Springfield Contemporary Theatre's 29th season has 3 comedies (2024)

Springfield Contemporary Theatre’s 29th season may open with a horror story, but there are plenty of laughs to be had at the Historic Fox Theatre.

The Queen City’s second-oldest theatre company announced its five-show season schedule on July 16. It’s SCT’s second season as the resident company at the Fox on Park Central Square. The move resulted in overall growth in ticket sales.

The 2024 season also includes a collaboration with Mosaic Arts Collective. It’s the second time SCT and Mosaic have teamed up. Their February 2023 production of “The Color Purple: The Musical” drew wide acclaim, including Best Musical (Non-professional) from BroadwayWorld Kansas City. Sade Shine was named Best Performer In A Musical (Non-professional) for the role of Celie.

Here’s a rundown of what you’ll see in SCT’s 29th season.

‘The Woman In Black’

Veteran director Gretchen Teague leads a cast featuring Heath Hillhouse and Nathan Shelton as they produce “The Woman In Black,” the second-longest-running non-musical play on London’s West End. The play is based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Susan Hill. It runs Oct. 18-27.

“In an empty abandoned theatre, a lawyer engages a skeptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul,” according to a press release.

“Susan Hill’s acclaimed ghost story comes dramatically alive in Stephen Mallatratt’s ingenious stage adaptation, where the audience is thrust into a world of eerie marshes, moaning winds and shadows that lurk around every corner.”

‘Once On This Island’

Nearly one year after teaming up with Springfield Little Theatre for a vibrant production of of “In The Heights,” Mosaic Arts Collective’s Nki Calloway and Amanda Snead are teaming up to direct “Once On This Island” for Springfield Contemporary Theatre Dec. 6-15. Snead will handle the choreography, just as she did for “In The Heights.”

“Once On This Island” is based on the novel “My Love, My Love,” by Rosa Guy, and is a Caribbean-set retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” In this version, a little girl is rescued from a disastrous storm by four gods — Asaka, Mother of the Earth; Agwé, god of Water; Erzulie, goddess of Love; and Papa Ge, demon of Death.

“So starts the myth told in this breathtaking story of Black joy and sorrow, the aftermath of colonization and isolation, and the triumph of love against all forces,” a press release said. “Told with Caribbean rhythms and instruments, this Tony Award-winning musical is a testament that a beautiful story simply told has the power to inspire and heal all.”

This will be the second staging of “Once On This Island” by Mosaic. It collaborated with Small Umbrella Theatre Company to produce that show in 2022.

‘The Best Little whor*house in Texas’

SCT’s first show of 2025 is the first of three straight comedies. “The Best Little whor*house in Texas” is a musical based on a story by Larry L. King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in LaGrange, Texas. SCT has tabbed Logan Torbet to direct and choreograph the show Feb. 14-March 2, 2025.

“This happy-go-lucky view of small-town vice and statewide political side-stepping recounts the good times and the demise of the Chicken Ranch, known since the 1850s as one of the better pleasure palaces in all of Texas,” according to the press release. “Governors, senators, mayors, and even victorious college football teams frequent Miss Mona’s cozy bordello, until a crusading do-gooder Houston television commentator focuses his cameras and his righteous indignation on the institution.”

“The Best Little whor*house in Texas” made its Broadway debut in June of 1978 and ran for 1,584 performances. Its first national tour launched in September of 1979.

‘POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumb*ss Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive’

Selina Fillinger’s “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumb*ss Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” has been described as a mix between “Saturday Night Live” and “Veep,” and “an endearing homage to the women who keep things running behind the scenes.” Springfield Contemporary Theatre’s production is scheduled for April 25-May 4, 2025.

“When the Commander-in-Chief utters the unthinkable on a hot mic all hell breaks loose leaving the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most to risk life, liberty and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble,” a press release said.

Karen Sabo will direct SCT’s production of “POTUS.” She’s an assistant professor in Missouri State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance. As one might guess from the title, the production contains strong language and adult content.

‘Disaster! The ’70s Disaster Movie…Musical!’

Springfield Contemporary Theatre wraps up its 29th season with a jukebox musical June 13-29, 2025. After an off-off-Broadway debut in 2011, “Disaster! The ’70s Disaster Movie… Musical!” made its Broadway debut in 2016. In between, the New York Daily News called “Disaster!” one of its top 10 must-see musicals for 2013. It’s set in 1979, with New York’s hottest A-listers lining up for the opening of a floating casino and discotheque.

“What begins as a night of boogie fever quickly changes to panic as the ship succumbs to multiple disasters,” the press release said. “‘Knock on Wood,’ ‘Hooked on a Feeling,’ ‘Sky High,’ ‘I Am Woman,’ and ‘Hot Stuff’ are just a few of the scintillating hits that will drive you wild in this side-splitting homage to classic disaster movies of the 1970s — ‘The Poseidon Adventure,’ ‘The Towering Inferno,’ ‘Earthquake’ — packed with outrageous characters, calamitous situations and unforgettable hits from that iconic era.”

Springfield Contemporary Theatre launches Star 29 Campaign

While SCT’s move to the Fox Theatre led to more ticket sales, the company saw a decline in monetary donations in 2023. After longtime managing artistic director Rick Dines left that role in March, SCT’s organizers used this summer to reflect, analyze and restructure.

One looming item in SCT’s budget is a $50,000 COVID relief loan from Community Foundation of the Ozarks. It comes due and must be paid in full on Feb. 10, 2025. Once it’s paid off, the organization will be debt-free.

To help, SCT has launched its Star 29 Campaign and encourages patrons to donate at one of three suggested levels: $2,900; $290; or $29. All $2,900 donations will be rewarded with two tickets to each of the 29th-season productions. For more information, call (417) 831-8001 or email sctheatremo@gmail.com.