Studio Tenn Announces 2015-2016 Season

Studio Tenn Theatre Company’s 2015-2016 Season of Modern Masters will open this fall in The Factory’s Jamison Hall with the Great American musical “Gypsy,” followed by holiday favorite “It’s A Wonderful Life.” 2016 will kick off with a reprise of the company’s critically acclaimed 2011 production of “The Glass Menagerie,” featuring the full original cast. Following that will be Studio Tenn’s third original Legacy Series production, “The Ray Legacy,” a theatrical concert celebrating the songs of Ray Charles. All-American favorite “West Side Story” will close the season at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

 

The renewal period for returning subscribers opens March 23. Season Tickets will go on sale to the general public on May 4 at studiotenn.com. In addition to the best selection of seats, season ticket holders also receive a 15% discount on the price of admission to each show.

Studio Tenn Artistic Director Matt Logan said the upcoming season’s selections “are all attributed to mid-century movers and shakers,” from household Broadway names Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Tennessee Williams, Jule Styne and Arthur Laurents to the silver screen’s Frank Capra and soul icon Ray Charles.

“These are the great minds who have shaped modern popular theatre, music and film,” Logan said. “The works they created during the mid 1900s have become pillars of their respective disciplines for all time. It is an honor, a thrill and a lifelong dream to give their masterpieces the Studio Tenn treatment.”

Managing Director Jake Speck said, “these titles represent some significant milestones for Studio Tenn–both in terms of where we’ve been, and where we’ve always wanted to go.”

For example, “‘Gypsy’ and ‘West Side Story’ are big-league shows this company has always wanted to do,” Logan said. “And Ray Charles is a personal hero of mine since childhood.”

Speck added, “we are very proud to bring back our productions of ‘The Glass Menagerie’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’” both of which are “definite bright spots” in the young professional company’s five-year history of programming.

Three weeks of public performances of “The Glass Menagerie” will take place in the company’s home venue at Jamison Hall. Through a continued partnership with Humanities Outreach Tennessee (HOT), Studio Tenn will also stage 5 additional performances for an estimated 1,750 Middle Tennessee students.

TPAC President and CEO Kathleen O’Brien said, “‘The Glass Menagerie’ is a mainstay of humanities curricula everywhere and is a beautiful fit for our curriculum-based educational programs. Studio Tenn’s production is first-rate, and we are delighted to be working with them to bring this Tennessee Williams masterpiece to life for school groups throughout our area.”

For more information about Studio Tenn’s 2015-2016 season or to purchase tickets, visit studiotenn.com.