Elmira Little Theatre has selected the four shows that will comprise its 2007-2008 season and is now seeking interested directors to over see the productions.  The popular musical The Full Monty starts the season with performances in late September/early October of 2007.  The classic love story On Golden Pond will be presented in February, 2008, with our very popular radio show to follow in late March.  The season will conclude in May, 2008, with the play selected by its audiences, the female lead version of The Odd Couple.  All for shows will be performed at the Clemens Center's Mandeville Hall.

"Our goal was to develop a season with great variety," said Jerry Holleran, Chair of ELT's Play Selection Committee.  "As we have for the past twenty seasons, we will be taking A Visit to the Golden Age of Radio, presenting scripts from classic radio shows read live on stage.  For the rest of the season, we accepted suggestions from our members and volunteers, then read dozens of scripts.  I think we found a terrific balance including a musical that has not been mounted by a local group yet, a touching romantic drama about how love endures for a couple entering the twilights of their lives, and one of Neil Simon's most popular comedies."

"Who doesn't love The Odd Couple?" asked ELT Board of Governors President Mike Lavarnway.  "Obviously the people of the Southern Tier do.  We polled our audiences in October of last year, inviting them to select one play from a list of five that we would produce during our upcoming season.  They told us they wanted to see the female lead version of The Odd Couple and we're happy to oblige."

With the season now set, Elmira Little Theatre now needs to find directors to oversee the productions.  As always, A Visit to the Golden Age of Radio will be directed by Gary Yoggy.  The other three shows will require directors with the skills and visions to bring them to life.  "We're looking for talented people to oversee these shows and are asking interested individuals to submit their resume," said Holleran, whose committee will review the applications and submit the names of their recommended directors to the full ELT Board for approval.  "While directorial experience is helpful, we won't dismiss people who have never directed a show before if they have experience in other areas of the theater and the creative drive and vision to make a play succeed."

The shows for which ELT is soliciting directors are:

The Full Monty (performance dates September 28, 29, October 4, 5, and 6, 2007 at 8pm and September 30, 2007 at 2pm) is a musical by David Yazbek Book by Terrence McNally based on the Oscar-winning British film.  The incredibly funny and very touching story centers around five unemployed men in Buffalo who decide to become strippers in order to raise quick cash.  As the guys work through their fears, self-consciousness, feelings of worthlessness and anxieties (over everything from being overweight to child custody, to bigotry, and to being gay), they come to discover that not only are they stronger as a group, but that the strength they find in each other gives them the individual courage to face and overcome their demons.  The show will require a director with a sure hand at overseeing a musical, plus a musical director and a choreographer.

On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson (performance dates February 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9, 2008 at 8pm and February 3, 2008 at 2pm) is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-fourth year.  Norman is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory — but he is as tart-tongued, observant and eager for life as ever.  Ethel, ten years younger and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together.  The show has a small cast and requires a director who can bring life to its comic and dramatic moments.

The final production of the season will be Neil Simon's own rethinking of his most popular play The Odd Couple (May 9, 10, 15, 16, and 17, 2008 at 8pm and May 11, 2008 at 2pm).  In this version of the show, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison have become Florence Unger and Olive Madison, two divorced women who invite their best friends over for regular games of Trivial Pursuit.  While the genders have been reversed for all the characters, the dynamic between Unger and Madison who've all come to know and love remains the same.  Many consider this version of the play to be even funnier than the original, and ELT seeks a director with a deft hand for comedy.

Anybody who is interested in being considered as a director for any of next season's shows should fill out our online application.  If you prefer not to apply online, please send your resume and the name of the show(s) for which you'd like to be considered as director to Elmira Little Theatre, PO Box 761, Elmira, NY, 14902.  Deadline for applications is May 1, 2007.  Directors will be selected by June 1, 2007.