Elmira Little Theatre is already planning our 2007-2008 season and is asking for input from the community.  "For the first time since the 1950s, we are inviting our members and the community to participate in the play selection process," said ELT Board of Governors President Jessica Ossiboff.

"We want to bring you shows that you will enjoy, and so we are asking you to participate in our play selection process," added Jerry Holleran, the Chair of the Play Selection Committee.  The Play Selection Committee has compiled a list of five plays that they are considering for production in the next season and are asking the Southern Tier to select the show they'd most like ELT to present.  The show that receives the most votes will be included in the 2007-2008 season.

The five plays to choose from are:

The Crucible by Arthur Miller.  This classic play is a dramatization of the mass hysteria surrounding the Salem with trials.  According to author Miller, "The play [was] not reportage of any kind… what I was doing was writing a fictional story about an important theme."  Miller wrote The Crucible as a scathing indictment of the McCarthy anti-Communist hearings, but its theme is as relevant today as it was during the "Red Scare."

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.  Another classic American drama, this play tells the story of a disabled woman experiencing her first love.  Jerry Holleran described why this show endures, "Few stories have ever been told with more charm and grace than this tale of unrequited love.  The power of symbolism resounds in the lives of people whose southern culture has overstayed its welcome."

Guys and Dolls by Jo Swerling, Abe Burrows, and Frank Loesser.  Mike Lavarnway, a member of the Play Selection Committee who worked on compiling the list described this show as, "Previously done by ELT, Guys and Dolls is an up-beat and lively musical about a gambling bet that turns into a romance between Nathan Detroit, a local gangster, and Sarah Brown, a straight-walking sister at the Save a Soul Mission."  Filled with dance and well-know songs ("Fugue for Tinhorns", "Adeline's Lament", "Luck be a Lady" and "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat"), this show is always an audience pleaser.

The Odd Couple (female lead version) by Neil Simon.  The Odd Couple is one of Neil Simon's most popular plays and was a huge success for ELT a few years ago.  But, what if the roles were reversed and we saw how divorce affected the women, not the men?  Mike Lavarnway, who was in the cast of the recent ELT production of the show, explained how Simon approached the updated version of his play:  "There's the sloppy Olive Madison and her neurotically clean roommate, Florence Unger, all their Trival Pursuit-playing friends and of course, the Spanish brothers from upstairs.  Many think this version is even funnier than the original."

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dale Wasserman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey.  In every crowd, there’s one who doesn’t fit in… and in this play his name is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a criminal who is sent to a mental ward.  McMurphy wages war against conformity as personified by the mental institution and Nurse Ratched who runs the ward.  It is interesting to note that Ken Kesey based his novel on his experiences working in a mental ward. Kesey took psychoactive drugs and even underwent shock therapy to gain insight into the patients and eventually the characters he would invent for his novel.  A huge hit, both on Broadway and in film, this show uses comedy and drama to explore the question, "Does too much sanity make you insane?"

"This is a really exciting opportunity," said Joe Edkin, Chair of ELT's Marketing Committee.  "Elmira Little Theatre is a community theater group, and I think it's great that we are reaching out to our community to find out what they would like to see us produce.  Any of these five excellent shows would make a welcome addition to the 2007-2008 season and I look forward to finding out what people want to see.  In addition to asking people to select one of these five titles, ELT is also soliciting suggestions for other shows to be considered for upcoming seasons."

Ballots will be available during ELT's presentation of Play It Again, Sam, October 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, and 28 at the Clemens Center's Mandeville Hall, or you may also mail your selection and suggestions to PO Box 761, Elmira, NY 14902, or you cast your vote below.  Ballots will be accepted until October 31, 2006.  The show receiving the most votes will be announced in the Chapter Two program book and on our website in February 2007.

Please note that the balloting has now closed. We will announce the winners soon. We thank everyone who cast their votes and offered further suggestions!