Plans For 2012 Season Already Underway

By Dylan Roche

Outside, it may still be the chilly winter season, but things are already beginning to heat up at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre (ASGT). The local Annapolis theatre venue, which has been bringing “theatre under the stars” on its open-air stage for over 50 years, has plans in motion for its 2012 season with a schedule of three popular musicals and a slate of talented area directors.

The summer season will open May 24 with Cole Porter’s lively musical, “Anything Goes,” which follows the wild misadventures aboard the ocean liner S.S. American as a stowaway named Billy Crocker romantically pursues heiress Hope Harcourt. Director Jerry Vess, who previously directed 2011’s “The Marvelous Wonderettes” and 2010’s “Forever Plaid” for ASGT, will return to bring fresh life to the popular show.

To help hopeful candidates prepare for “Anything Goes” auditions, ASGT will be offering a free tap workshop led by the production’s choreographer, Rachel LaBonte. The workshop is scheduled Feb. 11 at Anne Arundel Community College with sign-in at 1:00pm and the workshop going from 1:30-3:00pm.

In July, ASGT will bring Annapolis to the streets of “Avenue Q,” a musical spoof of Sesame Street for grown-ups, where the puppets deal with issues a little more mature than learning numbersand the alphabet. “Avenue Q” will be directed by Darnell Morris, who previously directed 2011’s “Hairspray” and 2010’s Ruby Griffith Award-winning “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The production will run July 5 through July 29.

The season will conclude with “Xanadu,” the rollicking roller-skate musical based about a Greek Olympian muse and her attempts to inspire an artist in 1980s California. “Xanadu,” which runs Aug.9 through Sept. 2, will be directed by Melissa Huston, director of ASGT’s successful production of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story.”

A roller-skating workshop is currently being planned to prepare those auditioning for “Xanadu.” Details will be posted on the ASGT website as they develop.

To enrich the experience of Annapolitan theatergoing, ASGT is once again partnering with downtown restaurants for Eats & Seats, which offers a discount off either ticket or dinner bill. A list of participating restaurants is available on the website.

Auditions for ASGT productions are scheduled for late February and early March. Season tickets are currently available, and tickets to single shows will go on sale April 1. To find out more information on auditions or tickets, visit them on the web at www.summergarden.com.