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Performers Prep For Sierra Rep Season
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The popular Church Basement Ladies return to the Sierra Rep stage this season in a new musical comedy, running from Oct. 14 to Nov. 27. Photo Courtesy Rich Miller

Sierra Repertory Theatre has announced its 2016 season, opening with a Feb. 27 Gala performance of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady. Other highlights include new productions of Hank Williams: Lost Highway and Beehive: The 60’s Musical Sensation, a brand new musical from the Church Basement Ladies, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair, bluegrass musical The Robber Bridegroom, 2013 Tony Award winner for Best Play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and American classic A Christmas Story. For information on Gala reservations, contact Development Director Beverly Handelman at 209-532-0502 ext. 111 or at bhandelman@sierrarep.org.

The 37th season opens with My Fair Lady, playing Feb. 27 through April 24 at the East Sonora Theatre and marking Sierra Rep’s 300th production. A brilliant score and unforgettable characters tell the triumphant story of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle. Can Professor Higgins polish a scrappy street vendor and pass her off as a refined lady? Lerner and Loewe’s masterful score includes “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “On the Street Where You Live” and many more.

Sierra Rep’s first Fallon show, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, plays April 1 through May 15. Country-Western icon Hank Williams touched millions in his short career. This spectacular musical biography breaks the heart and lifts the soul as it recounts his rise to country-music stardom and his demise at age 29 from hard living and bad luck. His legend lives on through songs that celebrate tenderness and hope. This Sierra Rep favorite is jam-packed with 20 classic hits including “Lovesick Blues,” “Hey, Good Lookin’” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart.”

Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike opens May 20 at the East Sonora Theatre for four weeks only. The New York Post called the show “riotous” and “a ton of fun.” Durang takes characters and themes from Chekhov, pours them into a blender and mixes them up. The utterly hilarious and occasionally touching result is his latest play. Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia share a home where they bicker and complain about the circumstances of their lives, until suddenly, their movie-star sister, Masha, swoops in with her new boy toy, Spike. Also on the scene are sassy maid Cassandra, who can predict the future, and a lovely young aspiring actress named Nina.

It’s a grand night for singing June 17 through Aug. 7 at Fallon House with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair. Against the colorful backdrop of an American heartland tradition, State Fair travels with the Frake family as they leave the routine of the farm for three days of adventure at the annual Iowa State Fair. Set to the magical strains of an Oscar-winning score, including “It Might as Well Be Spring,” “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” and the title song, State Fair is the kind of warm-hearted family entertainment only Rodgers & Hammerstein could deliver.

Five rockin’ women, sizzling hit music, outrageous costumes from poodle skirts to tie-dye, and gallons of hair spray can mean only one thing – BEEHIVE, The 60s Musical Sensation returns to Sierra Rep’s East Sonora Theatre July 22 through Aug. 28. This high-energy revue samples the exciting emergence of the 60s best “girl” groups and solo singers. A super-talented cast portrays The Chiffons, The Supremes and many more with favorites like “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “One Fine Day” and “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”

Up next at the Fallon House, The Robber Bridegroom plays Sept. 2 to 25 in a rousing, bawdy, Southern fairytale from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Driving Miss Daisy. The musical has one of the only genuine bluegrass scores ever heard on Broadway. Set in eighteenth century Mississippi, the show follows Jamie Lockhart, a rascally robber of the woods, as he courts Rosamund, the only daughter of the richest planter in the country. The proceedings go awry, however, thanks to a case of double-mistaken identity. An evil stepmother, intent on Rosamund’s demise, and her pea-brained henchman, make for a rollicking country romp.

The glorious setting and dress of 17th Century France come to Sierra Rep’s East Sonora Theatre Sept. 24 through Oct. 16 with Edmond Rostand’s classic play Cyrano. A great swordsman with a beautiful soul is hampered by a huge nose that makes him believe he is incapable of being loved by the beautiful Roxane. When he learns that Roxane and a handsome young soldier named Christian are infatuated with each other, he writes beautiful love letters for her suitor that lead to a calamitous love triangle, swordplay and humor.

The Church Basement Ladies return to Sierra Rep’s Fallon House Theatre Oct. 14 through Nov. 27 with A Mighty Fortress Is Our Basement. In this latest installment it’s 1960 and the ladies are back with an all-new musical and are once again required to face change head-on. Against the shifting tide, these pillars of the church stand strong in their faith and in their friendships with more crazy antics, great songs and lessons reluctantly learned.

Young Ralphie Parker closes the 2016 season with his quest for a Red Ryder BB gun in the play based on the classic motion picture, A Christmas Story. The holiday adventure plays Nov. 11 through Dec. 18 at the East Sonora Theatre. Audiences can expect shenanigans involving a leg lamp, a bunny suit and a tongue stuck to a frozen flagpole.

For more information on the 2016 season or group and individual tickets, call the Box Office at 209-532-3120 or visit www.sierrarep.org.