BOOM, TUNA DOES VEGAS and More Set for Williamston Theatre's 2012-13 Season

The Williamston Theatre, mid-Michigan's award winning professional theatre company located at 122 S. Putnam in downtown Williamston, kicks off its 2012-2013 Season in September. This season will have two World Premieres along with some familiar faces in familiar roles. The season will include: boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, the World Premiere Ebenezer by Michigan playwright Joseph Zettelmaier, End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer, Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell, the World Premiere of 10:53 by Michigan playwright Annie Martin and Tuna Does Vegas by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard.

Each of the six productions this season will begin with five Preview performances. During the first four Previews audience members will have the opportunity to take part in the process of creating a show by participating in a talkback session with the director following each performance. For five of the six productions preview performances are the first two Thursday performances of each production as well as the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 8PM. The Sunday performance is at 2PM. Due to Thanksgiving the final Preview for Ebenezer will be the Friday after Thanksgiving at 3PM.

boom - Something is about to explode. A grad student's online personal ad lures a mysterious journalism student to his subterranean research lab for a "casual encounter", but there's nothing casual about this particular evening! She discovers that he actually fears the end of the world is at hand… and from there things get weird! Will they survive? Will their casual encounter lead to another big bang? What's going on in the fishbowl? What's our place in the universe? And who is that woman playing the timpani!? This epic and intimate comedy spans billions of years and will keep you laughing 'til the unexpected end! Contains mature language and themes. Directed by Tony Caselli. September 20 – October 21, 2012.

Ebenezer - It's a cold Christmas Eve in London, and Ebenezer Scrooge sits in a hospital room. 15 years have passed since his miraculous transformation by the Ghosts of Christmas. Now renowned for his generosity and selflessness, his spirit still yearns to bring cheer to the world, but his flesh is weak. Such a little thing isn't likely to stop the old man, though, for he has a plan up his sleeve that he hasn't shared with his two troubled companions – Miss Poole, the nurse assigned to his care, and Tim Cratchit, recently returned from war in America. Over the course of the evening, these two lost souls bear witness to events they do not fully understand as the spirit of Christmas descends on Ebenezer once again. Directed by John Lepard. November 15 – December 23, 2012.

End Days - It's 2003, and sixteen-year-old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father hasn't changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard. And the Apocalypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all. Hilariously funny and achingly poignant, End Days takes us on a wonderful journey exploring love, loss and the healing power of family. Contains mature language and themes. A co-production with the Jewish Ensemble Theatre and Michigan State University. Directed by Tony Caselli. January 24 – February 24, 2013.

Shirley Valentine - What can you do when you realize that you've hit middle age, and your life has been shaped by choices made by everyone except you? The heroine in this actor's tour-de-force is an ordinary middle class English housewife. As she prepares chips and egg for dinner, she ruminates on her life and tells the wall about her husband, her children, her past, and an invitation from a girlfriend to join her on holiday in Greece to search for romance and adventure. Ultimately, Shirley does escape … and begins the process of shaping her life into something wonderful. This one-woman play became an instant classic the minute it premiered! Contains mature themes. Directed by Lynn Lammers. March 21 - April 21, 2013

10:53 - The worst part of a hospital waiting room is normally the waiting but, in the midst of a prolonged family medical crisis, Kathryn Fuller regards the waiting room as a welcome refuge from her increasingly chaotic life. However, the real world quickly invades her new home away from home, and she's surrounded with her over-the-top family life, rebellious, love-struck daughter and a mysterious stranger who, oddly, shows up at the same time every night. What happens when the universe decides our lives need a shaking up, whether we like it or not? Will Kathryn get drawn into the ridiculous comedy, drama, and potential romance swirling around her beloved waiting room, or will she burrow deeper into her seclusion from the world? Contains mature language. Directed by Tony Caselli. May 16 - June 16, 2012