Flashback Theater Co. (FbTC) is pleased to announce the production of three mainstage shows, one fringe production, and a special collaborative event in the upcoming 2021-2022 annual season of live theater.
“Now that we are finding ways to move forward in our new normal, we are embracing the passion of theater again,” says Producing Artistic Director, Sommer Schoch, who is excited to see a return to indoor performances this year. “Our directors and cast are itching to get back into rehearsals and dig into what promises to be a year full of exciting work.”
Kicking off FbTC’s eighth season and the return to indoor theater is All Together Now! A Global Event Celebrating Local Theatre. A collection of songs from well-known musicals, the production is part of a worldwide Music Theatre International event celebrating the return to stages; it is one of over 3,800 performances that will be presented across the globe as part of a limited engagement the weekend of November 13, 2021. It is a co-production with The Center for Rural Development, and will be limited to two performance dates. The show will feature adult cast members as well as selected drama students from several local schools.
Following All Together Now!, FbTC will present Every Christmas Story Ever Told, this eggnog-fuelled presentation of theater will surely have you in the holiday spirit as you sit back and enjoy some theater, late at night! Imagine, the kids asleep while you and the partner are out on the town, seeing a great show presented by a hysterical cast of characters. Every Christmas Story Ever Told is a 90-minute romp through all the nostalgic holiday movie classics, specials, and carols you can think of. Appropriate for audiences that have seen a wide range of Christmas movies and TV shows, this evening of holiday joy is December 9-11, 2021 as a Fringe event in the Black Box at FbTC.
In 2022, be ready to suspect everyone as FbTC presents Dame Agatha Christie’s murder mystery, The Mousetrap. The West End’s longest running stage play will have you on your toes and on the edge of your seat. With a small cast of crazy characters, laugh and scratch your head to this classic piece by the world’s most prolific female crime writer as we try to figure out whodunnit! This play explores our world, making us suspect everyone in the end and dispelling our insecurity about uncertainty through solving the mystery on our own terms. Be prepared to “Suspect Everyone” at The Mousetrap February 17-27, 2022.
Continuing the season is the world premiere of Mary: Her Story, a musical with book and lyrics by Amber Frangos and music and lyrics by Maria McNeil. After three workshops with the Flashback family, this story has yet to be told and FbTC cannot wait to present this story to the world for the first time! First time as in: no one has done this show, EVER. Be part of the first audience of Mary: Her Story as we tell the very human story of a very important mother, in her own eyes and words. Mary’s story will premiere to the WORLD May 12-22, 2022.
As the curtain falls on the 2021-22 Season at FbTC, Steve Cleberg’s adaptation of Moliere’s The Misanthrope, titled The American Parade, will be presented as a SomerStage production in an outdoor venue. The play is a comedy of manners, set during the Spanish Influenza in New York City, that will have you questioning your morality in the time of uncertainty. The American Parade is a continuation of FbTC’s outdoor theater experiences and will run July 21-31, 2022.
FbTC is thankful for all sponsors and would like to recognize 2021-22 Season Spotlight Sponsors: ABA, LLC, The City of Somerset, M&W Printing, and Kentucky Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet and Season Footlight Sponsors: David Daring Rentals and SPEDA for their continued support of FbTC’s production of theater that speaks to the soul.
Production Details
SPECIAL EVENT:
ALL TOGETHER NOW!: A Global Event Celebrating Local Theatre
Directed by Billy-Christopher Maupin
Co-production with The Center for Rural Development
November 13 & 14, 2021 at The Center for Rural Development
This special event will kick off the Flashback Theater season with a return to indoor theater! Performers will be featured in numbers from well-known musicals such as Guys and Dolls, Newsies, Les Misérables, Company, High School Musical, Rent and more. All Together Now! will have a professional adult cast for feature roles and a youth ensemble for select numbers.
FRINGE EVENT:
EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD
by John K. Alvarez, Michael Carleton and James FitzGerald
with original music by Will Knapp
Directed by Bradley Gilmore
December 9-11, 2021 at the Black Box at Flashback Theater
Instead of performing Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors decide to perform every Christmas story ever told – plus Christmas traditions from around the world, seasonal icons from ancient times to topical pop-culture, and every carol ever sung. A madcap romp through the holiday season!
MAINSTAGE SERIES:
THE MOUSETRAP
by Agatha Christie
Directed by Jade Ellis
February 17-18 & 24-27, 2022 at the Black Box at Flashback Theater
After a local woman is murdered, the guests and staff at Monkswell Manor find themselves stranded during a snowstorm. It soon becomes clear that the killer is among them, and the seven strangers grow increasingly suspicious of one another. A police detective, arriving on skis, interrogates the suspects: the newlyweds running the house; a spinster with a curious background; an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef; a retired Army major; a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift; and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone. When a second murder takes place, tensions and fears escalate. This record-breaking murder mystery features a brilliant surprise finish from Dame Agatha Christie, the foremost mystery writer of her time.
MARY: HER STORY
Book and Lyrics by Amber Frangos, Music and Lyrics by Maria McNeil
Directed by Amber Frangos
May 12-14 & 19-22, 2022, Location TBD
A minor character with a major role in the Christian story takes the lead in this original musical work. Mary’s very human story reveals the conflicts we all face when we question faith, love, and sacrifice. This world premiere will be presented by Flashback Theater and follows three years of dedicated workshop development and support.
SOMERSTAGE:
Inspired by Moliere’s “The Misanthrope”, Written by Steve Cleberg
Directed by Sommer Schoch
July 21-22 & 29-31, 2022 at Joe Ford Amphitheatre in Rocky Hollow Park
The American Parade is a comedy of manners set in New York City in 1918 during the Spanish Influenza when tensions between society and political ideologies reached a boiling point. It follows a group of theatre people who get caught up in a scandal swirling around a controversial painting by an artist who has just returned from the war. The play employs multiple levels of theatrical illusion to explore the roles that members of our society portray. *Auditions for The American Parade will be held at a later date
Ticketing Information
Tickets for each show will go on sale three weeks prior to performances. Visit Flashback Theater Co. at 400 E Mount Vernon St. in downtown Somerset or www.flashbacktheater.co to purchase tickets. Reservations may also be made in advance by calling (888) 394-3282 ext. 1.
Tickets not paid for in advance will be held at will call. Tickets held at will call will be released 10 minutes prior to curtain if not picked up. Ticket exchanges may be made anytime prior to the date of the original ticket with no fee by calling the box office.