VIDEO: The Henegar Center Announces New Season Schedule, Will Include Something For Everyone

17th season will include something for everyone

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA –The Henegar Center’s 17th season will include something for everyone.

A mad, revengeful barber, a young orphan, some rockin’ nuns, a trip to Vegas, and a romantic look at Madison County will grace the main stage of The Henegar Center.

Upstairs at the Henegar boasts all female leading ladies. “It’s the time of women and their empowerment,” says Hank Rion, Artistic Director.

“Women are speaking out all over the country right now; we should hear their voice on stage, too.” The new season will feature five main stage shows and three shows in the black box.

The Henegar Center’s commitment to bringing life to the old and new has been a focus for many years.

In October, the stage is set for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. First opened on Broadway in 1979, Sweeney Todd has had multiple revivals including the latest at Barrow Street Theatre Off-Broadway in February of 2017.

In December, it will be a hard-knock life for this family favorite. Annie (1977) boasts seven Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Choreography.

In January, Sister Act brings religion to the stage with ridiculous fun. Honeymoon in Vegas will bring carefree laughter as we follow the antics of a love triangle.

Bridges of Madison County will complete the main stage season in May. The three plays chosen for the Upstairs at The Henegar give voices to strong women.

First in September, Dogfight, Pasek and Paul offer a look at Rose, a seemingly plain woman, who provides a look at compassion and love to three egotistical men.

ABOVE VIDEO: Securing the rights to a musical or play is no easy feat. Often there are mountains of paperwork and tough negotiations with production houses. Artistic Director Hank Rion speaks on this arduous process and the rewards that come with it.

In December, The Henegar will offer an alternative holiday showing to the main stage with The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris.

This show offers a little snark with your holiday cheer. In February, I and You by Lauren Gunderson gives us a look at youth, love, life, and the strange beauty of human connectedness.

For the final production in the black box venue, Artistic Director, Rion, brings you Ugly Lies the Bone by Lindsey Ferrentino.

This playwright is a local gem. Ferrentino, from Merritt Island, provides a glimpse into a returning female soldier after a unimaginable injury.

The black box productions will run for two weeks with four shows per week. The Main Stage will continue with three week runs with three shows per week.

Rion says, “The 2017-2018 season is diverse and wide-ranging; the 17th season promises to be a season of love and empowerment.”

The Henegar Center 2017-2018 SEASON/AT A GLANCE

• September 7 – 17, 2017: Dogfight, Upstairs at the Henegar
• October 6 – 22, 2017: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Main Stage
• December 1 – 17, 2017: Annie, Main Stage
• December 7 – 10, 2017: The Santaland Diaries, Upstairs at the Henegar
• January 19 – February 4, 2018: Sister Act, Main Stage
• February 8 – 18, 2018: I and You, Upstairs at the Henegar
• March 9 – 25, 2018: Honeymoon in Vegas, Main Stage
• April 12 – 22, 2018: Ugly Lies the Bone, Upstairs at the Henegar
• May 4 – 20, 2018: The Bridges of Madison County, Main Stage

THE SEASON/PLAY BY PLAY

ABOVE VIDEO: Behind the Music: “Dogfight” Composers Benj Pasek & Justin Paul.

Dogfight
By Benji Pasek and Justin Paul
September 7 – 17, 2017
Upstairs at the Henegar

In November 1963 before their deployment to a small but growing conflict in Southeast Asia, three servicemen set out for one final boys’ night of partying and maybe a little trouble.

But, when Corporal Birdlace meets Rose, a waitress whom he enlists to win a cruel bet with his fellow recruits, he soon learns the rules of the game and gets a lesson in love and compassion.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler
October 6 – 22, 2017
Main Stage

Sondheim’s endlessly inventive tale of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a masterful, thrilling musical of revenge. Sweeney, after being wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment by the corrupt Judge Turpin, resumes his work in his barber shop.

When he discovers his wife has killed herself and his daughter been kidnapped, he vows to get revenge by any means necessary. He enlists the assistance of Mrs. Lovett, a baker struggling to earn a living.

After swearing vengeance against the judge that tore his family apart, Sweeney and Lovett plot a unique plan that helps them both and leads them down a dangerous path with deadly consequences.

Annie
by Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse, and Martin Charnin
December 1 – 17, 2017
Main Stage

Annie is the journey of a plunky, red-haired girl who dreams of life outside her dreary orphanage. Annie meets the famous billionaire Daddy Warbucks. One week turns into many, and the only person standing in the way of Annie’s fun is Miss Hannigan, the gin-soaked ruler of the orphanage. Annie is the perfect family-friendly musical.

