2024/2025 Season

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS!

This 2024/2025 marks 100 years that The Youngstown Playhouse has provided community theatre to Youngstown and the surrounding areas. This season’s line-up continues to bring a variety of genres to the stage with a mix of classics and contemporary shows that will take audiences through a full range of emotions: love, mystery, adventure, joy, and hope.

“We tell stories that connect us, that let us walk in someone else’s shoes and illuminate the human spirit. There’s nothing better than entertaining people and making them laugh or cry.”

– Dr. John Cox, Board President

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL

Book by Douglas McGrath
Words & Music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
Directed by John Holt
Musical Direction by Michael Moritz, Jr.

August 23 – 25, 2024
Edward W. Powers Auditorium | DeYor Performing Arts Center

ABOUT THE SHOW

The inspiring true story of Carole King’s remarkable journey from teenage songwriter to music superstar! From the pop classics King wrote for singers from Aretha Franklin to James Taylor, to her own chart-busting success as a solo artist, this Tony- and Grammy Award-winning sensation is filled with the songs you remember and a story you’ll never forget!

SOMETHING ROTTEN!

Book by John O’Farrell & Karry Kirkpatrick
Music & Lyrics by Karry & Wayne Kirkpatrick
Directed by Emma Wason

September 20 – 29, 2024
Main Stage

ABOUT THE SHOW

In 1595 London, Renaissance rivals Nick and Nigel Bottom, struggling to outshine the widely popular William Shakespeare, hit upon a revolutionary invention: the musical! This laugh-out-loud comedy bursts with show-stopping tap numbers, outrageous costumes, and a side of bard-ish rivalry. You’ll laugh until your sides ache at this Tony-nominated musical that’s rotten with fun!

PUFFS

OR SEVEN INCREASINGLY EVENTFUL YEARS AT A CERTAIN SCHOOL OF MAGIC AND MAGIC

By Matt Cox
Directed by Jim Canacci

October 25 – 27, 2024
The Main Stage | Youth Production

ABOUT THE SHOW

Three potential heroes are just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children. Alongside are the Puffs, a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers. Their epic quest takes the classic story to new places and reimagines what a boy wizard hero can be.

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY

Written by Larissa FastHorse
Directed by Nick Mulichak

November 11 – 24, 2024
The Moyer Room

ABOUT THE SHOW

A group of well-meaning but misguided theater pros scramble to create a culturally sensitive Thanksgiving play for an elementary school. Their PC quest leads to hilarious chaos as they grapple with historical accuracy, good intentions, and their own privilege. A satirical comedy that skewers the complexities of representation and woeness in America.

AUGUST WILSON’S GEM OF THE OCEAN

Written by August Wilson
Directed by Lundeana Thomas

Feburary 21 – March 2, 2025
Main Stage

ABOUT THE SHOW

Citizen Barlow is looking for peace. To get it, he’ll knock at Aunt Esther’s door every day if that’s what it takes. Set in 1904, the opening installment in Wilson’s The American Century Cycle includes the playwright’s most fantastical journey, where the secrets of the past point towards future liberation.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL

Written by Joe Tracz
Music & Lyrics by Rob Rokicki
Directed by Eden Lesnansky

March 28 – 30, 2025
Main Stage

ABOUT THE SHOW

Buckle up for a thrilling adventure in this musical adaptation of the hit book as Percy Jackson, a teenager who discovers he’s a demigod, marks on a quest with his friends to retrieve Zeus’s lightning bolt and prevent a war among the gods. This electrifying musical is packed with humor, heart, and epic mythical encounters.

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S OKLAHOMA!

Music by Richard Rodgers
Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the play “Green Grow the Lilacs” by Lynn Riggs
Original Choreography by Agnes de Mille
Directed by Tyler Stouffer

May 9 – 18, 2025
Main Stage

ABOUT THE SHOW

Saddle up for one and laughter as the pioneering spirit meets romance under wide-open skies. Laurey, a spirited farm girl, finds herself caught between the charming cowboy Curly and the brooding farmhand Jud. As tensions rise between farmers and cowboys, Laurey must choose her love and her future, all while a new state is being born.

ALMOST, MAINE

Written by John Cariani
Directed by Mario Ricciardi

June 6 – 15, 2025
The Moyer Room

ABOUT THE SHOW

Love takes flight (almost) in the quirky town of Almost, Maine! This heartwarming play explores love’s oddities under the aurora borealis. Expect broken hearts in bags, love measured in luggage, and magical connections. Laugh, yearn, and believe in the power of love – Almost, Maine!

9 TO 5

Music and lyrics by Dolly Parton
Book by Patricia Resnick
Based on the 20th Century Fox Picture
Originally produced on Broadway by Robert Greenblat
Orchestrator Bruce Coghlin
Arrangements and additional orchestrations by Stephen Oremus and Alex Lacamoire
Directed by Connor Bezeredi

June 7 – 16
Main Stage

ABOUT THE SHOW

9 to 5 is a relatable musical that highlights three women in their quest to show the world that they can accomplish anything – even in a man’s world. Based on the hit movie and taking place in the 1970’s during the Rolodex era, three fed-up female co-workers have had enough with their sexist, egotistical boss and devise a scheme to get even. Violet, Judy, and Doralee live their wildest fantasies of giving their boss the boot through this hilarious play. The women give their workplace a much needed makeover, taking control of a place that always kept them down. with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, this thought-provoking story of revenge and friendship is sure to capture every audience member!

9 TO 5

Music and lyrics by Dolly Parton
Book by Patricia Resnick
Based on the 20th Century Fox Picture
Originally produced on Broadway by Robert Greenblat
Orchestrator Bruce Coghlin
Arrangements and additional orchestrations by Stephen Oremus and Alex Lacamoire
Directed by Connor Bezeredi

June 7 – 16
Main Stage

ABOUT THE SHOW

9 to 5 is a relatable musical that highlights three women in their quest to show the world that they can accomplish anything–even in a man’s world. Based on the hit movie and taking place in the 1970’s during the Rolodex era, Three fed-up female coworkers have had enough with their sexist, egotistical boss and devise a scheme to get even. Violet, Judy, and Doralee live their wildest fantasies of giving their boss the boot through this hilarious play. The women give their workplace a much needed makeover, taking control of a place that always kept them down. With music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, this thought-provoking story of revenge and friendship is sure to capture every audience member!

2024/2025 Season Flex Passes

ON SALE FRIDAY, JUNE 7

2024/2025 Flex Pass subscriptions will go on sale Friday, June 7 and available in three pricing tiers, passes are valid for four (4) performances within the season.