The early bird colloquially gets the worm, and about three years ago, Ed McClure decided that was his game plan for Arkansas Public Theatre.
That's why friends and fans of the Rogers theater company found out Thursday evening what's on the schedule for the 2017-2018 season -- which doesn't start until September 2017 and ends in August 2018.
FYI
Arkansas Public Theatre
Season 32
Sept. 15 to Oct. 1 — The Rocky Horror Show: The midnight movie your parents didn’t want you to see comes to life on stage in this hilarious and campy musical which inspired the movie. Auditions: July 31.
Nov. 3-12 — Every Day a Visitor: Set in a Jewish home for the aged in the Bronx, where the residents each play-act somebody famous, leading to renewed vitality, imaginative relationships and good old-fashioned fun. Auditions: Sept. 18.
Dec. 8-17 — A Christmas Story: Nine-year-old Ralphie wants nothing but a Red Ryder BB gun. Auditions: Nov. 6.
Feb. 9-25, 2018 — The Producers: Bialystock and Bloom — names that should strike terror and hysteria in anyone familiar with Mel Brooks’ classic cult comedy film. Auditions: Dec. 11.
March 30 tp April 8, 2018 — Living on Love: This farce centers on a demanding opera diva who discovers her larger-than-life maestro husband has become enamored with the lovely young lady hired to ghostwrite his largely fictional autobiography. To get revenge, she hires a handsome young scribe of her own. Auditions: Feb. 12.
May 4-13, 2018 — Ann: An intimate, no-holds-barred portrait of Ann Richards, the legendary late governor of Texas. Auditions: April 2.
June 8-17, 2018 — An Act of God: After many millennium, and in just 90 minutes, God (assisted by his devoted angels) answers some of the deepest questions that have plagued mankind since Creation. Auditions: May 7.
July 27 to Aug. 12, 2018 — Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: The Biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to life in this musical parable by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Auditions June 11-12.
INFORMATION — 631-8988.
"We decided to be first on the block" when it came to announcing upcoming seasons, says McClure, a company founder and productions chairman for APT. "And January is the earliest we can announce and know we have the rights to shows 18 months out."
Being first, he says, doesn't automatically mean there will be no conflicts or duplications. A non-Equity company might pass through the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, presenting a show already on the APT season. But McClure wants to be the first company in Northwest Arkansas to get rights to shows recently on Broadway or off-Broadway.
Sometimes that takes pulling a few strings. The rights to "Every Day a Visitor," scheduled for November, hinged on a relationship with Joan Porter, a New York actress who appeared in the show off-Broadway but also starred in the U.S. debut of Oren Safdie's "Checks and Balances"on the APT stage.
"She hooked me up with Richard Abrons, the author, and he is giving us special permission to premiere it in Arkansas," McClure says. "And I think he'll be here."
Other shows are old favorites that have come back around. "A Christmas Story" has become an APT holiday tradition, thanks to its connection to Daisy BB guns. And "The Producers" made its way onto the season based on the response APT has already had to "Young Frankenstein."
"We haven't even opened it, and ticket sales are going crazy," McClure says. "I think 'The Producers' -- which was done by the same creative team, including Mel Brooks -- has the same appeal. And being able to cast 'Young Frankenstein' with the quality of cast we have leads me to believe we can do the same with 'The Producers.'"
The first show of the season is a personal favorite of McClure's, one he directed 15 years ago for Ozark StageWorks.
"A lot of people have really indicated a desire for us to do 'The Rocky Horror Show,'" he says. "And while [my generation] was going to the midnight movies to see it, it's a show that now transcends generations because of the TV remake Fox did.
"You know," he muses, "by today's standards, it's not the racy show it was once considered. It's just nostalgic."
Also on the season are two more shows fresh from New York, "Ann" by Holland Taylor -- a one-woman telling of the story of Ann Richards, the former governor of Texas -- and "An Act of God" -- which McClure describes as a visit from the "One with the first and last word on everything, who arrives to set the record straight and deliver some new commandments. And it's hilarious."
The final show of the 2017-2018 season is "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which McClure says was chosen simply by "listening to what our constituents want."
Choosing a season "isn't an art, it's not a science, it's something in between," says McClure. "It's just that notion that you're trying to fulfill your mission to provide quality live performances to the patrons of Northwest Arkansas.
"I am so excited about doing these eight shows. I think it's an exceptional season. It gives so many different people a chance to be involved, and audiences are going to be so entertained."
NAN What's Up on 01/20/2017