Leading ladies pre-cast for musicals

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

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Army Community Theatre's 2003-'04 season Main stage: Performances at 7:30 p.m.; opening nights, Thursdays; other shows Fridays and Saturdays Richardson Theatre, Fort Shafter Season tickets: $56, $44 for adults; $28, $20 for children under 12 Single tickets: $17, $14 for adults; $10, $8 for children under 12 Box office: 438-4480, 438-5230; www.squareone.org/ACT Readers Theatre: Performances at 2 p.m. Sundays Richardson Theatre Single tickets: $8 Box office: 438-4480, 438-5230; www.squareone.org/ACT

All shows are Tony Award winners, boasting island leading ladies with high visibility, exposure and success in the theatrical spectrum here. Auditions for other roles will be held, with performances at Richardson Theatre at Fort Shafter.

Theater's upcoming musical productions and leading ladies

'Gypsy'
The Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim evergreen

• Premiere: Sept. 4
• Leading lady: Shari Lynn as Gypsy Rose Lee, a part linked with big names — Ethel Merman in the Broadway original, Angela Lansbury in the first revival, Tyne Daly in the next, Bette Midler on TV, and Bernadette Peters in the latest New York revival. The play, about an aggressive stage mother during the waning years of vaudeville, fields such hit tunes as "Let Me Entertain You," "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Together Wherever We Go."
• Plays: Sept. 4-6, 12-13, 19-20. Auditions June 23-25

'Man of La Mancha'
The Dale Wasserman play with songs by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darian

• Premiere: Nov. 13
• Leading lady: Mary Chesnut will perform as Dulcinea; the play-within-a-play, based on Cervantes' "Don Quixote," tells the poignant story of a dying old man whose impossible dream takes over his mind. The score includes "The Impossible Dream," "It's All the Same," "Dulcinea" and "Little Bird."
• Plays: Nov. 13-15, 21-22, 28-29. Auditions Sept. 15-17

'Kiss Me Kate'
The Cole Porter perennial, with book by Bella and Samuel Spewack, inspired by Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"

• Premiere: Feb. 26
• Leading lady: Cathy Foy will take the title role; the notable hit songs include "Why Can't You Behave," "Wunderbar," "Another Op'nin, Another Show," "I Hate Men," "Too Darn Hot" and "Always True to You (In My Fashion)."
• Plays: Feb. 26-28 and March 5-6, 12-13. Auditions Dec. 8-10

'Camelot'
Alan Jay Lerner-Frederick Loewe favorite based on T.H. White's "The Once and Future King"

• Premiere: May 13
• Leading lady: Tina Shelton plays Guenevere, the future queen of King Arthur, in a tale about the quest for right, might, honor and justice. Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet appeared in the original Broadway production. The enchanting tunes include "The Simple Joys of Maidenhood," "How to Handle a Woman," "I Loved You Once in Silence," "If Ever I Would Leave You" and "What Do the Simple Folks Do?"
• Plays: May 13-15, 21- 22, 28-29. Auditions March 8-10

Matinee play readings presented on Sundays

ACT's Sunday @ 2 Matinee Readers Theatre presents a series of staged readings of rarely performed or popular scripts.

"Abie's Irish Rose," a comedy by Anne Nichols. Abraham Levy's father's heart is set on his marrying a nice Jewish girl; instead, he brings home bride Rosemary Murphy, an entertainer he met in France. She is introduced as Rosemary Murphyski, but a comic war erupts after her father arrives and two wedding renewals are arranged, one Jewish, the other Catholic. Plays Sept. 7, 14 and 21.

"Tobacco Road," a comedy by Jack Kirkland, adapted from a novel by Erskin Caldwell, about Lester's of Tobacco Road and a family with unquestionable peculiarities. Plays Nov. 16, 23 and 30.

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," a psychological drama by Edward Albee, made famous in a 1966 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Characters include George, a professor; his boozing wife, Martha; and a young couple who get drawn into a game of seduction and degradation. Plays Feb. 29, March 7 and 14.

"The Children's Hour," a psychological drama by Lillian Hellman, about two women who run a school for girls where a malicious youngster launches an unfounded scandal about them, which precipitates tragedy. Plays May 16, 23 and 30 (2004).