BECCA MARTIN-BROWN

bmartin@nwaonline.com

Pat Metheny will be first March 13. The JJ Grey & Mofro Olustee Tour will follow March 14.

Then Arkansas Public Theatre will return to the Victory Theatre stage April 5.

Season 38 for the community theater troupe will be abbreviated to three shows, but they are all musicals and promise to be blockbusters — “Into The Woods,” April 5-7 and 11-14; “Rent,” May 31-June 2 and June 6-9; and “Kinky Boots,” Aug. 2-4 and 8-11.

Auditions for “Into the Woods” will be Jan. 22-23.

And before the first musical is even cast, audiences will also know what six shows are coming in Season 39. The Season Leaks announcement will take place Jan. 19.

Auditions and rehearsals for “Into the Woods” will take place at the Experimental House in downtown Rogers, says Lisa Turpin, APT’s director of operations. The location for Season Leaks 39 is pending.

Long the home of Arkansas Public Theatre, the 1927 Victory Theater is in the middle of a renovation, partially funded through a Walton Family Foundation grant, that will remove cabaret seating and replace it with theater seats, along with technical upgrades.

“We are lucky to work with a city which values the arts as deeply and as fully as the city of Rogers,” says Ed McClure, APT artistic director. “Hats off to Mayor Greg Hines and Director of Community Development John McCurdy for their vision and leadership.

“We are very excited and thankful for this amazing opportunity.”

APT cut short its Season 37, completing its summer musical, “It Shoulda Been You,” on July 30 so construction could begin.

“Things seemed to start slow with the renovations, but by all accounts, the renovations are on track or in some instances, ahead of schedule,” McClure says.

As far as juggling musical acts and APT’s use of the Victory Theatre, McClure says it’s “a work in progress, and we are all learning on the fly.” The city, he adds, will announce and promote the programming it’s scheduling, and APT will announce and promote its productions.

In “Into the Woods,” James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim take everyone’s favorite storybook characters and bring them together for a timeless, yet relevant, piece … and a rare modern classic,” Turpin describes.

“The Tony Award-winning book and score are both enchanting and touching,” she says in a media release. “The story follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. Everyone’s wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results.

“One of Sondheim’s most popular works, ‘Into the Woods’ is a musically sophisticated show.”

“Rent” — with auditions April 8-9 — is Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking story about love on New York’s Lower East Side, where impoverished young artists and musicians are struggling to create while also surviving HIV and AIDS. It is loosely based on Puccini’s “La Boheme” and is best known for the song “Seasons of Love.”

Wrapping up Season 38 will be “Kinky Boots,” with auditions May 20-21. Trying to live up to his father’s legacy and save his family shoe factory, Charlie finds inspiration in the form of Lola, a fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos. With book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, “‘Kinky Boots’ is the big-hearted musical extravaganza that won six Tonys including Best Musical, the Grammy for Best Musical Theatre album and London’s Olivier Award for Best Musical,” says Turpin.

Auditions for Season 39 shows will begin Aug. 5-6 with the first performances Sept. 20-22 and 26-29.

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FYI

Find Out More

For details on Arkansas Public Theatre’s Season 38, email Lisa Turpin, APT director of operations, at manager@arkansaspublictheatre.org or call 636-8988.