Legacy Theatre Announces 2024 Mainstage Season

Press release

Legacy Theatre Announces 2024 Mainstage Season, featuring The Bridges of Madison County and Julie Andrews’ The Great American Mousical!

BRANFORD, CT November 17, 2023 – Branford’s Legacy Theatre is thrilled to announce the 2024 Mainstage season lineup – “the Season of Love!” Subscriptions for the 2024 Mainstage Series will go on sale Monday, November 20 at 10:00 AM and can be purchased through the Box Office (203.315.1901) or Legacy’s website, LegacyTheatreCT.org.

The 2024 Mainstage Series will open with Mark Twain’s Diaries of Adam and Eve, edited and adapted for the stage by David Birney, May 30-June 16. Birney’s entertaining adaptation is the portrait of two very unusual people, those first lovers who met under rather complicated circumstances and found a way to build a life together. Written through the eyes of America’s greatest humorist, Mark Twain’s Garden of Eden bursts with wit, laughter, and the lyric poignance of the first love and the first loss, taking audiences on a delightful journey of self-discovery and exploration.

Next up will be The Great American Mousical, running July 11-28, with music by Zina Goldrich, lyrics by Marcy Heisler, and book by Hunter Bell, based on the book by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton. Below the bright lights of Broadway, in the depths of the historic Sovereign Theatre, an acting troupe of mice rehearses their new musical. When the theatre is threatened by demolition and their diva Adelaide disappears, it will take all paws on deck to fulfill the time-honored tradition: the show must go on! Filled with singing, dancing, and show biz lore, The Great American Mousical is a sharp and witty tribute to life in the theatre that celebrates those two glorious words: musical comedy! The production will be directed by the legend herself, Dame Julie Andrews, and Tony Award–winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies).

The third installment in the Mainstage Series, playing August 8-25, will be the world premiere of a new musical, Love Affair. Love Affair tells the story of a beautiful, yet unassuming woman who boards a transatlantic cruise bound for New York to marry a wealthy socialite. However, when she meets a captivating playboy on the ship, she discovers something she never expected: true love in a Love Affair. Based on the 1939 film of the same title, which was later remade into the iconic film An Affair to Remember, this thrilling new musical is sure to capture the hearts of all.

Closing out the Mainstage Series September 12-29 will be the romantic musical The Bridges of Madison County with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Marsha Norman, based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller. The Bridges of Madison County captures the lyrical expanse of America's heartland in an exploration of the yearning entangled in the eternal question, "What if...?" Called “emotionally gripping” by The Washington Post and “lush and deeply romantic” by Entertainment Weekly, this sweeping romance speaks of the roads we travel, the doors we open, and the bridges we dare to cross. Developed by Tony Award–winner Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World) and Tony and Pulitzer Prize–winner Marsha Norman (The Secret Garden, ‘night, Mother), this Winner of the 2014 Tony Award for Best Score and Orchestrations will leave audiences breathless. The production is set to star Broadway veterans Anne Runolfsson (The Phantom of the Opera, Victor/Victoria) and Hugh Panaro (The Phantom of the Opera, Side Show).

Legacy’s 2024 Season will also include the Sunday Broadway Concert Series generously sponsored by Jana and Tom Shea, children's and family programming, special events, and more. Additional titles will be announced in January 2024 when single tickets go on sale.

Legacy Theatre’s 2023 mainstage season closed last month on the heels of two back-to-back sold-out production runs of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and The Play That Goes Wrong. Due to popular demand, many Legacy patrons were wait-listed and turned away from seeing both of these productions. “We fully expect to see a similar sold-out situation again next season with the level of artists and creatives named as part of our season of love,” explained Jeff Provost, Legacy’s Managing Director. Subscribers get first access to the entire 4-production mainstage season, save 25% off single ticket prices, and are guaranteed the same seating locations throughout the 2024 season. “The Legacy Theatre is a small, intimate house so we’re advising local theatre-lovers who wish to avoid disappointment not to wait. Subscribe today,” warns Provost.

Subscriptions for Legacy’s 2024 Mainstage Series are on sale now and can be purchased through the Box Office (203.315.1901) or Legacy’s website, LegacyTheatreCT.org. The Box Office is open Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm. The Legacy Theatre is located in the village of Stony Creek in Branford, CT, at 128 Thimble Islands Road.