Playhouse on Park has announced the shows in its 16th season, including the world premiere of a new Jacques Lamarre comedy, the New England premiere of a musical about ugly Christmas sweaters and the Connecticut premiere of an off-Broadway hit about the filming of “Jaws.” But the biggest news in that announcement might be that the theater’s resident dance company will be making its annual show in January 2025 its final full-scale performance. The 22-year-old stop/time dance theater , a community-based dance troupe, actually predates Playhouse on the Park, which was founded in 2009.
Longtime artistic director Darlene Zoller is a co-founder and has directed or choreographed many of its shows. An annual stop/time show has been part of the theater’s programming since it began. The 2024-25 season opens Oct.
2-20, 2024, with the first Connecticut production of the 2023 recent off-Broadway hit “The Shark is Broken,” a comedy about the making of the mega-hit 1975 movie “Jaws,” specifically among the actors Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw. Alcohol and seawater are involved. The East Coast premiere of a fashion comedy holiday show “The Ugly Xmas Sweater Musical” runs Dec.
4-22, 2024. The show had its world premiere just six months ago at Theatre Under the Stars in Texas, which is making it an annual tradition. The musical, by Dan Knechtges (the artistic director of TUTS) and Megan Larche Dominick, takes place at an office party for a failing business.
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