Main Stage
 

Almost, Maine

By John Cariani
January 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16 at 8:00 p.m.
January 10 & 17 at 2:00 p.m.
Spirit Square/Duke Energy Theatre
Ages 12 & up
Tickets: $18-$20

On a cold, clear, moonless night in the middle of winter, all is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, Almost's residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night's dream.

Reviews: …a whimsical approach to the joys and perils of romance. Magical happenings bloom beneath the snowdrifts." —NY Times. "John Cariani aims for the heart by way of the funny bone." —Star-Ledger. "Utterly endearing…It's hard not to warm up to ALMOST, MAINE." —Broadway.com. "Sweet, poignant and witty." —NY Daily News. "A snowy charmer…These nine tales of love in the time of frostbite have a winning glow that proves surprisingly contagious." —NY Sun.

Violet

Book & Lyrics by Brian Crawley, Music by Jeanine Tesori
Based on The Ugliest Pilgrim by Doris Betts.
March 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 at 8:00 p.m.
March 14, 21, 27, 28 at 2:00 p.m.
March 14, 21 at 7:00 p.m.
Armour Street Theatre
Ages 12 & up
Tickets: $15-$18

Set in 1964 in the Deep South during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, Violet follows the growth and enlightenment of a bitter young woman accidentally scarred by her father. In hopes that a TV evangelist can cure her, she embarks on a journey by bus from her sleepy North Carolina town to Oklahoma. Along the way, she meets a young black soldier who teaches her about beauty, love, courage and what it means to be an outsider. One of the most acclaimed off-Broadway shows of the ’90s, Violet astounded critics and audiences with its powerful story, its energetic, toe-tapping Gospel, Rock, Country, and Rhythm and Blues score and its well-crafted book.

"Enchanting. A pure delight on every level!" -Michael Feingold, Village Voice

Oklahoma!

Music by Richard Rodgers
Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs
June 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 at 8:00 p.m.
June 20 & 26 at 2:00 p.m.
Duke Family Performance Hall, Davidson College
Ages 8 and up
Tickets: $15-$22

It is, quite simply, the show that changed the American musical forever....

Set in the territory of Oklahoma at the turn of the century, against a background of the rivalry between cattlemen and farmers, Oklahoma ! is the story of the farm girl Laurey and the two rivals for her affection: the cowboy Curly, and Jud, the brooding farmhand. This landmark musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein is full of well known songs such as Oh What a Beautiful Morning and People Will Say We’re in Love

“Still the Great American Musical!” -- New York Times, 2002

Noises Off

By Michael Frayn
July 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 at 8:00 pm
July 24 & August 1 at 2:00 p.m.
Duke Family Performance Hall
Mature Themes: Ages 14 and up
Tickets: $15-22

Called the funniest farce ever written, NOISES OFF returned to Broadway with a cast that included Patti LuPone and Peter Gallagher for the 2002 season and sent reviewers searching for new accolades for the hilarious. The play follows the trials and tribulations of a malady-riddled stock company in Great Britain. The wonderful convention is that the set revolves so that you see performances of the same play from both the audience’s point of view as well as from back stage.

"As side-splitting a farce as I have seen. Ever? Ever."  —New York Magazine

A Christmas Story

By Philip Grecian
December 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18 at 8:00 p.m.
December 4, 5, 11, 12, 19 at 2:00 p.m.
Armour Street Theatre
Ages 8 and up
Tickets: $15-$18

Based on the motion picture, A Christmas Story, written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark; and on the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd.

Humorist Jean Shepherd's memoir of growing up in the Midwest in the 1940s, follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest to get a genuine Red Ryder BB gun under the tree for Christmas. All the elements from the beloved motion picture are here, including the family’s temperamental exploding furnace; Scott Farkas, the school bully; the boys’ experiment with a wet tongue on a cold lamppost; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin; Ralphie’s father winning a lamp shaped like a woman’s leg in a net stocking; and Ralphie's fantasy scenarios.

The post-Baby Boom generations’ answer to It's a Wonderful Life.