2012 promises a great year for Cumberland County Playhouse, now announcing its 48th season lineup. Two of the most popular titles in American theater launch the year, with Driving Miss Daisy, sponsored by Dr. Stanley Bise, MD opening in the Adventure Theater opening Jan 21, and the beloved, The Sound of Music, opening on the Mainstage Feb. 10. And Broadway veteran Bob Gunton, one of film and TV’s most familiar faces, brings the World Premiere of his own new show to the Mainstage, where his career began in Tennessee, USA! as the Playhouse opened in 1965.
Michael Ruff and Carol Irvin as Hoke Colburn and Miss Daisy in the Cumberland County Playhouse 2012 Season Opener Driving Miss Daisy
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy stars Carol Irvin and Michael Ruff in roles that won multiple awards for Jessica Tandy and made Morgan Freeman a star. The Sound of Music features the resident company plus scores of singers from across Tennessee as the Grand Choir and Children’s Choir of Salzburg Abbey, as CCP gathers one hundred nuns and children to sing at Maria’s wedding, the Salzburg Festival, and more. Set in Austria on the eve of World War II, this new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s enduring classic combines the joy of a great musical with the dramatic power of an adventure film, as a family struggles to escape the oncoming Nazi regime.
In March the Tennessee premiere of All Shook Up! will rock the Mainstage with a jubilant score of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits. A young wanderer discovers a small town where fun seems practically outlawed, and shakes things up with music, dance and romance. With hits like “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and many more, he fills the town with joy and its young people with hope… and gives the older generation something to sing about, as well!
The Playhouse’s world premiere of Walking on Water, an evening of musical theater and song with Bob Gunton, opens May 18. In over four decades on Broadway and in Hollywood, Bob has appeared in over a hundred films and TV shows, including memorable turns as the Warden in The Shawshank Redemption and Secretary of Defense Kanin in 24…and most recently as General Collins on the USA series Royal Pains. Broadway triumphs include Tony-nominated portrayals of Juan Peron in Evita and the title role in Sweeney Todd. Now Bob “comes home” to the Playhouse, where he began as Johnny Timberlake in Paul Crabtree’s original Tennessee, USA! This very limited engagement (through June 16) stars one of America’s most respected singing actors.
The Mainstage lineup includes two more Tennessee Premieres: Broadway pro (and Nashville native) Jeremy Benton directs and choreographs the new Ginger Rogers musical Backwards in High Heels; and the Playhouse presents the first production of the uproarious musical Cowboys (sponsored by The Beef & Barrel and The Blind Zebra) since its CCP world premiere 30 years ago. Also on the Mainstage is the spring dance and musical show Wonderland, (sponsored by Spirit Broadband) created by students and faculty of the Playhouse Performance Education Center, under the direction of Jennifer Austin. Meredith Willson’s rousing favorite The Music Man (sponsored by Crossville, Inc) and a glorious new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (sponsored by M. Stewart Galloway, MD/Cumberland Eye Care), follow for summer and the holidays.
The Adventure Theater’s lineup features the CCP premiere of Five Guys Named Moe, a bright, tuneful, dance-filled musical featuring the hits of Louis Jordan, the “King of the Jukebox.” Five Guys will be directed and choreographed by Harry Bryce (Crowns, Dreamgirls). Rounding out the Adventure’s roster is the tender love story See Rock City and the heartwarming The Moving of Lilla Barton, along with the return of Smoke on the Mountain (sponsored by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store) and A Sanders Family Christmas. Two fall shows remain to be announced, as several new musicals are considered.
You can purchase tickets, memberships, and gift certificates for 2012 Playhouse productions, plus selected concerts at Crossville’s Palace Theater, and Southern Stars Symphonic Brass, online at www.ccplayhouse.com or by calling (931) 484-5000.
