Live theatre performances are returning to Dwyer Memorial Park this summer, as Cortland Repertory Theatre prepares for their 50th Anniversary Summer Season! Audience members will be treated to five live productions, including three musicals and two plays, from June 8 to August 20.
Shows will return inside the Little York Pavilion in Preble, rather than outdoors as was last summer's season. Decisions regarding face-mask and vaccination card requirements will be made closer to the the season's start date.
FACILITY UPDATES
To help with safety factors and health concerns, CRT installed AtmosAir Solutions ionization technology last fall to improve the indoor air quality in all the theatre’s facilities, including the Pavilion’s theatre and backstage areas. Testing confirms that the addition of BPI technology reduces the presence of germs, mold, and viruses - including coronavirus - by 99.92% within 30 minutes of exposure.
TICKET INFORMATION
Cortland Repertory offers single performance tickets, or season passes. Visit the Box Office at 24 Port Watson Street in Cortland or call in your order at 800-427-6160. CRT accepts cash, check or VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express credit cards.
Single Ticket - Adults
Center Section: $38
Side Section: $36
Single Ticket - Seniors/Veterans/First Responders
Center Section: $36
Side Section: $34
Single Ticket - 22 and under
All seats $25
Full Season - 1 ticket to each of the 5 summer productions
Center Section (all performances): $170
Side Section (all performances): $160
2022 SUMMER SCHEDULE
HAIR (THE MUSICAL)
June 8-18, 2022
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Kicking off the summer is the CRT debut of the tribal rock musical HAIR, with book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, and music by Galt MacDermot. As relevant today as it was when it was first produced in 1968 on Broadway, the show examines what it means to be a young person in a changing world, and explores ideas of identity, community, global responsibility, and peace. Many of the songs became radio hits including Aquarius, Good Morning Starshine, Let the Sun Shine, and the title song. Patrons are advised that the show contains adult language, simulated drug use, brief full nudity, and sexually explicit scenes. Trey Compton, who has helmed CRT’s productions of Honky Tonk Angels, Legally Blonde, and others, directs. Choreographer Leon Glover and music director Michael Maketa make their CRT debuts. Additionally, former performing intern Jamar Ortiz returns to CRT, this time in the position of Director of Culture and Inclusion for this production.
OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS
June 22 - July 2, 2022
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It's CRT revival, of one of their most beloved comedies, OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS, by Joe DiPietro. First produced at CRT in 2005, this hysterical comedy is for, and about, the whole family. Nick is a young Italian American living in New York City who travels to New Jersey to meet with both sets of grandparents for dinner every Sunday. That is until he accepts his dream job in Seattle. The news sets the grandparents reeling, and then scheming, as they find ways to keep him from moving - including playing matchmaker with a lovely young lady who has no idea what she’s getting into. “The charm and the humor of the show is that audiences will swear they’re seeing their own family up on stage,” Thompson says. Dr. Deena Conley, a professor, and director in the SUNY Cortland Theatre Department makes her CRT directorial debut with this production.
KISS ME KATE
July 6-16, 2022
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Another “CRT revival” takes the stage with the classic musical KISS ME, KATE, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Sam and Bella Spewack. Last seen at CRT in 1984, it’s “another opening of another show” and sparks are flying! Actor/director Fred Graham attempts to mount a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew, with his leading lady, and ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi in the leading role. Mix in a flirtatious ingenue, her gambler boyfriend, and some musically inclined gangsters, and you have the recipe for a sharp, witty, and riotous evening of big laughs, hot dancing, and some of Porter’s most classic tunes, including So In Love, Too Darn Hot, and Always True to You (In My Fashion). Mark Reynolds directs, as a follow up to his previous CRT productions of Newsies, Footloose, and Born Yesterday. Choreographer Bryan Knowlton, who worked on CRT’s Mama Mia! and Saturday Night Fever also returns, and Canaan Harris making his CRT debut as Music Director.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
July 20-30, 2022
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CRT welcomes the regional premiere of a new stage version of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, adapted by Ken Ludwig. “Our audiences have always loved Christie’s mysteries, so it seemed right to present this new version in our 50th season,” Thompson said. On a winter’s evening in 1934, a snowdrift stops the luxurious Orient Express, literally in its tracks. By morning, it is one passenger less; an American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed, his door locked from the inside. With a long list of suspects, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer before they strike again. Thompson, who previously handled Christie’s Appointment with Death and Cards on the Table among other CRT productions, will direct.
MARY POPPINS
August 3 - 20, 2022
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Ending the summer will be a special production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s stage version of the family classic MARY POPPINS, running for three weeks. This musical is based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney film, with original music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, and a book by Julian Fellowes. New songs and additional music and lyrics were written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The charming story of the “practically perfect” nanny is narrated by chimney sweep and jack-of-all-trades Bert and focuses on the troubled Banks family. It seems that young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the nanny who advises that "Anything can happen if you let it!" All those favorite songs are included: Chim Chimney, Jolly Holiday, Spoonful of Sugar, Feed the Birds, Let’s Go Fly a Kite, Step in Time plus some new “classic” tunes.
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