The Insanity of Mary Girard
September 20-21, 2023
The Insanity of Mary Girard is the real-life story of a Philadelphia woman who spent the last 25 years of her life in a mental institution. In 1790, Mary Girard is committed to an asylum. After she became pregnant by another man, her husband had her declared legally insane. Now, she sits in a chair as the "furies" dance around and impersonate people from her past. By the end of this haunting and highly theatrical piece, Mary has grown rather convincingly into her diagnosis.
SWFTS Superior Showcase
October 26, 2023
Students will present their Superior-rated individual events form the 2023 Southwest Florida Theatrical Society District Festival.
Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn
November 9-12, 2023
Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn tells the story of Jim, who leaves the bright lights of show business behind to settle down on his farmhouse in Connecticut... but life just isn't the same without a bit of song and dance. Jim's luck takes a spectacular turn when he meets Linda, a spirited schoolteacher with talent to spare. Together they turn the farmhouse into a fabulous inn with dazzling performances to celebrate each holiday, from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July. But when Jim's best friend Ted tries to lure Linda to Hollywood to be his new dance partner, will Jim be able to salvage his latest chance at love?
Based on the classic film, this joyous musical features thrilling dance numbers, laugh-out-loud comedy and a parade of hit Irving Berlin songs, including "Blue Skies," "Easter Parade," "Steppin' Out With My Baby," "Heat Wave," "White Christmas," "Be Careful, It's My Heart," "Cheek to Cheek," "Shaking the Blues Away" and many more!
Beans & Scenes
December 6-7, 2023
Beans & Scenes is a Panther Theater Co. signature event. Guests will be thoroughly entertained by the Theatre students of Cypress Lake High School Center for the Arts. Audiences can expect to see original scenes, skits, and stand-up comedy, as well as cabaret-style musical numbers, all while sipping delicious coffee. So sit back, sip slow, and enjoy the show!
Willy Wonka Jr.
January 26, 2024
Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka JR. follows enigmatic candy manufacturer Willy Wonka as he stages a contest by hiding golden tickets in five of his scrumptious candy bars. Whomever comes up with these tickets will win a free tour of the Wonka factory, as well as a lifetime supply of candy. Four of the five winning children are insufferable brats, but the fifth is a likeable young lad named Charlie Bucket, who takes the tour in the company of his equally amiable grandfather. The children must learn to follow Mr. Wonka's rules in the factory — or suffer the consequences.
Peter & the Starcatcher
February 22-25, 2024
Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s best-selling novels, the play was conceived for the stage by directors, Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, and written by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker. From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair... and the bonds of friendship, duty and love.
A young orphan and his mates are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They know nothing of the mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which contains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training who realizes that the trunk’s precious cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates – led by the fearsome Black Stache, a villain determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own – the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure.
Anatomy of Gray
March 7-10, 2024
The award-winning author of The Diviners, And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson, and Crow and Weasel describes his newest play as "a children's story for adults." When June's father dies, she prays for a healer to come to the small town of Gray so no one will ever suffer again; the next thing she knows, there's a tornado, and a man in a balloon blows into town claiming to be a doctor. At first, the new doctor cures anything and everything, but soon the town's preacher takes ill with a mysterious plague. And then the plague begins to spread. Set in Indiana during the late 1800s, Anatomy of Gray explores themes of death, loss, love and healing through a unique coming-of-age story.