Bigfork Summer Playhouse planning regular live season - for now

The Bigfork Summer Playhouse is still hoping to provide live entertainment this summer, despite the current COVID-19 crisis.

The Playhouse has pushed back the opening day of ticket sales for the season to April 20, but still expects to offer five live shows between June and September, the company said in a recent press release.

“We are hopeful, at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, that we will have come out of this ‘mess’ that we are currently enduring by the end of April. As of right now, we plan to go ahead with our 2020 summer season as planned,” the company said on its website. “We understand that the quarantine is through April now, so tickets are scheduled to be available by April 20. If there are major changes in our country we will reassess and come up with a new plan, but as of right now we expect to be able to give you another great season of the finest theatre in the Northwest.”

In what would be its 61st season, the Bigfork Summer Playhouse is planning to put on productions of “Newsies,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Sister Act: The Musical,” “Something Rotten” and “Hits of the 50s, 60s and 70s.”

Based on the 1992 film, “Newsies” features music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman and is set to run from June 6 to Aug. 22. Inspired by a true story, “Newsies” features the story of Jack Kelly and his ragtag team of newsboys in New York city as they face off against publisher Joseph Pulitzer in 1899 Newsboys Strike.

With music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, the musical “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is Based on the 1996 Disney film and Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel and is set to run from June 10 to Aug. 19.

Based on the 1992 film of the same name, “Sister Act” features music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater and is set to run from June 24 to Aug. 20.

With music by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick, the Playhouse website describes “Something Rotten” as “set in the 1590s, where the Black Plague has ceded power to the Puritans, farthingales and codpieces are the latest fashion trend, and the biggest “Rockstar” celebrity in England is a playwright named William Shakespeare.” Brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom do all they can to keep their acting company alive against the tough competition of “The Bard.” “Something Rotten” is set to run from July 8 to Aug. 21.

With songs from three classic rock and roll decades, “Hits of the 50s, 60s and 70s” features an evening of staged hits from artists like The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Billy Joel, The Ciffons, The Spaniels, Elton John, The Big Bopper and many more. The show will run from Aug. 27 to Sept. 5.

Visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com for more information. ¦