Actors Theatre of Indiana will rely on a tried-and-true formula for success for its 2024-25 season.
“When we were designing the season, it was important to us to do what we do best and what our audiences love most — and that is fun, funny, uplifting musicals,” Associate Artistic Director Darrin Murrell said.
Murrell said the season is dubbed legends, laughter and love.
“We also homed in on four types of shows that ATI has historically done incredibly successfully and has gotten a lot of audience feedback,” Murrell said. “One of those is the jukebox musical, sort of the soundtrack of our lives, so there is one of those in the mix.”
Another type is the Broadway classics reinvented for the Studio Theater stage, Murrell said. The other type is a smaller, newer musical with a mystery.
The last type of show is the large-scale Broadway show that has been scaled down to uniquely fit in the Studio Theater space,’ Murrell said.
The 2024-25 season begins with “Ring of Fire” from Sept 13-29, featuring the music of the legendary Johnny Cash. That will be followed by “She Loves Me” Nov. 1-17. The 2025 portion includes “Whodunit” Jan. 31 to Feb. 16, 2025, and “9 to 5: The Musical” from April 25 to May 11.
“Ring of Fire” will include different actors portraying Cash at different times in his life. Indianapolis actor Brandon Alstott, who has played Cash in three ATI productions of “Million Dollar Quartet,” is one of those playing Cash.
“She Loves Me” started on Broadway in 1963 and was revived in 2016.
“Whodunit” is a murder mystery by longtime Broadway actor and playwright Ed Dixon. It’s based on a book by Marry Roberts Rinehart, who was often called the American version of Agatha Christie. ATI Artistic Director Judy Fitzgerald and fellow co-founder Cynthia Collins will appear in “Whodunit.”
Dolly Parton composed the music for “9 to 5: The Musical,” which is based on the 1980 movie, which stars Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
For more, visit atistage.org.
