2013-2014 Season

In the last decade of the twentieth century, a beautiful young woman in nineteenth-century clothing is found floating on an iceberg in the middle of the North Atlantic. When rescued, she says only one word: Titanic. The woman, Winifred, is taken to an isolated spot on the coast of Maine where an expert on the sinking of the liner, a mysterious man named John, has arranged to interrogate her for six days. His goal: to crack her story, get her to confess she's a fake, and reveal her true identity; his one clue: her enigmatic references to an unknown place called "Scotland Road." By the play's end, one of the characters is dead, all the characters' identities have been questioned, and John and Winifred's shared secret is revealed as they make one final journey to Scotland Road.

It is December 1936 and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast-members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous. Then it's up to Gillette himself, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to track down the killer before the next victim appears. The danger and hilarity are non-stop in this glittering whodunit set during the Christmas holidays.

Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after twenty-two years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg's career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate's career, as a public-school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park - or that has found him - bearing only the name "Sylvia" on her name tag. A street-smart mixture of Lab and Poodle, Sylvia becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife. She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of his job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. And Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn't understand the relationship between man and dog. The marriage is put in serious jeopardy until, after a series of hilarious and touching complications, Greg and Kate learn to compromise, and Sylvia becomes a valued part of their lives.

The winner of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Picnic takes place on Labor Day weekend in the joint backyards of two middle-aged widows. One house belongs to Flo Owens, who lives there with her two young daughters, Madge and Millie, and Rosemary, a boarder who is a spinster school teacher. The other house belongs to Helen Potts, who lives with her elderly invalid mother. Into this female atmosphere comes a young man named Hal Carter, whose animal vitality upsets the entire group. Flo is sensitively wary of the temptations Hal poses for her daughters, but Madge, bored with being merely a beauty, sacrifices her chances for a wealthy marriage for the excitement Hal promises.

The story is set in the small Mississippi town of Brookhaven, the time a few days before the Fourth of July. Carnelle Scott is rehearsing furiously for the Miss Firecracker Contest - hoping that a victory will salvage her tarnished reputation and allow her to leave town in a blaze of glory. The unexpected arrival of her cousin Elain, a former Miss Firecracker winner, complicates matters a bit, as does the repeated threat of Elain's eccentric brother, Delmount to sell the family homestead and decamp for New Orleans. But, aided by a touchingly awkward seamstress named Popeye and several other cheerfully nutty characters, Carnelle perseveres - leading to a denouement of unparalleled hilarity, compassion and moving lyricism as all concerned finally escape their unhappy pasts and turn hopefully toward what must surely be a better future.

Successful novelist Charles Condomine is about to embark on writing his next book, a novel about the occult. As research, he arranges for the eccentric medium Madame Arcati to hold a séance at his home. Also in attendance are his wife, Ruth, along with Charles' skeptical friend Dr. Bradman and the wanting-to-believe Mrs. Bradman. During the course of the séance, Madame Arcati accidentally summons back the spirit of Charles' first wife Elvira, who has never stopped loving her husband. Elvira then makes it her mission to reunite with him forever.