ARROW ROCK, MO – The Lyceum Theatre will open its exciting new 8 show season on June 6, 2019 with the Lyceum premiere of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, followed by All Shook Up, 9 to 5 The Musical, Murder For Two, Fully Committed, Crimes of the Heart, Swingtime Canteen, and the sixth annual production of the Lyceum’s unique adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, closing on December 22, 2019.

“We are incredibly excited about the 2019 Season lineup which is filled with both familiar favorites and new adventures as well. With great spectacle, romance, riotous comedy, and thrilling music, 2019 is shaping up to be our most spectacular season yet.” said Producing Artistic Director, Quin Gresham, now in his fifteenth season.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (A Lyceum Premiere):  June 6 through June 16. Outside of the recent national tour, this new Broadway version of Cinderella will receive its first professional Missouri staging at the Lyceum Theatre. This lush Tony Award-winning musical features jaw-dropping transformations, the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball, and some surprising new twists! Your whole family will be transported as you rediscover some of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” in this hilarious and romantic story for anyone who has ever had a dream. “All of the classics songs you remember from either the Julie Andrews or the Lesley Ann Warren television broadcasts are intact, but this revised script perfectly blends the traditional with the contemporary, making the classic tale even more magical for today’s audiences,” said Gresham.

All Shook Up (A Lyceum Premiere): June 27 through July 7. Set to the hits of the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley, this musical will have you jumpin’ out of your “Blue Suede Shoes” all night long. It’s 1955, and into a square little town in a square little state rides Chad, a guitar-playing roustabout who changes everything and everyone he meets in this hip-swiveling, lip-curling musical fantasy that’ll have you dancing in the aisles with such classics as “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Don’t Be Cruel.” “Every Elvis song you can think of is given the Broadway treatment in this funny fable about a town resuscitated by the joyous power of music, dance, and love,” said Gresham.

9 to 5 The Musical (A Lyceum Premiere): July 18 through July 28. Based on the 1980 hit movie, 9 to 5 sets to music the hilarious and outrageous story of friendship and revenge in the 1970s Rolodex era. Pushed to the boiling point, three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot they call their boss. In a hilarious turn of events, Violet, Judy and Doralee live out their wildest fantasy – giving their boss the boot! While Hart remains “otherwise engaged,” the women give their workplace a dream makeover, taking control of the company that had always kept them down. “Featuring jubilant and memorable music by the one and only Dolly Parton, 9 to 5 The Musical offers big laughs, outrageous production numbers, and a moving portrait of three women determined to turn a chauvinist world on its ear.” said Gresham.

Murder for Two (A Lyceum Premiere): August 3 through August 11. A hilarious musical murder mystery with a twist, Murder for Two is the perfect blend of music, mayhem and murder as two performers put the laughter in manslaughter as they play 13 roles—not to mention the piano. In this witty and winking homage to old-fashioned murder mysteries, Officer Marcus Moscowicz has dreams of making it to detective. One fateful night, shots ring out at the surprise birthday party of Great American Novelist Arthur Whitney and the writer is killed. With the nearest detective an hour away, Marcus jumps at the chance to prove his sleuthing skills.  But whodunit?  Was it Dahlia Whitney, Arthur’s scene-stealing wife? What is it Barrette Lewis, the prima ballerina?  Was it the overly-friendly shrink, Dr. Griff?  “If you enjoyed last season’s The 39 Steps, you won’t want to miss this hilarious and theatrical murder mystery set to the music of two incredible actor/pianists. If Agatha Christie overindulged in a piano bar, you’d have something a lot like Murder for Two.” said Gresham

Fully Committed (A Lyceum Premiere): August 17 through August 25. This devastatingly funny one man show follows a day in the life of Sam, an out-of-work actor who mans the red-hot reservation line at Manhattan’s number-one restaurant. Coercion, threats, bribes, histrionics—a cast of desperate callers will stop at nothing in their zeal to land a prime reservation, or the right table. When Sam picks up the phone he instantly transforms into forty wildly diverse characters. Amid the barrage, Sam’s got his own needs to contend with—his recently widowed dad wants him home for Christmas, and he’s up for a career changing role. While juggling scheming socialites, name-dropping wannabes, fickle celebrities and egomaniacal bosses, can he manage to look out for himself?  “One actor, forty characters and countless laughs—you won’t want to miss this hilarious tour de force about an actor’s survival job and whether or not he can actually survive it!” said Gresham.

Crimes of the Heart: August 31 through September 8. Winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize, Crimes of the Heart is a zany, warm-hearted, and brilliantly imaginative Southern gothic tale of relationships run amok and dreams gone awry. In a hurricane of hilarity and hurt, Lenny, the oldest sister, is unmarried at thirty and facing diminishing marital prospects; Meg, the middle sister, who quickly outgrew small town Mississippi, is back after a failed singing career on the West Coast; while Babe, the youngest, is out on bail after having shot her husband in the stomach, testing the boundaries of sisterhood in a world full of pitfalls and a town without pity. “As touching as it is funny, this timeless tale of sisterhood in the South remains one of the great 20th century American plays,” said Gresham.

Swingtime Canteen (A Lyceum Premiere): September 19 through September 29. It’s 1944 and Marian Ames, a fading star of the screen, can’t be glum, there’s a war on, and has decided to take her all girl band to London to cheer up the troops. The show they put on, between air raids, is filled with huge laughs, heart, and is a celebration of the great music of the 1940s. Featuring the songs “Don’t Fence Me In,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “Sing Sing Sing,” “How High the Moon,” “I Don’t Want to Walk without You,” “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” “Sentimental Journey,” a fast paced, 12-song Andrews Sisters medley and many more. “This star-spangled celebration of 1940s patriotism will have audiences laughing and singing along as an insanely talented group of women play a variety of instruments while singing some of the greatest songs ever written. You likely haven’t seen it, but you don’t want to miss it!” said Gresham

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: December 12 through December 22. The 2019 season will close with a mid-Missouri tradition, the Lyceum’s own adaptation of the classic Christmas story. On Christmas Eve, a seemingly heartless miser is given one last chance at redemption by four visiting ghosts as he is guided through his past, present and the possibilities of his future. A Christmas Carol’s timeless and heartwarming message, dazzling scenery and costumes, and delightful holiday music will get you and your entire family in the Christmas spirit. Presented by LammTech. “The tradition continues and we promise that the production will remain fresh with plenty of new surprises,” said Gresham.

Season packages and single tickets are now on sale. Senior, student and children discounts are available. Special Group Rates are available as well. Evening performances are at 8pm and matinees are at 2pm. For ticket information: www.lyceumtheatre.org, (660) 837-3311 x1, or in person at the Lyceum’s box office at 114 High Street, Arrow Rock, MO 65320.

The Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre is a non-profit 501(c)(3), professional theatre located in the unique village of Arrow Rock, Missouri, a 19th century National Historic Landmark. The Lyceum has been entertaining audiences in the heart of Missouri for 59 years producing a variety of musicals, dramas and comedies. Each year, this 416 seat theatre attracts professional talent from across the country to produce an eight show season (June-December). Performers, designers, directors, and technicians take residence in Arrow Rock for five months to bring its patrons Broadway caliber productions throughout the summer.

The Lyceum Theatre is affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, the Union for Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

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