Manoa Valley Theatre will be one of the theatres in the country to receive independent licensing to put on “Avenue Q” and “August: Osage County” as part of its 2010-2011 season.

The season was announced prior to Thursday night’s opening night of “Hair.”
"We are particularly thrilled to be one of the first theatres in the country to receive independent licensing for Avenue Q and August: Osage County,” MVT producing director Dwight Martin stated in a news release this morning announcing the season. “MVT is committed to including exciting, contemporary plays within our annual lineups. Diligence and perseverance have resulted in these two award-winning titles being released for Hawai‘i production.”
Ticket sales and prices will be released at a later date, but you can go to manoavalleytheatre.com or call988-6131 for more information.
A look at Manoa Valley Theatre’s 2010-2011 season, running September through July:
THE HONKY TONK ANGELS
a musical
by Ted Swindley
September 9-26, 2010

The Honky Tonk Angels follows the journey of three women who are fed up with their lives and set out to chase their dreams of becoming country music stars. They meet on a bus on their way to Nashville where they strike up a friendship and decide to pursue their dream together as a trio. The show uses many country music classics by artists such as Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, and Willie Nelson. Known songs include “Nine to Five,” “Harper Valley PTA,” “Stand By Your Man,” “Coal Miner's Daughter,” “Amazing Grace,” and more.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
a holiday drama
adapted by Doris Baizley
based upon the story by Charles Dickens
November 11-28, 2010
A play-within-a-play, this theatrical adaptation of the classic story by Charles Dickens is performed by a group of motley actors, whose colorful and raggedy costumes and masks gradually give way to Dickens' gray and ghostly tale. There are touches of commedia dell'arte as the play is performed with a minimum of sets, no props and loads of imagination. This version of "A Christmas Carol" has what few adaptations have, a consistent point of view that belongs to Scrooge. He never leaves his bedroom except when we are with him.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
a comedy/adventure
adapted by Mark Brown
based on the story by Jules Verne
January 13-30, 2011
Stampeding elephants, raging typhoons, runaway trains… unabashedly slapstick. Follow fearless adventurer Phileas Fogg and his faithful manservant as they race to beat the clock! Phileas Fogg has agreed to an outrageous wager that puts his fortune and his life at risk. With his resourceful servant Passepartout, Fogg sets out to circle the globe in an unheard-of 80 days. But his every step is dogged by a detective who thinks he's a robber on the run. Danger, romance, and comic surprises abound in this whirlwind of a show as five actors portraying 39 characters traverse seven continents in Mark Brown's new adaptation of one of the great adventures of all time.

AVENUE Q
a musical
by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx,
and Jeff Whitty
March 3-20, 2011
Princeton is a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q; still, the neighbors seem nice. There's Brian the out-of-work comedian and his therapist fiancee Christmas Eve; Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his roommate Rod -- a Republican investment banker who seems to have some sort of secret; an Internet addict called Trekkie Monster; and a very cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate. And would you believe the building's superintendent is Gary Coleman?!? (Yes, that Gary Coleman.) Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
a drama
by Tracy Letts
May 19-June 5, 2011
Winner of multiple awards for “Best Play” (Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, among others). The plot centers on a reunion of the Weston family, living in the state of Oklahoma ; the play's title refers to Osage County , which lies northwest of Tulsa. The three-act play deals with such issues as drug abuse, alcoholism, suicide, death, family dysfunction, sexual harassment, pedophilia, aging, generational change, racism, incest, infidelity, and ultimately love.

TONY N' TINA'S WEDDING
an environmental comedy
by Artificial Intelligence
June 30-July 17, 2011
One of the longest-running comedies in American theatre, Tony n' Tina's Wedding is credited as the originator of the “environmental theatre” craze. It stages a traditional Italian-American wedding and reception with its colorful and intrusive stereotypes pushed to the limit. Audience members are treated as guests at the wedding by the interactive, improvisational comedy cast. Previously produced by MVT in 1996.