Riverland Community College Theatre and Music departments will launch their 2014-2015 season on Oct. 8 with Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein, a musical revue that combines many of the greatest hits from beloved classic musicals by the duo.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were the songwriting team behind many of the world’s most beloved Broadway hits, including Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Carousel, The King and I, Cinderella, and The Sound of Music. Some Enchanted Evening celebrates their music by presenting their most popular songs in a new context. The songs featured in the show include “If I Loved You,” “I Have Dreamed,” “I Cain’t Say No,” “I Enjoy Being a Girl,” “Hello, Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance,” “This Nearly Was Mine,” “A Cockeyed Optimist,” and “Younger Than Springtime,” among many more.

Riverland Theatre Director Lindsey Duoos Williams directs and choreographs Some Enchanted Evening. Laurie Helmers is the musical director. The set and lighting designer is Mark Spitzer. The costumes are by Carley Carranza and Jennifer Wiebrand. The production is stage managed by Melissa Johnson.

“Rodgers and Hammerstein are, arguably, one of the greatest songwriting teams of the 20^th century,” said director Lindsey Duoos Williams. “I don’t think any other composer-lyricist team working on Broadway in the last century has left as lasting an impression, or has had as great an influence on musical theatre. Shows like Oklahoma! and South Pacific are as beloved today as they were seventy years ago when they were written, and I think they will continue to be loved for decades to come.”

The cast of Some Enchanted Evening includes Jake Berndt (Blue Earth), Carrie Braaten (Austin), Jodie Bratager (Rochester), Tess Douty (Adams), Alexa Ferguson (Lyle), Jannel Howard (Austin), Cole Peterson (Austin), Amoe Sato (Japan), Micah Strobel (Austin), Bryana Thorson (Luverne), Joshua Whalen (Austin), Jessica Williams (Brownsdale), Vic Wylde (Austin), Danny Ziebell (Kasson), and James Zschunke (Austin).

“There is no dialogue in the show, and therefore no ‘characters’ as we’re used to seeing them in musicals,” said Williams. “The storytelling is done entirely through the songs. Therefore, we’ve been able to create our own characters and stories using the songs and lyrics. We’ve set the show in the early 1950s, somewhat in the middle of the time that Rodgers and Hammerstein were working together. It’s been fun seeing stories and through-lines emerge as we rehearse. We might have a character who sings one song from Oklahoma! and another from South Pacific, but they work together beautifully to tell her story.” “Ultimately,” Williams said, “the songs are the star of the show. They are so well-written that they don’t need a lot of gimmicks or flashy staging; if you have strong singers who can really tell the audience a story, that’s enough.”

Some Enchanted Evening will be performed Oct. 8, 9, 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct.12 at 2 p.m. at the Frank W. Bridges Theatre in the East Building of the Austin Campus.

Individual tickets to Some Enchanted Evening are $16 and currently on sale at www.riverland.edu/tickets 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The online ticketing system allows customers to choose their seats and pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. Tickets may also be purchased at the Riverland Box Office, located in room E107 in the East Building of the Austin campus. Box office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and one hour before performances. Riverland students receive two free tickets to each performance with a valid student ID. Contact the box office at 507-433-0595 or by emailing boxoffice@riverland.edu.

Some Enchanted Evening is appropriate for all ages. Riverland Theatre strives to provide quality productions that are entertaining and challenging to both the audience and the artists. Because we reach such a diverse audience, some audience members may find some subject matter, language, or situations objectionable. If you have concerns about a specific production, we encourage you to become familiar with the material before attending the performance.

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.