ArtsNashoba ANNounces 2016-17 Season with Great ANNticipation

GROTON, MA: Non-profit regional arts center ArtsNashoba is entering its fourth year of bringing the “Arts to Youth and Youth to the Arts.” With three seasons behind them, the organization is ANNticipating the blockbuster fourth to be the biggest and best yet! In addition to its ongoing workshops in theatre and visual arts, as well as its special programming for Autism/Special Needs audiences, the 2016-17 season will include two beloved musicals sure to please ANNybody!

Without furthur ANNoying clues, the first of the two musicals will be… you guessed it – ANNIE! Leapin’ Lizards! The world’s best-loved musical, featuring book and score by Tony Award®-winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, ANNIE includes such unforgettable songs as “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” “I Don’t Need Anything But You,” plus the eternal anthem of optimism, “Tomorrow.” ANNIE is based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip ‘Little Orphan Annie.’ The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre). It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The production will be directed by ArtsNashoba’s Artistic Director Sharon Bisantz of Lowell, with music direction by Diane Guenard of Lancaster ANNIE has a wealth of opportunities for young actors, both male and female. Actor auditions will be held in September of 2016, including a separate audition for budding theatrical DOGS. Yes, ArtsNashoba will be on a quest to find “Sandy,” the live pooch who will be Annie’s best friend onstage. So, stay tuned for more information (and start practicing your barks and head tilts in the meantime! Dogs, please. Not kids.) The show will run December 2-3, 2016, at the Richardson-Mees Performing Arts Center in Groton.

Following in the Spring, ArtsNashoba will be heading north to Prince Edward Isle. Be on the lookout for ANNother spectacular musical – “Anne of Green Gables!” A story for all ages, it has been a well-loved a children's novel since the mid-twentieth century written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It recounts the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan girl who is mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a middle-aged brother and sister who had intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm in Prince Edward Island. It’s not long before the Cuthberts find a handful in Anne… as well as a heartful. Anne of Green Gables will be directed by ArtsNashoba President Bonnie Marchesani of Groton with music by Diane Guenard. Like the season opening ANNIE, the musical has a large number of roles for many young actors. Auditions will be held in the late winter, with production the last week in March’17.

Young people ages 8 to 18 are invited to participate in ArtsNashoba’s productions, an ~8-week production process including three afternoons per week in rehearsal and a one-weekend show run. Tuition is $295/participant. Discounts are available for siblings and children of Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce Members. Scholarships are also available to families in need.

More complete information will be posted on the ArtsNashoba website – www.artsnashoba.org – as it becomes available. In the meantime, if you’d like to hear more about the theatrical and visual arts opportunities ArtsNashoba is offering the Nashoba Valley region (and beyond), stop by the site to sign up for their mailing list, email info@artsnashoba.org, or call them at (978) 842-1255 to find out how you can get your kids involved!