
