OpenStage Theatre & Company Announces Their 52nd Season of Shows

FORT COLLINS –OpenStage is delighted to announce its 52nd season of exceptional, locally-crafted live theatre in Northern Colorado! This season promises an exciting lineup of zany, energetic, thought-provoking, and inventive productions that will captivate and entertain audiences. With four Essential Season shows featuring richly imagined theatrical experiences at The Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre and the Park at Columbine Health Systems, plus two etcetera performances in unique, intimate venues, the 52nd season offers plenty to enjoy. Audiences are invited to celebrate the magic of live theatre with OpenStage!

This season OpenStage is pleased to welcome back directors Sydney Parks Smith, Kenny Moten, and Heather Ostberg Johnson. They will bring to life The Minutes, Reefer Madness, and Pride and Prejudice, respectively. The 52nd season also introduces three new directors to OpenStage. Jessica Jackson, a long time theatre director in Colorado, makes her debut with the company, and will direct the side splitting farce The 39 Steps. Both etcetera productions will feature artists who have previously acted with OpenStage, now making their directorial debuts. Jessica Emerling Crow will direct Agnes of God, and Miguel Muñoz will direct his original play, the World Premiere of October Surprise. Producing Artistic Director, Sydney Parks-Smith, says, “I am beyond thrilled to welcome audiences to our 52nd Season! OpenStage will continue to showcase fabulous local talent, diverse stories, and draw folks in with the excellence of our six productions. I look forward to seeing everyone in the theatre!”

Essential Season Productions
Reefer Madness
Book by Kevin Murphy & Dan Studney, Music by Dan Studney, Lyrics by Kevin Murphy
Directed by Kenny Moten
Playing in The Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre November 2–30, 2024

There is a new menace sweeping the nation, ready to ensnare and seduce the youth and drag them down into a life of sin: Reefer Madness! Inspired by the 1936 propaganda film of the same name, this raucous musical comedy takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the hysteria caused when clean-cut kids, Jimmy and Mary Lane, fall prey to marijuana, leading them on a delirious downward spiral filled with jazz music, sex and violence. Full of camp, hilarity, and mayhem—if you get high on laughter you have come to the right place!

The 39 Steps
Adapted by Patrick Barlow, From the novel by John Buchan, From the movie by Alfred Hitchcock, Licensed by ITV Global Entertainment Limited, And an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon
Directed by Jessica Jackson
Playing in The Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre January 18 – February 15, 2023

A Hitchcock masterpiece. A juicy spy novel. A colossal dash of Monty Python. Shake it all up… It’s The 39 Steps! In 1930s London, the dashing Richard Hannay begins his evening at the theatre, and leaves a fugitive on the run. Caught in a maze of espionage, near-death escapes, and flirtatious entanglements, our hero careens from a London music hall to Scotland’s most remote highlands in search of a plausible alibi and the true identity of the killer. Will our debonair hero solve the mystery and save Britain from a den of devious spies?!? A cast of 4 actors plays over 150 characters in this Tony award winning, laugh out loud, lightning-paced whodunit!

The Minutes
By Tracy Letts
Directed by Sydney Parks Smith
Playing in The Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre March 22 – April 19, 2025

Community, the Founder’s Day celebration, the coveted privilege of reserved parking—a small town City Council meeting. Business as usual for the Big Cherry City Council. But… where are the minutes from last week’s meeting? Newcomer Mr. Peel has some questions… What is “Lincoln Smackdown”? And where is council member Mr. Carp? This razor-sharp comedy by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of August: Osage County, exposes the ugliness behind some of our most closely-held American narratives while asking each of us what we would do to keep from becoming history’s losers.

Pride and Prejudice
by Kate Hamill
adapted from the novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Heather Ostberg Johnson
Playing in the Park at Columbine Health Systems (Centre Ave & Worthington Circle) June 7 – July 12, 2025

This isn’t your great-auntie’s Austen! Bold, surprising, and boisterous! The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry, but can she resist her enterprising mother, and society itself? Especially when that vaguely handsome, and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn! Literature’s classic romance, Pride and Prejudice, has never felt so theatrical, or so full of life as it does in this effervescent adaptation. Because what turns us into greater fools than the high-stakes game of love? In the park and under the stars! Walk in, bike in, or drive in! Featuring nightly food trucks.

etcetera Season Productions

October Surprise
By Miguel Muñoz
Directed by Miguel Muñoz
Playing September 27 to October 12, 2024, location TBA

A World Premiere by Miguel Muñoz! In the midst of a high-tension Texas senate race, a political crisis at the border, and a sibling rivalry, Maria, a passionate, strong-willed immigration lawyer and activist is running against her brother Antonio, the new charismatic face of conservatism. When Maria uncovers a secret that could decimate her brother’s campaign and his life, she must decide if her family ties mean more than her ideals. October Surprise is a heart-wrenching look at the disparity between family loyalty and personal convictions in America.

Agnes of God
by John Pielmeier
Directed by Jessica Emerling Crow
Playing May 9 to May 24, 2024, location TBA

Science. Religion. Fact. Devotion. Do they intersect? The murder of a newborn in a convent warrants the expertise of Dr. Martha Livingstone, a court appointed psychiatrist, to determine the mental state of the accused novice. But when she faces the pious resistance of Miriam Ruth, the Mother Superior, it inflames the doctor’s suspicions surrounding the convent’s involvement and leaves questions abound. Who killed the infant? Where is the father? Might the convent be behind this debacle? Livingstone’s inquisition pushes all three women to call into question the true meanings of spiritual faith and the power of love.

Season tickets range from $95 to $280 and individual tickets range from $15-$47. Season tickets go on sale on August 9. Get up to 40% off in savings with early bird pricing from August 9–August 29. Single tickets go on sale September 13 at openstage.com or by calling The Lincoln Center Box Office at 970.221.6730.

OpenStage’s Red Carpet Sponsors are KRFC 88.9 FM and Warren & Zoann Little Dusenbury Charitable Trust. Season Sponsors are Avogadro’s Number, John & Anne Blair, FoCo Food Trucks, Mike & Marsha Marberry, Odell Brewing Co, Organic Alternatives, and Ken & Carol Severson. Grant support is provided by Downtown Development Authority, City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, Art Works, Colorado Creative Industries, OTTERCARES Dollars for Doers Grant Recipient, AWE Fund, and Energize Colorado.

Company: OpenStage Theatre & Company
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