Current Season
Morris Park Players
Season: 2007 – 2008
Fall Musical
State Fair
7:30 p.m. performances: November 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, and 17, 2007
2:00 p.m. matinee performance: November 11, 2007
Music by: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II
Book By: Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli
Based on the screenplay by Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Phil Stong
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s only musical written directly for the screen is now a stage musical that’s had critics raving from coast to coast. Set against the colorful backdrop of an American heartland tradition, STATE FAIR travels with the Frake family as they leave behind the routine of the farm for three days of adventure at the annual Iowa State Fair. Mom and Pop have their hearts set on blue ribbons while their daughter and son find romance and heartbreak on the midway. Set to the magical strains of an Academy Award-winning score and augmented by other titles from the Rodgers and Hammerstein songbook, STATE FAIR is the kind of warm-hearted family entertainment only Rodgers & Hammerstein could deliver! (Courtesy R&H Theatricals). (more »)
Spring Musical
The King and I
7:30 p.m. performances: April 18, 19, 25, 26, & May 2 and 3, 2008
2:00 p.m. matinee performance: April 27, 2008 (audio-described show)
Music by: Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on ‘Anna and the King of Siam’ By: Margaret Landon
East versus West makes for a dramatic, richly textured and ultimately uplifting tale of enormous fascination. It is 1862 in Siam when an English widow, Anna Leonowens, and her young son arrive at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, having been summoned by the King to serve as tutor to his many children and wives. The King is largely considered to be a barbarian by those in the West and he seeks Anna's assistance in changing his image, if not his ways. With both keeping a firm grip on their respective traditions and values, Anna and the King grow to understand and, eventually, respect one another, in a truly unique love story. Along with the dazzling score, the incomparable Jerome Robbins ballet, “The Small House of Uncle Thomas,” is one of the all-time marvels of the musical stage. (Courtesy of R&H Theatricals). (more »)