The 2024 Season at The Ringgold Playhouse will open in February at the historic Ringgold Depot downtown
The Ringgold Playhouse has announced its 2024 Season at the historic Ringgold Depot, which will kick off the company’s second decade of theater.
After opening its doors in the summer of 2013, TRP has worked hard to bring unique and thought-provoking entertainment to downtown Ringgold. Now in Season 11, the company says it has its biggest season to date planned for audiences.
“It’s been an amazing run thus far, and we’re really just getting started,” said Executive Director Adam Cook. The city of Ringgold and our Board of Directors have worked hard to prepare a wonderful season that offers variety and new opportunities for artists in our area.”
According to Mr. Cook, the new season will open with a classic comedy in Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, will feature the gritty drama of Sam Shepard, and will give vocalists the opportunity to shine with the company’s first-ever musical production.
“Our building is one-of-a-kind, but it’s also very intimate, so we don’t have the wing space most theaters do to perform big musicals,” Ms. Cook explained. “That being said, we’ve been strategic with our sound and equipment upgrades over the past few years, and we’ve chosen a show in You’re Perfect, I Love You, Now Change that we feel fits the venue and will strike a chord with audiences.”
The 2024 Season Lineup:
Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon, Feb. 29 - March 3: Paul and Corie Bratter are newlyweds in every sense of the word. He’s a straight-as-an-arrow lawyer and she’s a free spirit always looking for the latest kick. Their new apartment is her most recent find – too expensive with bad plumbing and in need of a paint job. After a six-day honeymoon, they get a surprise from Corie’s loopy mother and decide to play matchmaker during a dinner with their neighbor-in-the-attic, Velasco, where everything that can go wrong does. Paul just doesn’t understand Corie, and she sees it. He is too staid, too boring, and she just wants him to be a little more spontaneous. Running ‘barefoot in the park’ would be a start…
This show will be directed by Renee Lierow and will run for five total performances Feb. 29 - March 3. Auditions for the show will be held Dec. 20 and 21.
TRP’s One-Act Playwriting Showcase, by multiple authors, May 16-19: TRP will accept new one-act play submissions from local writers between Feb. 1-29 before a panel of readers will choose two or three of the plays for production. The production will then include an evening of the top one-act plays penned by local wordsmiths. New, original, unproduced plays written by residents living in the North Georgia/Chattanooga area are eligible for submission. Each playwright must be willing to direct his/her show or have someone do so on their behalf.
Kill Me, Deadly, by Bill Robens, June 20-23: Charlie Nickels has a hard life as a gumshoe in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, and things are only made harder by the murder of a client and the theft of her 300 karat diamond. With the help of his wise-cracking secretary, Ida, Charlie seeks out the many suspects: smarmy bookworm Clive, equestrian beauty Veronica, snooty butler Wilson, sensitive muscle Louie, and mob boss Bugsy Siegel. At the center of the case is femme fatale Mona, a nightclub singer who captures Charlie's affections...and suspicions. Packed with romance, intrigue, and murder, this detective noir is a smart parody that will keep you guessing until the end.
This show will be directed by Kimberly Tyner Jones, and will run for five total performances June 20-23.
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts, July 18-28: The longest running off-Broadway revue in history has been revised for the 21st century. This celebration of the mating game takes on truths and myths behind that contemporary conundrum known as “the relationship.” Through sketches and songs, Act I explores the journey from dating and waiting to love and marriage, While Act II reveals the agonies and triumphs of in-laws and newborns, trips in the family car and pick-up techniques of the geriatric set. This hilarious revue pays tribute to those who have loved and lost, to those who have fallen on their face at the portal of romance, to those who have dared to ask, “Say, what are you doing Saturday night?” This updated version features two new songs, revised lyrics and dialogue throughout the show to reflect dating in modern times.
This musical will be directed by Laurie Shaw, and will run for eight total performances over two weekends July 18-28.
Fool for Love, by Sam Shepard, Sept. 19-22: The scene is a stark motel room at the edge of the Mojave Desert. May, a disheveled young woman, sits dejectedly on a rumpled bed while Eddie, a rough-spoken rodeo performer, crouches in a corner fiddling with his riding gear. When he attempts to console May, who is distressed by Eddie’s frequent absences and love affairs, she seems, at first, to soften—but then she suddenly attacks him. As the recriminations pour out, and the action becomes at times physically violent, the desperate nature of their relationship becomes apparent—they cannot get along with, or without, one another, yet neither can subdue their burning passion. The poignancy of their situation is pointed out by the play’s two other characters: a hapless young man who stops by to take May to the movies and becomes the butt of Eddie’s funniest yet most humiliating jokes, and a ghostly old man who sits in a rocking chair at the side of the stage, sipping whiskey and commenting wryly on what he observes. Eventually May and Eddie tire of their struggle and embrace—but it is evident that the respite is temporary and that their love, the curse of the past which haunts them, will remain forever damned and hopeless.
This play will feature the cast of Laurie Shaw, Adam Cook, Jonathan Harrell, and Greg Rambin and will be a collaborative directorial effort by the group. The show will run for five total performances Sept. 19-22.
Home for the Holidays, by Adam Cook, Dec. 20-22: This original holiday cabaret will feature a collection of intertwined stories about the holiday spirit, the craziness of family, and learning to believe in miracles. Described as a “play with music,” each connected vignette will feature some singing and dancing to classic and original Christmas songs.
The show will run for four performances Dec. 20-22.
In addition to the six main stage productions, TRP will also produce four of its popular Comedy Clubs that’ll offer nights of stand-up comedy and improvisation.
“We’re extremely excited about the season lineup, but we love the comedy clubs as well,” Mr. Cook said. “The comedy clubs are super fun and it gives comedians and improv players a chance to show off their skills a few times a year.”
Single show and season tickets for the 2024 Season can be purchased at Ringgold City Hall or online at Eventbrite.com.
“We’re really excited about this season and sincerely hope audiences will make plans to come see the wonderful entertainment we have lined up for season number 11,” Mr. Cook said.
TRP looks to build on the momentum of its 2023 season, which saw productions like the play-within-a-play comedy, “Play On!”