BRATTLEBORO — The Vermont Theatre Company announced their upcoming season for 2016-17, their 33rd year of bringing community theater to the Brattleboro area.
There will be four shows, including a musical, performed at three locations: the Hooker Dunham Theater at 139 Main St. in Brattleboro; the Evening Star Grange on East-West Road in Dummerston; and Living Memorial Park on Western Avenue in West Brattleboro, according to a news release.
First up this season is a farce from Italy by Dario Fo called “Non Si Paga” - or “They Don't Pay? We Won't Pay!” Originally premiered in the 1970s, Fo tells the story of ordinary people in extraordinary times.
With prices and cost of living rising, but wages stagnating, the characters find themselves battling to keep their dignity while keeping hunger at bay. Using “five finger discounts,” the characters find ways to subvert a system stacked against them. This timely Italian commedia del'arte is directed by Michelle Page and will be at the Hooker Dunham Theater Nov. 11-13 and 17-20.
The holiday time will see the return of Charles Dickens' classic “A Christmas Carol.” James Gelter will be re-imagining this look at the story we all know so well with music from the Victorian age and a host of special effects and surprises.
This year, the production will run three weekends at the Evening Star Grange on East-West Road in Dummerston, Dec. 2-4, 9-11, 16-18.
Springtime will bring the musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” with a score by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin, and direction by Bob Kramsky. In this musical, an eclectic group of sixth-graders arrives at a spelling bee, each eager to win for very different reasons.
The spellers reveal their hopes, struggles, and passions in song throughout the competition. Performances are May 5-7 and 12-14 at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston.
The final show of the season will be VTC's 26th annual Shakespeare in the Park production at Living Memorial Park in West Brattleboro: Shakespeare's “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” directed by Jess Gelter. Performances will be June 29-30, and July 1-2.