The Santaland Diaries
December 7 – 10, 2017
Upstairs at the Henegar

ABOVE VIDEO: The Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s Company’s 2016 staging of ‘The SantaLand Diaries,’ , which 

(Season Add-On: Not part of the season ticket package)

Crumpet the Elf shows up to share his comic encounters during the height of the holiday crunch.

The outrageous holiday comedy, written by NPR comic genius David Sedaris, offers hilarious holiday hijinks in this acclaimed one-man show. Looking for a little more snark with your holiday cheer?

The Santaland Diaries are the sure cure for the common Christmas show.

Sister Act
by Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner
January 19 – February 4, 2018
Main Stage

Sister Act tells the hilarious story of Deloris Van Cartier, a wannabe diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a crime and the cops hide her in the last place anyone would think to look—a convent.

Under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own. These nuns will have you rockin’ in the aisles!

I and You
by Lauren Gunderson
February 8 – 18, 2018
Upstairs at the Henegar

ABOVE VIDEO: A scene from the hit I and You by Lauren Gunderson

Anthony arrives at Caroline’s door with a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and an urgent assignment from their high school lit teacher.

Caroline is sick and hasn’t been to school in months, but she is as quick and sardonic as Anthony is athletic and popular. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this seemingly vanilla poetry assignment unlocks a much deeper mystery that has brought them together.

I and You gives homage to youth, life, love, and the strange beauty of human connectedness.

Honeymoon in Vegas
by Andrew Bergman and Jason Robert Brown
March 9 – 25, 2018
Main Stage

Honeymoon in Vegas tells the story of Jack Singer, a regular guy with an extraordinary fear of marriage, who finally gets up the nerve to ask his girlfriend Betsy to marry him. But when they head to Las Vegas to get hitched, smooth talking gambler Tommy Korman, looking for a second chance at love, falls head over heels for Betsy.

Realizing what he’s about to lose, Jack is determined to do anything to give his love story a happy ending. It all adds up to an action-packed honeymoon that no one will ever forget!

Ugly Lies the Bone
by Lindsey Ferrentino
April 6 – 15, 2018
Upstairs at the Henegar

ABOVE VIDEO: Director Jessica Holt, Set Designer Alexander Woodward, and Projection Designer Shawn Boyle talk about the Alliance’s production of “Ugly Lies the Bone” and how they created a virtual world on the stage.

In this searing drama, Jess is a young soldier who returns to her Florida hometown with more than the emotional scars of war. Jess soon realizes that things at home have changed even more than she has. Focused on healing, Jess turns to the use of virtual reality therapy to escape her pain and put the pieces of her life back together.

Ugly Lies the Bone shines a light on the visible and invisible wounds of returning injured veterans.

The Bridges of Madison County
by Marsha Norman and Jason Robert Brown
May 4 – 20, 2018
Main Stage

Francesca is a dedicated housewife, living a simple, yet dispassionate, life. She looks forward to a rare four days alone on her Iowa farm when her family heads to the 1965 State Fair.

Francesca is taken aback by a handsome National Geographic photographer named Robert, who asks for directions. The two connect; starting an emotional four-day love affair that has repercussions long after it’s over. However, what happens in those four days may very well alter the course of Francesca’s life.

Based on the bestselling novel by Robert James Waller and featuring a lush, Tony award-winning score, The Bridges of Madison County tells the tale of two people caught between duty and desire.

Tickets and Subscriptions – 2017-2018 Season Pricing:

Main Stage Subscription:
$125 adult
$115 senior/military

Flex Pass (8 admissions):
$180

Main Stage Single Tickets:
$28 adult
$25 student/military
$16 student

Upstairs at the Henegar Single Tickets:
$22 adult
$20 senior/military
$15 students

The Santaland Diaries add-on for Subscriber Pricing:
$19 adult
$17 senior/military
$12 student

Season Tickets will go on sale April 3, 2017.

New and renewing subscribers have the first opportunity to purchase tickets. Subscribers enjoy free ticket exchanges, payment plans, discounted extra tickets, and the best seats at the best prices, guaranteed.

A single ticket on-sale date will be announced at a later time.

Note: Plans for the new season are subject to change.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE BREVARD COUNTY ENTERTAINMENT

Similar Stories