The upcoming season at the Mansfield Playhouse will be a mix of old and new.
"All of the main stage productions except 'Said the Spider to the Spy' we have done at least once, many, many years ago," said Doug Wertz, artistic director . "They're good shows."
As usual, the Playhouse will produce nine shows, including two on the 2nd Stage and two from the Youth Theatre.
"Caught in the Net" will be the first production on the main stage of the Playhouse's 58th season. It is the sequel to "Run for Your Wife." The play finds bigamist taxi driver John Smith keeping his two families in different parts of London, both happy and blissfully unaware of the other.
Complications arise when his teenage children meet on the internet and are anxious to meet in person since they have so much in common — name, surname and a taxi-driving dad. Keeping them apart plunges John into a hell hole of his own making.
"Caught in the Net" will run Sept. 6-7 and Sept. 13-15.
"Death Trap" tells the story of Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers. While comfortably ensconced in his charming Connecticut home, Sidney is struggling to overcome a dry spell that has resulted in a string of failures and a shortage of funds.
A possible break in his fortunes occurs when he receives a script in the seminar he has been conducting at a nearby college. Sidney's plan is to offer collaboration to the student for co-credit, or is it?
"It's an old classic," Wertz said. "It's got a lot of twists and turns."
Show dates are Oct. 18-19 and Oct. 25-27.
'It's a Wonderful Life' to give patrons chance to experience radio play
"It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play" will be this season's Christmas show. The beloved American holiday classic comes to life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. The ensemble cast will play a few dozen characters as George Bailey considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve.
Wertz said he is looking forward to the creativity the radio play will allow. He promises it won't simply be actors standing around, talking into microphones.
"It's a Wonderful Life" will include the use of Foley art, which will show the audience how sound effects were reproduced in days gone by.
The play will run Dec. 6-7 and Dec. 13-15.
"Said the Spider to the Spy" is one of the funniest mistaken-identity comedies ever written. August Waycross borrows the identify and the Florida beach home of her friend, a best-selling romance author. A cache of heroin is left in the house by a missing guest, attracting various characters to the location.
Show dates are Feb. 28, 2025, along with March 1 and March 7-9.
The final main stage production of the 2024-25 season will be "Who's on First?" Four people find themselves reliving one horrible hour over and over as themselves, as Japanese, as British aristocrats and almost anyone else.
All concerned find themselves back at a party's beginning again and again, doomed to live that same hour over and over until they get it right. A labyrinth of hilarity leads to a shocker of an ending.
Show dates are April 18-19 and April 25-27.
Pair of productions coming to 2nd Stage
The more intimate 2nd Stage will host a pair of productions. "Wonderland Wives" is recommended for "mature audiences with very immature tastes."
Wertz emphasized that "Wonderland Wives" is not for children. As for the plot, Cinderella's Prince Charming is serving 10 years in prison, while Belle's house is overrun with little monsters and Alice is hitting the caterpillar's pipe a little too hard.
At the same time, Snow White's husband has shacked up with the three little pigs.
"Wonderland Wives" will run Nov. 15-16 and Nov. 22-23.
"Squirrel Lake" will be the other 2nd Stage offering. Three characters gather at their family's summer home on the shores of Squirrel Lake, Wisconsin, to read their recently deceased mother's will. They learn that even the unlucky in life can find happiness and contentment if they simply look for the gifts given to them.
Show dates are May 9-10 and May 16-17.
The Playhouse's Youth Theatre will put on two shows of its own. Disney's "Alice in Wonderland Jr." will run Jan. 17-18 and Jan. 24-26.
"Sometimes Disney will put things in a vault and hold the availability of some shows," Wertz said.
When young Alice finds herself in a strange world where everything seems upside down, she must find her way home — and find herself along the way. As she travels through Wonderland, she encounters all of the iconic characters that audiences have come to love.
The 2024-25 season concludes with Disney's "The Little Mermaid Jr." on June 6-7 and 13-15. In a magical underwater kingdom, Ariel, a beautiful young mermaid, longs to leave her ocean home and her fins behind and live in the world above.
Wertz said for the first time in decades, the Playhouse will have to increase ticket prices for the upcoming season while still offering affordable entertainment. He attributed the price bump to inflation.
mcaudill@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield Playhouse announces upcoming 58th season
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