With all of the local theaters in town we thought we would spotlight their upcoming seasons. This will give you plenty of time to fill your calendars and purchase season tickets. Our second installment will spotlight The Dayton Theatre Guild and Dayton Playhouse.
The Dayton Theatre Guild, Located at 430 Wayne Ave, begins their season with August Wilson’s Radio Golf– Directed by Robert-Wayne Waldron- With humor and courage, August Wilson’s Radio Golf examines the steep price “progress” can exact upon the soul. Performance dates are Aug 25–Sept 10, 2023. They will follow Radio Golf with the thriller, Wednesday’s Child, By Mark St. Germain, Directed by K.L. Storer. When Becca is found dead, a homicide investigation digs into the lives of everyone who knew her. This dramatic play explores motherhood, passion, and the thin line between right and wrong. Production Dates are Nov 3–19, 2023
In January, Doug Lloyd will direct True West written By Sam Shepard. January 12-28, 2024. “A quintessentially American play about two brothers caught up in a cycle of hostility and violence, and desperate to gauge their manhood by the barometers of both myths, and of each other.” …Theatre critic Deborah Klugman.
Flight of the Lawnchair Man, Directed by David Shough. Book by Peter UllianMusic & Lyrics by Robert Lindsey-Nassif, based on a concept by Robert Lindsey-Nassif. Loosely based on a true story, The Guild’s production takes off Mar 22–Apr 7, 2024. Flight of the Lawschairman is a musical that reminds us that dreams can come true if you believe in yourself.
Closing this wonderful season will be Superior Donuts “A witty, seductive, live-wire and greatly entertaining dark comedy that you just don’t want to end and you just don’t want to miss!” -Chicago Tribune. Written by Tracey Letts (August, Osage County) Superior Donuts explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship between an unlikely pair. Directed by Jared Mola, will perform Jun 7–23, 2024.
Tickets can be purchased here: https://daytontheatreguild.thundertix.com/
Dayton Playhouse, located at the beautiful Five Rivers’ Wegerzyn Gardens, 1301 E Siebenthaler, Dayton, dances into their 2023-2024 season with the new musical, The Prom. Music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Bob Martin and Beguelin, based on an original concept by Jack Viertel. Directed by Tim Rezash, This musical follows four Broadway actors lamenting their days of fame, as they travel to the conservative town of Edgewater, Indiana, to help a lesbian student banned from bringing her girlfriend to high school prom. September 22, 2023- October 8, 2023
The ONE ACT Play That Goes Wrong, written by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer, is a farce that takes place on the opening night of an overly ambitious 1920s-style murder mystery. Directed by Ray Gambrell, who directed the 2022 FutureFest Winner Every Livin’ Soul, takes the stage November 10 – November 19, 2023.
Kathleene Clark, returns to direct Is There Life After High School, book by Jeffrey Kindley and music and lyrics by Craig Carnelia. In this memory musical, no cast member plays a single part, but instead, each represents an assortment of old grads looking back – mostly with affection – on their high school days. Come and remember The Kid Inside, January 12, 2024 – January 28, 2024.
Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Kate Hamill who said “I wrote Sense and Sensibility because I believe so deeply that the classics belong to everyone. When we ensure that narratives of all types can take center stage, we know that we can all be protagonists, no matter our gender or background or circumstance. We can be heroes — or heroines — of our own stories.” Directed by Jenni Cypher, Sense and Sensibility will run March 8, 2024-March 17, 2024
Dayton Playhouse will close their 2023-2024 Season with the musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Director Dawn Roth Smith, plans to include a children’s choir for this production. Go, go see it!
May 10, 2024-May 26, 2024.
Returning in 2024 FutureFest, a festival of new plays will be July 19-21, 2024.
Tickets for Dayton Playhouse can be acquired here: http://wordpress.thedaytonplayhouse.com/tickets/