Next to Normal,��with book and lyrics��by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness. Winner of three 2009 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Score and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize,��Next to Normal��was also chosen as “one of the year’s ten best shows” by critics around the country, including��The Los Angeles��Times,��The Washington Post,��Rolling Stone��and��The New York Times.

Dad’s an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son are bright, wise-cracking teens, appearing to be a typical American family. And yet their lives are anything but normal��because the mother has been battling bipolar disorder for 16 years.��Next to Normal��takes audiences into the minds and hearts of each character, presenting their family’s story with love, sympathy and heart.

This deeply moving piece of theatre provides a wonderful opportunity for performers to explore dramatic material and showcase vocal talents with an energetic pop/rock score.��Next to Normal��is an emotional powerhouse that addresses such issues as grieving a loss, ethics in modern psychiatry,��and suburban life and is ideal for community theatres, as well as colleges and regional theatre companies.

The post Next to Normal first appeared on FPAC.

The post Next to Normal appeared first on FPAC.

Inspired by the true story and based on the book Radium Girls, These Shining Lives illuminates the courage and resilience of the young women who worked at the Radium Dial Company in the 1920s, painting watch faces with luminous paint while unknowingly poisoning themselves.

At the heart of the play is Catherine, a devoted wife and mother whose optimism reflects the promise of the American Dream. Alongside her friends and co-workers, she finds independence and camaraderie in the factory until mysterious illnesses begin to surface. As their health declines, the women uncover the devastating truth about the radium they were told was safe.

What follows is a gripping fight for justice against a powerful corporation determined to silence them. Even as their bodies weaken, their resolve strengthens. Refusing to be dismissed or forgotten, Catherine and her friends challenge a system that views them as expendable, transforming personal tragedy into a landmark battle for workers’ rights and corporate accountability.

Both intimate and sweeping, These Shining Lives is a deeply moving testament to friendship, love, and the enduring power of ordinary people to create extraordinary change. Their story continues to resonate, reminding us that even in the face of injustice, the human spirit can shine brilliantly.

The post These Shining Lives first appeared on FPAC.

The post These Shining Lives appeared first on FPAC.

When legendary novelist Mick Stockton dies, he leaves behind more than a celebrated literary legacy. His three daughters inherited the family’s Cape Cod home, control of his estate, and a complicated bond forged in brilliance, rivalry, and long-buried wounds. Years later, the Stockton sisters remain fiercely intelligent, quick-witted, and unflinchingly honest, bound together by love as much as by unresolved grief.

Over the course of one emotionally charged weekend, the men in their lives attempt to navigate the formidable force of this tight-knit clan and find their place within a family that guards its legacy closely. As old resentments resurface and surprising confessions come to light, loyalties are tested and identities are called into question.

Sharp, raw, and laugh-out-loud funny, Of Good Stock is a poignant exploration of inheritance, ambition, and the stories we tell about ourselves. With biting humor and heartfelt insight, Larissa FastHorse crafts a compelling portrait of family dysfunction and devotion, proving that even the most chaotic storms can reveal unexpected tenderness.

The post Of Good Stock first appeared on FPAC.

The post Of Good Stock appeared first on FPAC.

Shakespeare’s sparkling early comedy bursts to life under the open sky in this lively outdoor production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. At its heart is the devoted friendship between Valentine and Proteus, two young men whose bond is put to the ultimate test when they fall for the same woman. When Proteus betrays both his best friend and his first love in pursuit of the clever and captivating Silvia, loyalty gives way to jealousy, and romance becomes delightfully complicated.

What follows is a whirlwind of disguises, banishment, comic servants, musical mischief, and even a band of outlaws in the forest. Julia, determined and resourceful, disguises herself as a boy to follow the fickle Proteus, leading to mistaken identities and tender revelations.

Filled with youthful passion, poetic language, and playful humor, The Two Gentlemen of Verona explores themes of friendship, forgiveness, and the transformative power of love. Performed outdoors, this charming comedy invites audiences to revel in Shakespeare’s wit and romance in a setting that echoes the play’s adventurous spirit.

The post The Two Gentlemen of Verona first appeared on FPAC.

The post The Two Gentlemen of Verona appeared first on FPAC.

Dive into the dark world of “King Richard III,” where Shakespeare masterfully depicts the rise and fall of one of England’s most notorious kings. Follow Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as he ruthlessly climbs the ladder of power, leaving a trail of manipulation and murder in his wake.

The post Richard III first appeared on FPAC.

The post Richard III appeared first on FPAC.

Four (very) well-intentioned theatre people walk into an elementary school. The work at hand: a Thanksgiving pageant that won’t ruffle��any��feathers. What could possibly go wrong? In MacArthur Genius Larissa FastHorse’s skewering and satirical comedy, well, just about everything. Rambunctious, thorny and not altogether politically correct,��The Thanksgiving Play��serves up the hypocrisies of woke America on a big, family-style, platter. Come get ya some.

The post The Thanksgiving Play first appeared on FPAC.

The post The Thanksgiving Play appeared first on FPAC.

Daphne du Maurier’s short story, also the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, is boldly adapted by Conor McPherson—a gripping, unsettling, and moving look at human relationships in the face of societal collapse. In an isolated house, strangers Nat and Diane take shelter from relentless masses of attacking birds. They find relative sanctuary but not comfort or peace; there’s no electricity, little food, and a nearby neighbor may still be alive and watching them. Another refugee, the young and attractive Julia, arrives with some news of the outside world, but her presence also brings discord. Their survival becomes even more doubtful when paranoia takes hold of the makeshift fortress—an internal threat to match that of the birds outside.

The post The Birds first appeared on FPAC.

The post The Birds appeared first on FPAC.

From the creators of the record-breaking Broadway sensation,��The Producers, comes this monster new musical comedy. The comedy genius, Mel Brooks, adapts his legendarily funny film into a brilliant stage creation –��Young Frankenstein!

Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced “Fronk-en-steen”) inherits his family’s estate in Transylvania. With the help of a hunchbacked sidekick, Igor (pronounced “Eye-gore”), and a leggy lab assistant, Inga (pronounced normally), Frederick finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors. “It’s alive!” he exclaims as he brings to life a creature to rival his grandfather’s. Eventually, of course, the monster escapes and hilarity continuously abounds.

The post The Mel Brooks Musical
Young Frankenstein first appeared on FPAC.

The post The Mel Brooks Musical<br>Young Frankenstein appeared first on FPAC.