Riverland Community College Theatre Director Lindsey Duoos Williams announced the Theatre Department’s 2012-2013 season today. The season is themed around “reimagining the classics;” each show is a new or lesser-known interpretation of a familiar, classic work.

The season opens October 4 with Eurydice, a play based on the classic Orpheus myth.  Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl reimagines the Orpheus myth through the eyes of its heroine, Eurydice. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects, Eurydice is a fresh look at a timeless love story. This play is appropriate for ages 12 and up.  Lindsey Duoos Williams directs.

“I’m very excited to kick our season off with Eurydice,” says Williams.  “It’s not often that you find a playwright who can take a very old story and make it feel completely new and fresh.  This show will be a challenge for our students and designers; it appears deceptively simple, but provides an opportunity for us to push ourselves even farther in terms of the technical quality of our productions and the level of theatre that we bring to Austin.”

With music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by David Ives and Paul Blake, White Christmas is a modern theatrical adaptation of the classic Paramount Pictures film starring Bing Crosby.  In this heartwarming musical opening on November 30, World War II veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have a successful song-and-dance act. With romance in mind, the two follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge, which just happens to be owned by Bob and Phil's former army commander.  Based on the beloved film, the dazzling score features classic Irving Berlin standards including “Blue Skies,” “I Love a Piano,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,” and of course, “White Christmas.” This musical is appropriate for all ages.  Lindsey Duoos Williams directs.

The Philadelphia Story by Phillip Barry will be the first production of 2013, opening on February 28. This classic romantic comedy originally starred Katharine Hepburn on Broadway as Tracy Lord, a headstrong and spoiled daughter of the privileged.  On the eve of her wedding, her ex-husband and a society reporter make an appearance, throwing a wrench into the plans.    Now best known as the basis for the hit MGM film (starring Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart), The Philadephia Story is a classic in its own right.  This play is appropriate for ages 12 and up.  Riverland Theatre adjunct instructor Susan V. Hansen will direct.

The season finishes with the Broadway musical adaptation of the classic novel Little Women, with music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and book by Allan Knee.  Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, Little Women follows the adventures of Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March as they grow up in Civil War America. The beloved story of the March sisters is timeless and deals with issues as relevant today as when they were written.. This vibrant musical soars with the sounds of personal discovery, heartache, and hope - the sounds of a young America finding its voice.  This musical is appropriate for all ages.  Little Women will be directed by Lindsey Duoos Williams.

“Audiences may already be familiar with the stories we are presenting this season,” says Williams, “but they’ve never seen them told this way.  I think it’s important for us to reexamine why these stories have stood the test of time—and what can we, as modern theatre artists, bring to them to make them relevant in this day and age?”

Riverland Theatre and Music will also co-present a special event, The Stories of Music, Stories from Home on Tuesday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m.  Lauren Pelon collaborates with poet and storyteller Gary H. Holthaus to present a combined program of music and literature. Pelon and Holthaus talk about the role and importance of stories and music. Holthaus reads poems, stories and essays from his books, Unexpected Manna, Circling Back, Traveling Alone, Wide Skies, and Shadows of Home to music composed and performed by Lauren Pelon.  This event is free for Riverland Theatre season subscribers and students (elementary through college), and is $5 for the general public.

Season Ticket subscriptions to Riverland’s 2012/2013 season are $50 and will go on sale from September 4 to October 7.  To purchase a season ticket or to receive more information, call the Riverland Theatre Box Office at (507) 433-0595, email boxoffice@riverland.edu, or visit the Web site and download the brochure at www.riverland.edu/theatre. Individual tickets to all four productions will also go on sale starting Sept. 4 and continue Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and one hour before performances. Individual ticket prices for White Christmas and Little Women are $15, and $12 for Eurydice and The Philadelphia Story. Riverland students receive two free tickets to each production.

Riverland’s Theatre Department is a high-energy performance-oriented program. Plays produced vary from classical tragedy to modern comedy and from full-scale large cast musicals in intimate small cast plays. Students are encouraged to get involved in all areas of theatre production including, but not limited to, acting, stage managing, set building and painting. Strong academic offerings provide challenges in and out of the classroom.