An Unforgettable Classic
The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams
directed by Robert Smyth

April 10 — May 24, 2009

One of the great American plays of all time, THE GLASS MENAGERIE introduced America to a new writer named Tennessee Williams, and the modern stage was never the same. Williams' spare, poetic story of his own family life etched a striking portrait of four unforgettable characters: the haunted Tom Wingfield, his vivacious, indomitable mother Amanda, his shy sister Laura who spends hours in the world of her fragile glass animal collection, and the charming "Gentleman Caller" who just might change all their fortunes. San Diego's Ensemble Theatre takes on a great ensemble drama — in a production that will move audiences and create fresh awe at the artistry of one of our master playwrights.

One of the Most Beloved Musicals of All Time
The Fantasticks
book and lyrics by Tom Jones
music by Harvey Schmidt
directed by Deborah Gilmour Smyth

June 5 — July 26, 2009

One of the most beautiful musicals ever written, THE FANTASTICKS started out a crowd-pleaser and ended up the longest-running musical of all time, with an astonishing 42-year New York run. A girl and boy who live in neighboring houses fall in love despite their parents' feud, until they find that the feud was a trick to bring about their romance. Summer is the perfect season for this sweetly beautiful, broadly theatrical fable about falling in love, growing up, losing childlike innocence, and coming home again wiser. With a gorgeous score filled with beloved songs like "Soon It's Gonna Rain," "I Can See It," and the international chart-topper "Try to Remember," THE FANTASTICKS is a delicious musical confection, a treat for the whole family.

A Hilarious San Diego Premiere
Leaving Iowa
by Tim Clue and Spike Manton
directed by Kerry Meads

August 7 — September 20, 2009

The Brownings are on vacation. "Are we almost there?" "Mom, she's bothering me!" Mom and Dad are in the front seat, brother and sister are tolerating each other in the back, and Dad is convinced they're not lost. Sound familiar? Flash forward 40 years: Don Browning is a newspaper columnist on his own road trip to honor his Dad's memory, when hilarious flashbacks of childhood vacations come rushing back as fast as the midwestern "landmarks" that whiz by outside his car windows. For anyone who's ever spent hours putting up with parents and siblings in the back seat of a car, or been forced to pose for one more picture, LEAVING IOWA will take you back to days when seat belts were optional, "stupid" was a bad word, and Dad never stopped at any of the cool places — a time when a back seat car window was alternately a prison — and the ultimate moving picture show.

The Surprising Story Behind Handel's Messiah
Joyful Noise
by Tim Slover
directed by Robert Smyth

October 9 — November 22, 2009

In 1999, Lamb's Players produced the premiere of Tim Slover's historical backstage drama JOYFUL NOISE, about the surprising story behind the creation of one of the greatest works of all time, Handel's Messiah. The result was a runaway hit that traveled to New York for an extended run Off-Broadway and productions at other theatres around the nation. Now for the first time in a decade, Lamb's Players is pleased to return to this witty, compelling look at the story behind one of the world's most beloved pieces of sacred music — whose journey to the stage was anything but sacred. Both George Fredrick Handel and singer Susannah Cibber are at the low point of their careers when a new libretto arrives unexpectedly on the composer's doorstep. Politics, piety, envy, scandal, and oversized egos collide and combust in this mesmerizing true story of heavenly art - and the very flawed humans who created it.

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