Playhouse Merced sets sights on new season, with list of plays scheduled through 2022
After more than a year of no live performances, community theater Playhouse Merced is gearing up to reopen later this year, with plans to showcase five musicals and two plays.
The 2021-22 season is scheduled to start in September and end in June. The season’s theme is “This is Us” and all shows will run 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m Sundays., according to a news release.
The season will debut with the pop musical “Godspell” scheduled for Sept. 17. The musical retells the passion of Christ and stories of the gospels. This production will be staged outdoors at the Yosemite Church Amphitheater.
“The Brothers Paranormal,” scheduled for Oct. 15, is about two Thai American brothers who launch a ghost-hunting business to capitalize on the nationwide increase in paranormal activity. Throughout the play the brothers deal with terrifying spirits and notions of reality, fantasy and sanity — bumping heads with some shocking truths, according to the release.
The musical “White Christmas” will open Nov. 26 and run until Christmas. It’s based off the American classic with the same title starring Bing Crosby. It’s a story of two war buddies who fall for two sisters, and follow the women to a resort in Vermont owned by their former commanding officer, who is in danger of losing the place.
“The Mountaintop” is a production set in the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968, the eve of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The play opens Jan. 14 and is being done in collaboration with Sankofa Theatre Company.
“Miss You Like Hell” is a musical is about an undocumented Latinx mother facing deportation who travels across country to repair her relationship with her estranged daughter. Both experience joy, sadness, uncertainties and hardship. The musical opens Feb. 11.
“The SpongeBob Musical” opens March 25. Based on the Nickelodeon series, it “celebrates friendship, cooperation, and the power of unity and inclusion,” the release said.
The last show of the season “One Hit Wonder” is a musical showcasing various one hit wonder songs like “Walking on Sunshine,”” Take On Me,” “Tainted Love” and 15 popular songs. The show opens June 3.