Corinth Theatre-Arts

2013 - 2014 Season
Starting Fresh: Tales from the American South

August 8-11, 15-18, 2013
Main Stage

Sponsored by Albright Storage
and Physicians Urgent Care
Adapted by Christopher Sergel,
based on the novel by Harper Lee
Rating: PG-13
(Strong racial language, mild language)

It’s 1935 and young Scout Finch lives with her father, attorney Atticus Finch and her older brother, Jem, in small and peaceful Maycomb, Alabama. However, tension and conflict disrupt the town when a white woman accuses Tom Robinson, a black man, of rape. Atticus takes on the unpopular – and dangerous -- job of defending Robinson while Scout, Jem and a friend investigate the neighborhood legend of the never-seen Boo Radley, reportedly held captive in his own home. Atticus proves Tom’s innocence at the trial but the all-white jury convicts Tom, anyway – leading to more heartache as Scout and her family face life’s harsh realities.

Auditions: 6 p.m., July 1 & 2
Cast: 12 males, 8 females, extras

September 19-22, 2013
Second Stage

By Neil Simon
Rating: Restricted
(Strong language, mild violence,
adult content, mild substance abuse)

Written by Neil Simon, this play focuses on U.S. Army recruit Eugene Morris Jerome at basic training in Biloxi, Mississippi, during World War II. Eugene wants to be a writer, so he keeps detailed memoirs about his experiences, which include a difficult drill sergeant, unpalatable mess-hall meals and a visit to a local prostitute with five other enlisted men. He learns about authority, danger, sex, bigotry and love while discovering that life can be both ugly and tender. Although Simon is known for his comedies, “Biloxi Blues” is one of his darker autobiographical works from his “Eugene” trilogy that also includes “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Broadway Bound.”

Auditions: 6 p.m., Aug. 12 & 13
Cast: 7 males, 2 females

October 24-27, 2013
Main Stage

Sponsored by Garrett Eye Clinic
and Kimberly-Clark
By Alfred Uhry
Rating: PG (mild language)

What do an elderly Jewish woman and a black man working as her chauffeur have in common, especially in mid-20th-century Atlanta? Not much – at first, anyway. But this beloved story of how Daisy Werthan and Hoke Coleburn grow to respect, appreciate and even love each other during a 25-year-span is a heartwarming audience favorite. The play gently and quietly looks at difficulties people face when they’re labeled as “different” or “helpless,” even when they’re as strong and independent – even stubborn – as these two.

Auditions: 6 p.m., Sept. 23 & 24
Cast: 2 males, 1 female

December 12-15, 2013
December 10-11, 2013 (school shows)
Youth Stage

Sponsored by Caterpillar Inc.
and Cooley & Labas Financial

Written by William Gibson, based on Helen Keller’s autobiography “The Story of My Life”
Rating: PG (mild violence)

– This inspiring and uplifting play tells the story of how 20-year-old Annie Sullivan, through sheer determination, taught the seemingly unteachable young Helen Keller and broke through Helen’s dark and silent world. Born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, Helen loses her sight and hearing after an illness at 19 months. Her parents love her but cannot – or will not – control her behavior, which worsens as she gets older. Desperate, the Kellers hire a teacher from Boston, and Annie arrives at the Keller home to immediate distrust and dissension. She perseveres, however, and one day, at the water pump behind the house, Helen suddenly understands what words are and how she can use them to communicate.

Auditions: 6 p.m., Oct. 28 & 29
Cast: 7 women, 5 men, 6 girls

February 28, 2014
February 25-27, 2014 (school shows)
Youth Stage

Sponsored by LINK
Based on the short story by O. Henry,
adapted by Alan Keith Smith
Rating: G

This adaption of O. Henry’s short story, from A. Keith Smith of the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre, is CT-A’s traveling school show for the season. The story follows two hapless men trying to make some fast money when they arrive in the small town of Summit, Alabama. They decide to kidnap a local banker’s son. But the plan starts to unravel when the three go on a camping trip -- the boy dons the persona of Red Chief and terrorizes the two men so much that they gradually lower their ransom demand as they suffer from Red Chief’s playful antics and pranks. And, of course, as with most O. Henry stories, there’s a twist you won’t see coming. This comedy is an excellent way to teach about irony and exaggeration.

Auditions: 4 p.m., Jan. 13 & 14
Cast: 2 men, 1 boy (could be teenagers)

April 3-6, 2014
Second Stage

Sponsored by Columbus Scrap Materials
Rating: R (Strong language
and sexual situations)
By Del Shores

Winters, Texas, is scandalized when good Christian widow and grandmother Peggy Williamson dies after tripping over her married lover’s wooden legs in a disreputable motel room. Her family scrambles to contain the gossip, but Peggy’s ignominious end triggers a downward spiral of embarrassments for the Williamsons. There’s Brother Boy, who thinks he’s Tammy Wynette. The wife of Peggy’s lover wants revenge, nobody can agree on the funeral arrangements and a young gay son just wants his mother’s acceptance. Naturally, Peggy’s funeral is where this simmering stew of family emotion finally boils over. Southern playwright Del Shores makes us laugh and sympathize with this kooky but lovable Texan family.

Auditions: 6 p.m., Feb. 24 & 25
Cast: 6 males, 6 females

May 22-25, 29-31 & June 1, 2014
Main Stage Musical

Sponsored by Developmental Industries,
Corinth Coca-Cola Bottling Works

Adapted from the novel “The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain,
written by William Hauptman,
music and lyrics by Roger Miller
Rating: PG-13 (mild language, racial language)

Based on Mark Twain’s classic 1884 novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” this musical is set on the pre-Civil War Mississippi River. Impetuous and freedom-loving Huck leaves his Missouri town – floating down the river in a raft -- when his
alcoholic and violent father wins custody. Along the way, Huck meets runaway slave Jim, who is searching for his wife and children up North. Soon, the two are joined by the Duke and the King, who tell Jim and Huck that they’re deposed French
royalty but actually are con men and escaped convicts. After some (mis)adventures that reunite Huck with his best friend, Tom Sawyer, Huck discovers that Jim‘s slave owner died and freed Jim in her will. Jim continues searching for his family on his own and Huck decides to move out West to escape civilizing influences.

Auditions: 6 p.m., April 7 & 8
Cast: 6 men, 6 women, plus ensemble and musicians

RATINGS SYSTEM:

This season, CT-A offers its productions in three ways: Main Stage, Second Stage and Youth Stage.

• Main Stage productions are considered appropriate for most audiences.
• Second Stage productions are more appropriate for adult audiences.
• Youth Stage productions are appropriate for general audiences.

Each play also has a suggested rating of General, Parental Guidance, Parental Guidance below age 13 and Restricted. Explanations for the ratings – language, violence, content, etc. -- are included as needed.

See shows from past CT-A seasons