Experience
Venture Theatre's 2009-10 Season...

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You can read the Billings Gazette's May 15 synopsis here.

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Musical Theatre Series:

Thrilling entertainment. Triumph of the human spirit. Escape into the lives of characters who can't help but sing.

Rent: School Edition

Production Sponsor: Energy Laboratories
Production Sponsor: Streeter Brothers Companies

Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Dates: July 17 - August 10
Tickets: $16 adult, $13 student or senior
Type: Rock musical

Performed entirely by students, this high school version of the Pulitzer-Prize winning Broadway musical is based on the opera La Boheme. A story of friendship, commitment, betrayal and loyalty, RENT follow the lives of seven friends living the Bohemian life in New York’s East Village. This contemporary rock musical contains issues that affect the lives of America’s youth – sexuality, AIDS, drug usage, violence, death & acceptance. (PG-13 some material may not be suitable for children)

The Full Monty

Production Sponsor: Sanctuary Spa
Production Sponsor: WMK & Co.

Book by Terence McNalley
Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek
Dates: September 18 - October 10
Tickets: $16 adult, $13 student or senior
Type: Rock musical

Based on the British movie of the same name, The Full Monty includes driving rock tunes and outrageous comedy.  Unemployed steel workers come up with a crazy plan to make some easy cash.  Their fears and anxieties threaten to thwart their plan, but they work up the courage to "bear it all" and the stamina to finish the routine.  (PG-13 some material may not be suitable for children. Brief nudity. Strong language and sexual references.)

My Way

Production Sponsor: Ruth Cutler in loving memory of Jack and Heino Lackey

Conceived by David Grapes and Todd Olson
Book by Todd Olson
Dates: March 2010
Tickets: $16 adult, $13 student or senior
Type: Musical Play

Jam packed with Frank Sinatra music, this tribute is full of material of the era and includes: "All of Me", "All the Way", "Fly Me to the Moon", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Love and Marriage", "Moonlight Serenade", "New York, New York", "It Was a Very Good Year", and many more.

Violet

Production Sponsor: Rankin File Producers Club

Based on "The Ugliest Pilgrim" by Doris Betts
Book and Lyrics by Brian Crawley
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Dates: June 2010
Tickets: $16 adult, $13 student or senior
Type: Musical Play

Set in 1964 in the Deep South during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, Violet follows the growth and enlightenment of a bitter young woman accidentally scarred by her father. In hopes that a TV evangelist can cure her, she embarks on a journey by bus from her sleepy North Carolina town to Oklahoma. Along the way, she meets a young black soldier who teaches her about beauty, love, courage and what it means to be an outsider.

Family Series:

Bringing literature to life, these stories of adventure are chosen for the family audience. Based upon books, the productions will capture your imagination and fill your spirit. The Family Series is specially designed to provide family-friendly material and will never include fowl language or embarrassing adult material.

Anon(ymous)

Production Sponsor: Rocky Mountain Bank
Production Sponsor: Steve and Missy Langlas
Production Sponsor: The Bush Family

Based on Homer's "The Odyssey
By Naomi Iizuka
Dates: October 2009
Tickets: $16 adult, $13 student or senior
Type: Drama / Adventure

A young man loses his mother and has no home. This entrancing adaptation of Homer's Odyssey tells the gripping story of his adventures. The myriad of people who attempt to sway him from his mission only illustrate how important family and home can be. (PG)

Willy Wonka

Production Sponsor: Altana Federal Credit Union

Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Adapted for the Stage by Tim McDonald
Dates: December 2009
Tickets: $16 adult, $13 student or senior
Type: Drama / Fairy Tale Musical

Based on the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, this twisted fairy tale comes to life in a new stage adaptation of the old-school family film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. (PG)

Edge Series:

The Edge Series maintains the "edgier" side of theatre upon which Venture was founded. Designed for the connoisseur of non-musicals, these pieces just have more punch than your garden variety material. Chosen for their substance, The Edge Series will challenge your perceptions of live theatre with thought-provoking material. Warning:  this is adult material and may include sexual references and strong language.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Production Sponsor: Northwest Auto

By Martin McDonagh
Dates: November 2009
Tickets: $16 adult, $13 student or senior
Type: Dark Comedy / Drama

The darkly comic Irish tale of Maureen and her mother Mag. Maureen is a plain and lonely middle-aged woman and Mag is stern and manipulative. When Mag interferes with Maureen's last chance at love, a train of events is set in motion that leads toward disaster. (R- Not suitable for children.)

Big Love

By Chuck Mee
Dates: May 2010
Tickets: $16 adult, $13 student or senior
Type: Comedy / Farce

Fifty brides flee their fifty grooms and seek refuge in a villa on the coast of Italy. When the grooms catch up with their brides, mayhem ensues. Finally, unable to escape their forced marriages; 49 of the brides murder 49 of the grooms - and one bride falls in love. A modern farce for modern times.