Peninsula Players Theatre Announces 2022 Season

By Linda Fortunato, Artistic Director

It is my pleasure to share with you the lineup for Peninsula Players Theatre’s 87th season and my first as Artistic Director. Throughout my history with the Players, I’ve always looked forward to the season
announcement and the promise of another magical year of creation and community. The past several months have been an adventure in reading and researching plays. I’ve revisited old favorites, discovered new authors, and cleared the shelves of my local library to assemble this mix of plays for
our beloved Theatre in a Garden.

Our 2022 season will open with the romantic and stirring play, The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash. The Curry family is trying to keep their cattle ranch alive during a drought, while the only daughter, Lizzie, deals with her lack of romantic prospects and the concern she will end up an old maid. When the charming stranger, Starbuck, appears promising to bring rain, he might be the answer to both problems. Filled with romance and humor, this beautiful story is one of connection, hope, finding oneself, and learning to believe — even in the unbelievable. This lovely play was the inspiration for the 1956 film of the same name and the musical 110 IN THE SHADE. I am excited to bring this uplifting tale to the stage to open the season.

Next up is Frederick Knott’s thrilling mystery Write Me a Murder. Mr. Knott wrote two other terrific mysteries that have been audience favorites at the Players: Wait Until Dark and Dial M For Murder. In this play, two brothers are dealing with the sale of the old family estate to a brash investor. The
younger of the brothers, a mystery writer, teams up with the investor’s wife, also a budding writer. They dream up the perfect murder. As the plot twists and turns, the line between reality and fiction blurs. Playing Suzy in the 2009 production of WAIT UNTIL DARK remains one of my favorite Players experiences. I was thrilled to discover another play by the same author. The play kept me guessing right up until the final moments…which I am certainly not going to give away now!

The third show is a comedy by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Lindsay-Abaire, which debuted offBroadway in 2014. In Ripcord, we meet mismatched roommates at an assisted living facility. The setin-her-ways Abby is not happy about sharing her room with sunny new resident, Marilyn. In hopes of getting Marylin to move to a different room, Abby proposes a seemingly harmless bet. The pair go to incredible lengths to win, even recruiting family and staff to join in the antics. As each step becomes
more absurd than the last, deeper truths are revealed. This hilarious odd couple will stop at nothing, no matter how great the mischief.

Our 2019 audiences experienced the beauty of Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky. Another terrific work by Gunderson, I and You, will be our fourth show. Caroline and Anthony are high school classmates who have never had much interaction. Caroline has been out of school for months due to an illness and is surprised when Anthony arrives unannounced to work on an English assignment together. At first, the two seem to have nothing in common. Throughout the afternoon, we share in their developing friendship as the two spar, laugh, and begin to uncover the mystery that may have brought them together. As I finished my first read of this play, I was incredibly moved and knew instantly I wanted it to be a part of the season.

We will close the season with the wonderfully funny and inventive musical, Murder for Two. In this fast-paced comic whodunit, two actors play over a dozen characters, sing, and play the onstage piano! When a famous novelist is murdered at his own surprise party, all of the guests become suspects. The first to arrive on the scene is an eager small-town policeman who hopes to solve the case and fulfill his dream of becoming a detective. This lighthearted piece spoofs every beloved mystery device from Agatha Christie to the board game Clue. Murder for Two premiered at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in 2011, and went on to a successful run off-Broadway before touring the country. This musical will be a high-spirited and playful way to end the season.

I look forward to gathering with the company to bring these terrific stories to life on our stage.