Chess (London Version)
September 4-20, 2020
Music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA
Lyrics by Ulvaeus and Tim Rice
Book by Tim Rice
Directed by Bill Quinlan
This highly acclaimed, international blockbuster musical weaves the ancient game of chess into a metaphor for romantic rivalries and East-West political intrigue. Music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of the pop group ABBA, lyrics by Ulvaeus and Tim Rice, and book by Rice, the story involves a politically driven chess tournament between two grandmasters, one American and the other Russian. In danger of becoming pawns in a politically charged competition, their lives are thrown into further confusion by a Hungarian refugee, a remarkable woman who becomes the center of their emotional triangle. Thrilling and timely, Chess includes several international hits, including “One Night in Bangkok” and “I Know Him So Well.”
Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe
October 30 & 31, 2020
by Eric Coble
Directed by Bill Quinlan
Edgar Allan Poe stands alone in the flickering darkness of his mind, trying desperately to convince himself — and us — that he’s not mad. The spell he weaves brings us a highly theatrical adaptation of four tales Poe himself considered his best: The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Tell-Tale Heart. Enter the world of Poe and check your heartbeat at the door.
The Velocity of Autumn
Sunday, November 15, 2020
by Eric Coble
Directed by Jeffrey Albright
The Velocity of Autumn swirls around Alexandra, an 80-year-old artist in a showdown with her family over where she’ll spend her remaining years. In Alexandra’s corner are her wit, her volcanic passion, and the fact that she’s barricaded herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to take out the block. But her children have their own secret weapon: estranged son Chris, who returns after 20 years, crawls through Alexandra’s second-floor window and becomes the family’s unlikely mediator. No sooner are the words “Hi, Mom” uttered than the emotional bombs start detonating. The Velocity of Autumn is a wickedly funny and wonderfully touching discovery of the fragility and ferocity of life.
A Christmas Carol
December 3-6 and 10-13, 2020
A special 35th Anniversary Multimedia Event. Combining a small live cast with videos of years past, this classic holiday tradition won’t be stopped by a pandemic! The beloved Charles Dickens tale of redemption following Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation from a miserly old curmudgeon into a man who embodies the true meaning of Christmas returns to the Rep for the first time since 1989.
Natural Shocks
February 5-7, 2021
by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Jeffrey Albright
Presented by Actors Collaborative Toledo presents
Inspired by the words of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Lauren Gunderson’s Natural Shocks is 60-minute, one-woman tour-de-force play that bursts to life when we meet Angela, who’s waiting out an approaching tornado in her basement. She brims over with quirks, stories, and confessions. As the real danger grows imminent, she reveals a final secret that brings the reality of guns in America into sharp focus
Sea Marks
February 12-14, 2021
by Gardner McKay
Directed by Jeffrey Albright
The touching story of a fisherman living on a remote Irish island who has fallen in love with a woman he’s glimpsed only once. Unschooled in letter writing, he tries his utmost to court by mail and after a year and a half succeeds in arranging a rendezvous at which, to his surprise, she persuades him to live with her in Liverpool. Their love affair ends when he is forced to return to a life he understands.
The Mystery of Irma Vep—A Penny Dreadful
April 16-18, 2021
by Charles Ludlam
Directed by Amy Spaulding-Heuring
Featuring Patrick Boyer & Trent Dorner
A staged reading presented by The Toledo Repertoire Theatre
30 Reasons Not to Be In a Play
May 7-9, 2021
by Alan Haehnel
Directed by Melissa Shaffer
A YoungRep production presented by RepEd
While Covid has postponed this play a few times, it’s not the only reason not to be in a play. Come and laugh along as our Young Rep cast of 7-13 year olds tell you all the other reasons!
Lonely Planet
May 14-16, 2021
by Steven Dietz
Directed by Benjamin R. Jameson
Featuring Paul Causman & Jeffrey Albright
Set in a small map store on the oldest street in an American city, LONELY PLANET is an intimate portrait of two friends at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Shop owner Jody (Causman) becomes increasingly fearful of the world outside and the dangers it poses, refusing to leave his shop. While Carl (Albright), his spirited friend, begins filling the store with a variety of mysterious chairs. Funny, moving, and deeply human, Steven Dietz’s landmark play examines how we all navigate troubled times.
A staged reading presented by Actors’ Collaborative Toledo and The Toledo Repertoire Theatre
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
May 27-June 6, 2021
created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein
Directed by Debra Ross Calabrese
Presented by The Toledo Repertoire Theatre at the Ottawa Park Amphitheater
With its irresistible blend of hip-swiveling hits, eye-popping fashions and outrageous dance moves, SHOUT! The Mod Musical takes audiences back to the music, style and freedom of the 1960s. Created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein, SHOUT! features terrific new arrangements of such classic tunes as “To Sir with Love,” “Downtown,” “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Goldfinger.”
The review follows five groovy gals as they come of age during those glorious days that made England swing. Traveling in time from 1960 to 1970, SHOUT! chronicles the dawning liberation of women, from the rise of Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark and Cilla Black as independent women with major careers, to their American counterparts, redefining themselves in the face of changing attitudes about gender. With a shimmy and shake, the songs are tied together by hilarious sound bites from the period – from ’60s advertisements to letters answered by an advice columnist who thinks that every problem can be solved with a “fetching new hair style and a new shade of lipstick.”
All Shook Up: School Edition
August 5-8, 2021
Live performances August 5 & 6, 2021
Streaming available August 5-8, 2021
Inspired by and featuring the songs of ELVIS PRESLEY ®
Book by JOE DIPIETRO
Directed by Julie Zatko
Music Directed by Luke D. Rosen
A Teen Rep production at the Ottawa Park Amphitheater
It’s 1955, and into a square little town in a square little state rides a guitar-playing young man who changes everything and everyone he meets. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, this hip-swiveling, lip-curling musical fantasy will have you jumpin’ out of your blue suede shoes with such classics as “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”