Drayton Entertainment’s 2017 Season will be on stage live and in technicolour, beginning next March.
Artistic director Alex Mustakas continues to dream big for the award-winning not-for-profit charitable arts organization, with 17 productions spanning seven stages throughout Ontario.
“There’s a lot of variety on stage next season,” Mustakas said.
“There are grand scale musicals with familiar stories loved by everyone, rare gems with incredible music and fun characters that make audiences laugh and sing, larger-than-life comedies with outrageous plots and even more outrageous characters, and so much more. Audiences won’t want to miss a single production.”
Dunfield Theatre Cambridge
The 2017 Season starts with a musical masterpiece for audiences of all ages. Based on the “coat of many colors” story of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a dazzling Broadway spectacle beloved by theatregoers around the world. Featuring famous tunes like Go, Go, Go Joseph, Any Dream Will Do, and Close Every Door, this global phenomenon penned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice launches the season in Cambridge from March 1 to April 2.
Next up is the hit Tony Award-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet inspired by a legendary true story.
In 1956, Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll”, brought together then rising star Johnny Cash, unknown Jerry Lee Lewis, veteran musician Carl Perkins, and chart topper Elvis Presley for one unforgettable night at Sun Records in Memphis.
This powerhouse musical, which is jam-packed with an incredible roster of musical talent and all the hip-shaking, guitar-twanging hits that made these rock ‘n’ roll giants famous, is on stage April 11 to May 7.
After its world-premiere at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, Marathon of Hope: The Musical comes to Cambridge from May 15 to June 4 to take audiences on an inspiring and uplifting journey as it chronicles Terry Fox’s unprecedented cross-Canada marathon for cancer research.
It’s a summer of silliness with the hit comedy One for the Pot on stage from July 26 to August 12.
Classic rock takes centre stage in the fall as the Broadway megahit Rock of Ages turns up the volume in Cambridge from Oct. 11 to Nov. 5.
Drayton Entertainment production of Disney’s most popular musical brings the season to a close in Cambridge. Beauty and the Beast, is on stage from Nov. 22 to Dec. 24.
Drayton Festival Theatre
Following its run in Cambridge, the family friendly Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will launch the 2017 season in Drayton from May 17 to June 4.
Filled with snappy dialogue, witty repartee, hilarious predicaments and hearty laughs, Norm Foster’s Office Hours is a skillfully constructed six-tier comedy that speaks to the one common bond that unites us together – the race toward quitting time. The production runs June 14 to 30.
Something’s growing in Drayton next July … and it might not be exactly what it seems. In Harvest, a retired couple trades tough life in the country for a comfortable condo in the city.
They unwittingly rent their farmhouse to a young pilot intent on raising a different “crop”. Based on true events, Harvest is on stage July 12 to 30.
The season in Drayton ends with the aforementioned Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Million Dollar Quartet. Blue Suede Shoes, Walk the Line, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’, Who Do You Love?, Matchbox, and Hound Dog are just a few of the hits packed into this surefire hit. Million Dollar Quartet is on stage Aug. 9 to Sept. 3.
St. Jacobs Country Playhouse
The 2017 season starts with a splash in St. Jacobs as the classic musical Singin’ in the Rain comes to life on stage from March 22 to April 16.
Norm Foster delivers big laughs and even bigger heart in Jonas and Barry in the Home, a hilarious new comedy that touts living each day to the fullest regardless of your age or stage in life. As an extra special treat, Foster himself stars in this ageless comedy about two seniors searching for friendship, love, and elusive happiness at the Gateway Gardens assisted living home. See him on stage May 3 to 20.
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, an outrageous whodunit for anyone who loves a good laugh. The longest running show in London’s West End, this hilarious comedy thriller features four fearless actors playing 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced action from May 31 to June 17.
The summer heats up with the fun-filled romantic musical comedy Thoroughly Modern Millie, on stage July 5 to 23. Small-town girl Millie Dillmount arrives in New York City, ready to fall in love and make her dreams come true.
Then take a gamble on Lucky Stiff, a hilarious musical comedy that follows a dead guy who’s having the time of his life. A bachelor shoe salesman is forced to take the corpse of his uncle on vacation – and pass him off as alive – in order to receive a large fortune.
Audiences will be humming a tune and dying of laughter from Aug. 9 to 27.
Next fall, join us for one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman finds his career crumbling and his relationships with his wife and sons severely tested in Arthur Miller’s dream-like meditation on the cost of the American dream. This compelling exploration of failure and success will keep audiences riveted Oct. 11 to 29.
Being different is good. Based on one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most beloved stories, Honk! is a high-energy musical comedy that tells the story of Ugly, a duckling born into ridicule and loneliness simply because he is different.
Running Nov. 29 to Dec. 24, Honk’s universal message of acceptance is sure to quack up audiences of all ages with its unique gaggle of barnyard characters, tuneful songs, and clever comedy.
St. Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre
The intimate, 100-seat venue is home to a brand new, foot-stompin’ country music show.
Venture back to the honky-tonks and saloons which shaped country music’s glorious history in Kings and Queens of Country, on stage Sept. 19 to Dec. 24. This jubilant walk down memory lane celebrates country music’s greatest pioneers.
Ticket Information
Tickets now exclusively on sake for members, followed by groups and subscribers on Nov. 15, and the general public on Dec. 1 just in time for the holidays.
Regular performance tickets are $46 for adults; $27 for youth under 20 years of age. Tickets for groups of 20 or more, and select discount dates, are $37.
