BHP Announces 53rd Season Lineup

Brooke Hills Playhouse announces its 53rd season with four delightful plays and a musical that will captivate and entertain all audiences. Brooke County Arts Council President Julia Barnhart is looking for an exciting season and is grateful. “We thank Municipal Mutual Insurance Company, Reasner Funeral Home, and Innovative Lab Services for becoming season sponsors and showing their appreciation and support of the arts, she remarked. “Our season gets a head start thanks to the generosity of our season sponsors and our advertisers. This season is going to be wonderful. Please plan on seeing a show.”
Running May 24-26 and May 31-June 2, the comedy “The Kitchen Witches,” was written by Caroline Smith. This hilarious tale begins with Isabel Lomax and Dolly Biddle, two “mature” cable-access cooking show hostesses who have hated each other for 30 years, ever since Larry Biddle dated one and married the other. When they find themselves together on a TV show called “The Kitchen Witches,” the insults are flying harder than the food. Dolly’s long-suffering TV producer son, Stephen, tries to keep them on track, but as long as Dolly’s dressing room is one inch closer to the set than Isobel’s, it’s a losing battle, and the show becomes a ratings smash.
The second show, a farce, was written by Marc Camoletti and Robin Hawdon. Bernard is planning a romantic weekend with his chic Parisian mistress while his wife, Jacqueline, is away. He has arranged for a cordon bleu cook to prepare gourmet delights, and has invited his best friend, Robert, along to provide the alibi. What could possibly go wrong? Well, suppose Robert doesn’t know why he was invited, and suppose Robert and Jacqueline are secret lovers, and it is determined that Jacqueline is not leaving for the weekend. Suppose the cook has to pretend to be the mistress, and the mistress has to pretend to be the cook, and the mistress can’t cook! An evening of hilarity ensues as Robert and Bernard improvise at breakneck speed. Come enjoy the fun June 14-16 and 21-23.
“Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical,” will run July 5-7 and 12-14. Inspired by the genius of Roald Dahl, the Tony Award winning musical is the captivating masterpiece from the Royal Shakespeare Company that revels in the anarchy of childhood. It conveys the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life. With book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, “Matilda” has won 47 international awards. Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, “Matilda” is a joyous girl power romp. Audiences will be thrilled with the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination.
The fourth show, “The Wizard of Oz,” was originally written by L. Frank Baum and adapted in this show by Claude Townley. Of course, this is the children’s show, and we all know and love the story about Dorothy and her clever dog, Toto. This enchanting tale begins to spin as the sounds of a tornado are heard, and audiences will fall in love all over again with this clever, modern, and exciting stage version of Dorothy’s adventures in the wonderful land of Oz. Show dates are July 26-28 and August 2-4.
Jones Hope Wooten’s “Rex’s Exes” takes us back home to Texas where we meet up with the Verdeen cousins, Gaynelle, Peaches, and Jimmy Wyvette, one last time as they teeter on the brink of disaster. Gaynelle stubbornly refuses to face turning 50; Peaches is determined to throw Gaynelle a surprise birthday party she doesn’t want; Jimmie Wy agrees to help Peaches surprise Gaynelle, but the surprise is on them when Peaches’ recently declared dead husband returns, and his romantic links to each of his cousins is revealed. So many outrageous complications ensue to make this ferociously funny comedy explode into chaos! Plan to laugh a lot August 16-18 and 23-25.
Showtimes at the Playhouse are 8 p.m. Friday’s and Saturday’s and 2 p.m. on Sunday’s. The box office opens one hour before the performances. Season tickets are available at $58 for adults, $50 for seniors and students, and $42 for children. Purchases may be made at the box office during the season, or send a check to BCAC, PO Box 186, Wellsburg, WV 26070, and your tickets will be mailed to you. Remember you are getting five shows for the price of four.
For more information, call or text 304.737.3344. Also visit Brooke Hills Playhouse on Facebook.
Brooke Hills Playhouse is located in Brooke Hills Park, Wellsburg.