May 19, 2016
Summer Playhouse opens with ‘Rock of Ages’
The box office is now open for the McLeod Summer Playhouse 2016 season at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The season begins with “Rock of Ages,” a glam-rock musical that follows, with nostalgic glee, a wanna-be rocker and an aspiring actress searching for fame on LA’s Sunset Strip. It features more than two dozen 1980s chart-topping rock hits including “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” I Wanna Rock n’ Roll All Night,” “We Built This City,” and “Don’t Stop Believin.’” The show runs June 17-26, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Individual tickets are $30 for adults, $14 for students and $10 for children. The MSP corporate sponsor SIH Medical Group presents this show.
The joyful musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” plays July 8-17. The show, based on the Biblical story, follows Joseph’s adventures as his brothers sell him into slavery, his rise to Pharaoh’s adviser and his reunion with and forgiveness of his family. The family friendly production features a cornucopia of dazzling music by the famous team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The show plays Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the McLeod Theater. Individual tickets are $30 for adults, $14 for students and $10 for children. An anonymous sponsor contributed to this production.
“Bring It On,” the sassy Broadway-pop, hip-hop cheerleading musical, closes the series. Produced by MSP and Carbondale Community Arts, the All Southern High School Theater Project features talented high-schoolers on stage with a professional staff. Based on the classic cult film from 2000, this sensational "stunt-tastic" show follows a cheerleader who is redistricted to a “less than popular” school and searches for a way to fit in. “Bring It On” runs July 28-31, with performances Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the McLeod Theater. Individual tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and $8 for children.
This year, families may also enjoy “Pinocchio,” a Theater for Young Audiences production that is not part of the Playhouse series. The familiar story follows the journey of Pinocchio, an impetuous puppet who longs to become a real boy. This production plays Saturday at 2 p.m., June 4, 18, 25, July 9 and 16 and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. June 8, 22, 28 and July 13 in the C.H. Moe Theater. Tickets are $14 for adults and $10 for students and children. All seats are general admission. Carolyn Wagner Snyder sponsored this play.
Subscription and individual tickets are available at the McLeod Theater and SIU Arena box offices, by phone at 618/453-6000 or online at playhouse.siu.edu. Some fees apply for online and by-phone orders.