Chattanooga Theatre Centre has announced the shows for its 101st season, providing a year’s worth of musicals, dramas and children’s adventures. The 2024-25 season opens with “Waitress” in September, offers a second Broadway musical in “Dreamgirls” and a beach-themed variation of a Shakespearean classic among its 10 shows.
“We’re really excited about this lineup because it represents that innovation and creativity that has fueled us for the last century,” said marketing manager Rachel Carroll in a news release.
Ticket information is available at theatrecentre.com or 423-267-8534.
(READ MORE: ‘Peter Pan’ launches Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s centennial season)
SCHEDULE
— Sept. 13-29: “Waitress,” Mainstage Theatre. Book by Jessie Nelson; music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker, is stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. Faced with an unexpected pregnancy, she fears she may have to abandon the dream of opening her own pie shop until a baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s handsome new doctor offer her a recipe for happiness. Recommended for ages 13 and older.
— Oct. 4-13: “Tuck Everlasting,” Circle Theatre, Youth Theatre production. Adapted by Mark Frattaroli from the novel by Natalie Babbitt. Eleven-year-old Winnie Foster yearns for a life of adventure beyond her white picket fence, but not until she becomes unexpectedly entwined with the immortal Tuck family does she get more than she could have imagined. Appropriate for all ages.
— Nov. 8-24: “Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous,” Circle Theatre. Written by Pearl Cleage. A lifetime ago, actress Anna Campbell and manager Betty Samson ignited a major theatrical controversy with a performance of monologues from August Wilson’s “Fences.” After decades of self-imposed exile to escape the critics, they receive an invitation to perform the show at a women’s theater festival promising to be “angry, raucous and shamelessly gorgeous.” Recommended for ages 13 and older.
— Dec. 6-Jan. 5: Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka,” Mainstage Theatre. Adapted by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy Allen McDonald; music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newly. Five children — four of them insufferable brats — win golden tickets for a tour of a candy factory and the possibility of a lifetime supply of candy, but they must learn to follow the rules in the factory or suffer the consequences.
— Jan. 24-Feb. 9: “Love/Sick,” Circle Theatre. Written by John Cariani. The darker cousin to “Almost, Maine,” this collection of nine slightly twisted and completely hilarious short plays explores the pain and joy that come with being in love. The production will have three directors who come together to create the ultimate work of collaboration onstage. Recommended for ages 13 and older.
— Feb. 21-March 2: “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,” Circle Theatre, Youth Theatre production. Musical adaptation by Robert Kauzlaric; composed by Paul Gilvary; co-composed by William Rush. There are two sides to every story, and when the Big Bad Wolf takes the stand in Piggsylvania’s trial of the century, he finally gets his say. Appropriate for all ages.
— March 28-April 13: “Dreamgirls,” Mainstage Theatre. Book and lyrics by Tom Eyen; music by Henry Krieger. The Tony Award-winning stage musical chronicles the meteoric rise of The Dreams, a trio of Black female singers in the turbulent music industry of the 1960s-70s. Appropriate for ages 10 and older.
— May 9-18: Disney’s “101 Dalmatians, Kids,” Mainstage Theatre, Youth Theatre production. Music and lyrics by Mal Leven, Randy Rogel, Richard Gibbs, Brian Smith, Martin Lee Fuller and Dan Root; based on the novel by Dodie Smith. Pet owners Roger and Anita are living happily in London with their Dalmatians until Anita’s former classmate, the monstrous Cruella De Vil, plots to steal their new litter of puppies for a new fur coat. Appropriate for all ages.
— June 6-22: “Twelfth Night, A Beach Party,” Circle Theatre. Written by William Shakespeare; adapted by Scott Dunlap. This beach-themed version of Shakespeare’s famous story, by the Theatre Centre’s director of production, follows the tangled web of mistaken identities, love triangles and mischievous schemes in the kingdom of Illyria. Appropriate for ages 10 and above.
— July 18-Aug. 3: “The SpongeBob Musical,” Mainstage Theatre. Book by Kyle Jarrow; based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg. In this stage show based on the animated series, the citizens of Bikini Bottom must come together to save their undersea world when it’s imperiled by a volcano. Appropriate for all ages.