The Grossmont College Theatre Arts Department is excited to unveil its 2024-2025 season.
This year’s productions reportedly promise to deliver a captivating mix of classic suspense, heartwarming fables, contemporary drama, lively musicals, and a Shakespearean comedy. With something for everyone, the Stagehouse Theatre is set to be a top destination for local theatergoers.
The season opens with Agatha Christie’s timeless mystery, The Mousetrap, directed by Omri Schein.
The scene is set when a group of people gathered in a country house cut off by the snow discovers, to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst. Who can it be? One by one, the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts until the last nerve-shredding moment, when their identity and motives are finally revealed. Brimming with intrigue, sophisticated humor, and surprising twists, Agatha Christie’s iconic murder mystery is the world’s most successful and longest-running play.
The Mousetrap will be performed on the Perform & Visual Arts Center Stage. Showtimes are Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., from Oct.3-12.
Next on the lineup is Fab Fables!, a playful reimagining of Aesop’s Fables, written by Omri Schein and directed by Shana Wride.
This production, sponsored by the Rice Family Foundation, introduces a cast of fun and furry friends who learn valuable life lessons while entertaining audiences of all ages. Fab Fables! is an elementary school touring production that will also perform on the Stagehouse Theatre Stage on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Following that, the thought-provoking Just Like Us by Karen Zacarías takes the stage.
Directed by Walter Allen Bennett, this documentary-style drama, based on Helen Thorpe’s bestselling book, follows four Latina teenage girls in Denver – two of who are documented and two who are not – through young adulthood. Their close-knit friendships begin to unravel when immigration status dictates the girls’ opportunities or lack thereof. When a political firestorm arises, each girl’s future becomes increasingly complicated.
Just Like Us poses difficult yet essential questions about what makes us American and will be on the Stagehouse Theatre Stage on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., running Nov. 21-23 and Dec. 5-7.
In February, audiences can look forward to Will You Be My Nemesis? by Kathryn Funkhouser, directed by Melissa Glasgow.
This comedic play takes a hilarious look at hero-villain relationships as Captain Battle and Dr. Nightmare search for their perfect nemesis. Expect plenty of laughs and quirky characters in this lighthearted romp. Will You Be My Nemesis? will tour 15 regional high schools and perform on the Stagehouse Theatre Stage on Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
March brings Gilbert & Sullivan’s beloved operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, directed by Geno Carr. Frederic, a pirate’s apprentice, falls head-over-heels in love with Mabel, the daughter of Major-General Stanley. Frederic is due to be released from his apprenticeship on his 21st birthday, but there’s a snag. Born on Feb. 29, Frederic discovers that he is technically still a youngster. Although very much in love, his dedication to duty is unshakeable. Can he find a way to live happily ever after with Mabel? This timeless tale of duty and romance is sure to entertain.
Performed on the Performing & Visual Arts Center Stage, showtimes are Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., running from March 20-29.
Closing the season in May is William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, directed by Linda Libby.
In this classic comedy of mistaken identities and unrequited love, Viola, disguised as Cesario, becomes entangled in a love triangle involving Orsino, Olivia, and her twin brother, Sebastian. In Shakespeare’s beloved tale of mistaken identity and unrequited love, characters traverse the contradictory landscapes of romance, where anything proves possible. Twelfth Night will be performed on the Stagehouse Theatre Stage. Showtimes are Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., from May 15-24.
The Stagehouse Theatre and Performing & Visual Arts Center Stages are both located in the Performing and Visual Arts Center at Grossmont College, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, Building 22, El Cajon. Parking for guests is free until further notice.
Season ticket packages are available for $60, offering the best value for those looking to enjoy the entire season. Individual tickets are $18 for the general public, $14 for seniors, military personnel, and educators, and $10 for students. Special productions like Fab Fables! y Will You Be My Nemesis offer tickets for just $10.
To learn more about the upcoming season or to purchase tickets, visit StagehouseTheatre.com or contact the box office at (619) 644-7234.
(Courtesy images)
