BLOOMINGTON – This Saturday, Constellation Stage & Screen announced a season of new adventures for 2023/24! Constellation’s upcoming season is jam-packed with five Mainstage shows and two Constellation for Kids productions that range from a new Sherlock Holmes tale to an award-winning slapstick comedy to an original play exploring the power of language.
As part of this thrilling new season, Constellation will be presenting the regional professional premiere of two award-winning Broadway hits and commissioning its first play for young audiences.
Constellation begins its adventurous season with a new twist on a classic tale: Holmes & Watson by Jeffery Hatcher. This eerie new chapter in the Sherlock Holmes saga runs September 7-24 at the Waldron Auditorium. In the wake of Sherlock’s famed death, Dr. Watson is summoned to a remote asylum on a rocky island to investigate three inmates who all claim to be the genius sleuth. Filled with unexpected twists and turns, this edge-of-your-seat mystery will stir your blood and puzzle your mind!
Kicking off the Constellation for Kids series is Curious George: The Golden Meatball, on stage October 20 – November 5 at the Waldron Auditorium. Everyone’s favorite mischievous monkey and “The Man in the Yellow Hat” spring to life in this adventure-filled musical. Audiences of all ages will have a blast joining George on a mission to save the Golden Meatball Contest in Rome!
In December, Constellation will be back at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater for the regional professional premiere of Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical! This beloved Broadway musical, recently adapted into a movie by Netflix, tells the tale of Matilda Wormwood, a gifted little girl armed with a sharp mind, a vivid imagination, and a love of books. Playing December 14 – 31, this Tony-Award Winning Musical is fun for the whole family!
Ringing in the new year is Constellation’s Woodward/Newman Award-Winning play: Webster’s Bitch by Jaqueline Bircher. When the Editor-in-Chief gets caught using some unexpected profanity, the employees of Webster’s Dictionary find themselves at the center of an internet uprising over gender and obscenity in the age of social media. Playing January 25 – February 11 at the Ted Jones Playhouse, this Constellation Original is a thoughtful, clever, and timely play about the power of words and the people who define them.
This spring, Constellation is thrilled to be the regional professional premiere of yet another Broadway hit: The Play That Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer. Welcome to the opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), it’s comic gold that is sure to bring down the house. Called “the funniest play Broadway has ever seen” by the Huffington Post (and countless others), this slapstick farce is fun for ages eight and up! See it on stage from March 21 – April 7 at the Waldron Auditorium.
Rounding out the Constellation for Kids series is another Constellation Original, the company’s first commissioned play for young audiences! Introducing Alex Gold: Stuck on Repeat by Sarah Ziegler Blair & Kellen Blair, on stage April 26 – May 12 at the Waldron Auditorium. 11-year-old Alex Gold needs to repeat the 6th grade and this time he’s surrounded himself with some trusted friends (the audience) to help him make the best choices to succeed! This one-of-a-kind classroom comedy blends improv and audience interaction proving every single day is an opportunity for reinvention. From the writers of the Bloomington Playwrights Project’s 2021 hit Just Between the All of Us, children of all ages will love making this show their own!
Next summer, Constellation will be presenting the world premiere of a brand-new rock musical: The Break, with music by Michael Kooman and book & lyrics by Christopher Dimond (creators of The Enlightenment of Percival von Schmootz). Sam and Charlie have been together since their freshman year of college. They love each other…but do they? As the marriage question looms, it’s time to find out what’s holding them back. The two agree to take a 30-day break to date other people and at the end of the month they’ll finally tie the knot…or will they? This Constellation Original, rock musical rom-com will be bringing down the house June 6-23 at the Waldron Auditorium.
In an effort to ensure that anyone in our community can experience a professional production, Constellation is thrilled to announce the return of its celebrated Pay What You Will Thursdays and Community Access Tickets programs. Generously sponsored by Jessika and Bryan Hane, these initiatives ensure professional live theater is affordable to everyone in South Central Indiana.
Season Ticket packages for Constellation’s 23/24 season are on sale now! Package holders get the biggest discount on tickets offered all season long, early access to the best seats in the house, missed performance insurance, AND an exemption from all ticketing fees – including exchange fees (usually $5 per ticket). Plus, those who book their Season Ticket Package before June 1st will receive a complimentary Firebay Film Screening Unlimited Pass! Comprehensive details on subscription benefits and pricing can be found at SeeConstellation.org/Subscribe. Subscribers can redeem tickets starting on June 14. Single tickets will go on sale to the public on July 12.
-In addition to Constellation’s stellar theatrical season, the company will be hosting a variety of special events and a film screening series filled with family favorites and cult classics.
In November, Constellation will be bringing in the reigning World Champion of Magic, Simon Coronel, for an exclusive special event: Glitches in Reality. This award-winning show uses close-up trickery and mind-blowing sleight of hand to take the audience on a journey through the truth behind magic and illusion. See it on stage November 9-12 at the Ted Jones Playhouse.
Constellation will also be continuing its Firebay Film Screening Series with various cult classics, family favorites, Hollywood hits, and one-of-a-kind cinematic experiences at the Waldron Arts Center. Witness 2001: A Space Odyssey during the Total Eclipse, throw spoons at the screen while watching The Room, or enjoy delicious treats as you taste along with Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory! Constellation will also be bringing back its annual screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater as a special screening event on Saturday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Details on Constellation’s film screening series will be released within the next few months. Tickets will be on sale at least one month prior to each screening.
