Runaway Stage Productions (RSP) announces its 2015 season, highlighted at a Season Preview Gala on September 14

Harmony Wheeler

RSP Publicity Coordinator

What: Runaway Stage Productions’ Season Preview Gala and Reception

When: September 14 at 6 p.m.

Where: 24th Street Theatre at the Sierra 2 Center

Cost: $15 Advance, $20 at Door

Tickets: www.runawaystage.com or 916-207-1226

Starting at 6 p.m. at the 24^th Street Theatre in Sacramento, the Gala will include a pre-show reception with light snacks, beer and wine, and 2015 season tickets will be offered at a substantial discount the night of the Gala. Performances will include selections from RSP’s 2015 Season: The Addams Family, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Catch Me If You Can, Next to Normal, Sweeney Todd, and A White Christmas. Tickets are available for $15 (in advance and $20 at the door) online at www.runawaystage.com or by phone at 916-207-1226.  This year RSP is promoting this event by offering a special gift bag to the first 100 ticket buyers, so get your tickets now!

The Runaway Stage Productions 2015 Season opens with everyone’s favorite cooky and crazy family, The Addams Family, playing January 5-25. The brand-new musical features all the classic characters. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met. And if that weren’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before – keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents.

March 13 – April 5, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, the biggest of Broadways “big ladies,” comes to RSP’s 24th Street Theatre. The Titanic may have sunk, but Molly Brown survived. This spirited tale of a legendary, real-life American original follows the exploits of Molly Brown, whose feisty determination to rise above her impoverished beginnings leads her from the backwoods of Hannibal, Missouri, to the palaces of Europe. Along the way, she marries a lucky prospector, enters the highest echelons of Monte Carlo society, survives the sinking of the Titanic and, most importantly, earns the approval she so desperately seeks of those “Beautiful People of Denver.” Funny, light, uplifting and uniquely American, The Unsinkable Molly Brown charmed Broadway and film audiences with its irresistible, outrageous title role, in the tradition of such unforgettable characters as Auntie Mame, Dolly Levi and Mama Rose, as well as with Meredith Willson’s rousing score, in the tradition of his immortal Music Man.

Based on the hit DreamWorks film and an incredible true story, Catch Me If You Can plays May 29 – June 21. The high-flying, splashy new musical was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Teenager Frank W. Abagnale Jr. runs away from home in search of a glamorous life. With nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forged checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer – living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams. But when Frank’s lies catch the attention of FBI agent Carl Hanratty, Carl pursues Frank across the country. Along the way, both Frank and Carl forge an unlikely friendship and discover a way to ultimately work together. Live in living color, Catch Me If You Can is the combined effort of a Tony Award-winning “dream team” – Terrence McNally (The Full Monty, Ragtime) pens the book and the swinging score is provided by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman (Hairspray). Catch Me If You Can is a vibrant display of mega-musical proportions that has the power to thrill audiences of every size.

RSP returns to the West Sacramento Community Center Black Box Theatre for its production of the Pulitzer-Prize winning rock music Next to Normal, July 10 – August 16. With book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, the show explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness. Next to Normal tells the story of a mother, Diane Goodman, who struggles with bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family. This contemporary musical is an emotional powerhouse that addresses such issues as grieving a loss, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life. With provocative lyrics and a thrilling score, this musical shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family’s world intact. Next to Normal is a deeply moving piece of theatre that provides a wonderful opportunity for performers to explore dramatic material and showcase vocal talents with an energetic pop/rock score.  Suitable for theatre-goers 16 and older.

August 21 – September 13 at the 24^th Street Theatre, RSP presents Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. The popular musical has become a bloody, worldwide success since being awarded eight Tony’s, one of them for Best Musical, for its Broadway premiere. Adapted to film by Tim Burton with Johnny Depp as the title role, Sweeney has slashed his way across entertainment mediums. An infamous tale, Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to 19th century London seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett’s luck sharply shifts when Todd’s thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up, and the carnage has only just begun! Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler (A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures) crafted a tasty, thrilling, theatrical treat with Sweeney Todd that has simultaneously shocked, awed, and delighted audiences across the world.  Suitable for theatre goers 16 and older.

RSP closes its 2015 season with the holiday favorite White Christmas, October 23 – November 15. Two showbiz buddies put on a show in a picturesque Vermont inn, and they find their perfect soul mates in the bargain. Full of dancing, romance, laughter and some of the greatest songs ever written, including “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “Happy Holiday,” “Sisters,” “Blue Skies,” and the unforgettable title song, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas promises to be a merry and bright experience for the entire family!