2013 Main Session Musical – 110 in the Shade
We are thrilled to announce that this summer’s Main Session musical will be 110 in the Shade!
Based on N. Richard Nash’s 1954 play and subsequent 1956 movie, The Rainmaker, starring Katherine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster, 110 in the Shade originally opened on Broadway in 1963 with choreography by the legendary Agnes de Mille. With music and lyrics by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, the same team that brought you The Fantasticks, this musical includes heartbreakingly beautiful ballads, soaring solos, and boisterous ensemble numbers. It was most recently revived on Broadway in 2007 at Studio 54, starring Audra McDonald and Steve Kazee, where it was nominated for five Tony Awards.
Set in a drought-ridden rural town in the dustbowl of America’s Great Depression, 110 in the Shade tells the story of a pivotal hot summer day in the life of spinsterish Lizzie Curry. Lizzie keeps house for her father and two brothers on the family cattle ranch. As their town languishes under the devastating drought, Lizzie’s family worries more about her marriage prospects than about their dying cattle. A charming conman named Starbuck arrives and promises to bring rain in exchange for $100. His arrival sets off a series of events which enable Lizzie to see herself in a new light. 110 in the Shade is a story of recognizing the beauty and potential locked away inside all of us and the realization that you can’t love anyone until you are ready to truly love yourself.
So get ready for a hot summer on the Castle stage that will leave you longing for a good rainstorm!