The Depot Theatre has announce its 2020 main stage lineup, which features iconic figures and everyday heroes in an expanded season that includes four productions for the first time since 2013.
The Depot Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre located in a historic, functioning 1876 train station in Westport, and is the only theatre in the Adirondacks that operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
The season opens with Working: A Musical beginning June 19 through July 5, 2020 with a $25 preview on June 18. Nominated for six Tony Awards, Working: A Musical features vibrant portrayals of 26 real-life American workers – including a schoolteacher, trucker, housewife, fireman, and millworker – played by 6 actors. The show conveys how people’s relationships to their work reveal key aspects of their humanity. The musical includes songs by Tony Award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda, and favorite numbers by Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, and James Taylor.
Next up on the main stage is The Mountaintop, a reflective, often funny, touching, and gripping reimagining of the night before the assassination of the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in which he examines his achievements, his failures, and his unfinished dreams. In 2011, this poignant play’s Broadway run starred Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett. The Mountaintop will run from July 10 through July 26 with a $25 preview on July 9.
Watch as the Depot Theatre transforms into the Big Top for Barnum: The Musical from July 31- August 16, with a $25 preview on July 30. Based on the life of showman P.T. Barnum, this high energy tale, set during the period 1835 through 1880, follows Barnum around the world as he evolved from a simple sideshow man, joined the circus, and eventually helped to curate The Greatest Show on Earth.
The season closes on a big note with Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill from August 28 – September 6 with a preview on August 27. This “play with music” recounts the heartbreaking, beautiful, and haunting story of Billie Holiday’s life through the songs that made her one of the most famous icons of the era, including “What A Little Moonlight Can Do,” “God Bless The Child,” and “Strange Fruit.”
Auditions for the main stage productions will be held regionally and in New York City in the spring. Group and single tickets will go on sale in the spring, and season subscriptions will be available for sale online in February. More details, additional events and news updates can be found on the Depot Theatre’s website.
Photo of Depot Theatre in winter provided.
I am looking forward to The Mountaintop at the Depot. Expanding the repertoire to include a more serious production is admirable.