When Gene Sobczak became the Arvada Center’s new executive director, his directive to artistic director Rod Lansberry was simple: “Give me a blockbuster season.”
That’s just what Lansberry has delivered in a back-to- basics 2008-09 season announcement packed with familiar musicals and a classic American drama.
Not that there is anything basic about staging “Les Miserables,” which will be the largest undertaking in the Center’s history, opening Sept. 16. Joining it will be the Tony-winning musicals “Evita” and “Big River,” along with the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Also, “Hollywood Arms” and “The Crucible” will be staged in the new black-box studio theater.
“This is really a recognition of where our audiences are at, and what they want to see,” said Lansberry. It’s also a recognition that the Center has seen sales and subscribers decrease as costs have continued to rise. Now is not the time, Lansberry figures, to be leading audiences down risky new paths, “when what they want is to be entertained.”
“Evita” (directed by Lansberry) is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s familiar tale of Eva Peron and her rise to power and celebrity in Argentina. “Big River,” coming in the summer of 2009, is the Roger Miller musical about the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and his runaway slave, Jim.
“Hollywood Arms” (directed by Terry Dodd) is co-written by Carol Burnett and her daughter Carrie Hamilton. It’s a Tony-winning look at 1940s Hollywood, based on Burnett’s memoirs and real-life relatives, including a hypochondriac, six-time-married grandmother and Burnett’s stage alter-ego, Helen.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (directed by Bev Newcomb-Madden) is the musical stage adaptation of the Frank Capra film starring Jimmy Stewart.
“The Crucible” is Arthur Miller’s searing commentary on McCarthyism via the Salem witch trials.
The Arvada Center was one of only a handful of regional theater companies hand- picked by producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh to produce the first professional stagings of “Les Miserables” in America. Based on the Victor Hugo classic, it’s the story of a man who is jailed for stealing a loaf of bread and the jailer who tracks him for 18 years.
“I find it frightening, to be honest, because it is such a known entity,” Lansberry said. “But my goal is not to re-create what’s been done before. I hope that we can create a new show that fits our audience and our space.”
Arvada Center’s 2008-09 season
“Les Miserables”: Sept. 16-Oct. 12
“Hollywood Arms”: Oct. 21-Nov. 23 (in the black-box studio theater)
“It’s a Wonderful Life”: Nov. 25-Dec. 28
“The Crucible”: Feb. 3-March 8, 2009 (black box)
“Evita”: April 21-May 17, 2009
“Big River”: July 14-Aug. 9, 2009
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