The 2016-2017 Independence Studio on 3 season includes Broadway’s thrilling new play where we have to fight to hold on to the truth, The Other Place (October 4 – October 30); just in time for the holidays, Dylan Thomas’ heartwarming A Child’s Christmas in Wales (November 15 – December 23); Neil Simon’s hilarious The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (January 10 – February 5); Will Stutts’ The Gift (February 21 – March 19); and Broadway’s musical celebration of a true American genius, Jerry Herman, Jerry’s Girls (April 4 – July 2).
THE SEASON
The 2016-2017 season opens with The Other Place (October 4 – October 30). In the Philadelphia Premiere of Broadway’s thrilling new mystery, we meet Juliana, a successful neurologist whose life is becoming unhinged. Her success at work is unquestioned, but at home, her husband is filing for a divorce and her daughter has disappeared with a much older man. When she gives a lecture in the Virgin Islands, things become worse. A doctor is called. Her mother died of a brain tumor at an early age. Could the same thing happen to her? Nothing is as it seems. Juliana longs to escape to the family’s “other place” on Cape Cod to begin anew. Will she succeed?
Next, join us for Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales (November 15 – December 23). On that legendary “Snowy Christmas Day” songs are sung, cakes are gobbled up, ghost stories are whispered, and wild Indians roam the City Park! While the uncles, stuffed with pudding, nap and bellow on the parlor couch, we’re taken back in time to remember the joys of being young, the strength of a community and the comfort of a loving family. Dylan Thomas’ iconic A Child’s Christmas in Wales features both traditional and contemporary holiday music and is the perfect way to celebrate with your family.
The season continues with Neil Simon’s The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (January 10 – February 5). Let’s return to the 1960s, an era where we were free to choose who we wanted to love and when. But in this world filled with "Mad Men" and "Mod Women," was it easier to choose a mate? In this all-new production of Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers, true comedy ensues when a man looks for something new and different, but ends up finding himself in the same situation, again and again! It's the revolution of a laugh-time and we've got the woman to prove it! Fall in love all over again with the Last of the Red Hot Lovers. Philadelphia audiences can see the Walnut’s production here first, before its National Tour!
Next up, we’ll have a play that made its World Premiere at the Walnut in 1998, The Gift (February 21 – March 19). On a Southern porch in a small town in Alabama, two friends get together again. He is an internationally renowned author, embarking on an adventurous new idea for his next novel. He cannot do it alone. She is a talented writer, secure in the quiet safety of home, unable to bring her story to life. They have each other and they have a gift. Fact and fiction may lie beneath the truth. What is the secret of the Mockingbird? When these two writers join forces, each becomes whole and The Gift finds a place in history for them both.
Our 2016-2017 season finale is Jerry’s Girls (April 4 – July 2). Spend an evening with the music of Jerry Herman and you too will cheer for Broadway’s electrifying tribute to this all-American master of song. Taking center stage are some of Broadway’s best musicals, including Hello Dolly!, Mame, Mack and Mabel, Dear World and La Cage Aux Folles. Jerry’s Girls celebrates glamour, optimism, love, melody and women! The all-female cast reminds us how Jerry Herman has given voice to some of Broadway’s biggest legends, with his unique ability to write comedy, ballads and show-stoppers. He’s won multiple Tony, Grammy, Olivier and Drama Desk Awards but, first and foremost, he’s also won our heart!
