Upcoming Season

Bookings for the 2023-2024 Season will first be available to our 2022-2023 Season Members on March 9th. New Season Members will be able to book their memberships starting April 11th. Individual tickets for the entire 2023-2024 Season will be open to anyone to book tickets May 25th. 

A Season of Discovery

As we continue to discover who we are as an organization under new leadership, a new brand, and the new reality of the entertainment industry post-COVID, this season we will celebrate and explore along with our community an entire lineup centered around stories of discovery! 

In our Mainstage Series, two highly awarded classic works will challenge and delight audiences while a world premiere, regional premiere, and a big, bright, infectious musical will show-off our local talent and the uniqueness of our space. We round out the Mainstage with an audience pleasing country rock show spanning the decades of the genre and a true story of heroism at Christmas. There is something for everyone in this incredibly diverse and excitingly balanced season of rarely or ne’er produced shows in our region! 

MAINSTAGE

Four Seasons 

By Randall David Cook

November 2-5, 2023

Weaving in and around an actual performance of Vivaldi’s masterpiece by a live string quartet, Randall David Cook’s Four Seasons asks: Is love possible the second time around? 

Thirty years after their college fling imploded, Sienna and Owen find themselves unwittingly reunited at a concert of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Music and memories reignite their feelings, resulting in a renewed affair that’s complicated by their shared history and the passage of time. One of our 20th Annual New Play Festival winners, this script is sure to delight both musicians and music lovers alike. 

Centre Stage’s Annual New Play Festival Presented by Front and Centre

November 6-9, 2023

The start of the third decade of New Play Festivals at Centre Stage! Performed over four nights, this festival features never before seen scripts from up and coming South Carolina writers. 

Our 21st Annual New Play Festival will celebrate our continued commitment to developing new work. The festival will accept up to 100 plays from South Carolina Affiliated Playwrights for staged-reading consideration. Of these submissions, 10 semi-finalists will be selected and 3 finalists will be given readings the week of the festival, one script will be chosen for further development and/or production at Centre Stage! During the festival, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback during a talkback for each reading led by our Playwright-in-Residence. As always, the festival will be free and open to the public and include light refreshments. 

All is Calm:The Christmas Truce of 1914

December 1-17, 2023

Written by Peter Rothstein 

Vocal Arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach

The Western Front, Christmas, 1914. Out of the violence a silence, then a song. A German soldier steps into No Man’s Land singing “Stille Nacht.” Thus begins an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music, and peace. A remarkable true story, told in the words and songs of the men who lived it.

August Wilson’s FENCES

January 25-February 11, 2024

Excluded as a black man from the major leagues during his prime, Troy’s bitterness takes its toll on his relationships with his wife and his son, who now wants his own chance to play ball. While society is changing, has the change come too late for Troy?

Fences, the sixth in THE AMERICAN CENTURY CYCLE, the ten play collection by August Wilson, takes place in 1957, two years after the Montgomery Bus Boycott began, ten years after Jackie Robinson broke the color line that by so-called “gentlemen’s agreement” kept African-American players out of the major leagues (and two years before the Red Sox became the last team to include a black player on their team), six years before the March on Washington, seven and eight years before the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. In other words, it takes place during the early years of a slow, long overdue change. Troy is supported by a devoted wife, Rose, and a great friend, Bono, but he’s struggling with the times, challenging his bosses about the racial disparities of the time, trying to raise his sons his way while they push for their own way, and wrestling with temptations related to love and identity. 

This beloved classic American tale was revived in 2010 starring Denzel Washington in the lead role and earning a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play among other awards. 

Rockin’ Boots: Country Hits Through the Ages

March 14-April 7, 2024

Centre Stage’s annual hit rock show has gone country! Put on your dancin’ boots and join us for an unforgettable evening of the top Country hits of the century. 

This winter, Centre Stage is keepin’ it fancy, walking the line and takin’ it home down country roads with Rockin’ Boots, the Country Music Showdown! We’ll keep you utterly entertained as a knock-out cast of singers and dancers perform your favorite classic hits by some of the biggest Country stars of all time, including Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Hank Williams, Toby Keith, Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney, Brooks & Dunn, Carrie Underwood, and more! It’s sure to be a boot scootin’, toe tappin’, knee slappin’ helluva good time. Come “live like you were dying” with the “boys ‘round here” right here at home in “God’s Country!” 

Legally Blonde The Musical

May 23-June 9, 2024

Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin

Book by Heather Hach

Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture

Harvard’s beloved blonde takes the stage by pink storm in this fun, upbeat story of self-discovery.

A fabulously fun award-winning musical based on the adored movie, Legally Blonde The Musical, follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. Action-packed and exploding with memorable songs and dynamic dances – this musical is so much fun, it should be illegal!

Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend Warner dumps her so he can attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle ingeniously charms her way into the prestigious law school. While there, she struggles with peers, professors and her ex. With the support of some new friends, though, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical 

July 18-August 4, 2024

Words and Music by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil

Book by Douglas McGrath

The inspiring true story of Carole King’s remarkable journey from teenage songwriter to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Before she was hit-maker Carole King — she was Carole Klein, a spunky, young songwriter from Brooklyn with a unique voice. From the chart-topping hits she wrote for the biggest acts in music to her own life-changing, trailblazing success with Tapestry, Beautiful takes you back to where it all began — and takes you on the ride of a lifetime.

Featuring such unforgettable classics as “You’ve Got a Friend”, “One Fine Day”, “So Far Away”, “Take Good Care of My Baby”, “Up on the Roof”, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, and “Natural Woman”, this Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning musical phenomenon is filled with the songs you remember — and a story you’ll never forget. 

FRINGE FESTIVAL 

For the past ten years, Centre Stage has produced a second stage series titled the Fringe Series. These productions have mostly been performed on weeknights during the run of a Mainstage show. For the first time ever, Centre Stage will be producing a Fringe Festival at the beginning of the season with three shows all produced within a two month period. As with the Fringe Series, this year’s festival will include thought-provoking and contemporary pieces exploring mental health topics, but delivering unforgettable humor, dialogue, and characters in the process. An award-winning drama, a biting and witty comedy, and an emotional one-woman musical will launch our Inaugural Fringe Festival. A subscription to the Fringe Festival includes a ticket to Four Seasons by Randall David Cook. 

Happy 

By Robert Caisley

Sept. 7th- Sept. 10th

“Stop yelling. Be happy. Be happy! Close your eyes, open your eyes, whatever you need to do to pull yourself together.” Alfred is happy about his life. He’s happy with his job. He’s happy with his marriage. He’s even happily raising his special needs daughter. However, when his best friend invites him to meet the latest woman in his life, things spin out of control. This fast-paced and biting comedy pokes holes in the premise that happiness is something to be conjured up out of thin air. This show is the story of a dinner party gone wrong!

PROOF

By David Auburn

Sept. 28th-Oct. 1st

On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit? This play is the recipient of The Tony Award® for Best Play and Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. 

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill

By Lanie Robertson

Musical Arrangements by Danny Holgate

Oct. 19th- Oct. 22nd

The time is 1959. The place is a seedy bar in Philadelphia. The audience is about to witness one of Billie Holiday’s last performances, given four months before her death. She sings, accompanied by Jimmy Powers on the piano, and also tells stories about her life as she becomes increasingly intoxicated and incoherent. More than a dozen musical numbers are interlaced with salty, often humorous reminiscences to project a riveting portrait of the lady and her music.

For any questions or inquiries, our box office/gallery hours are Tuesday-Fridays, 2-5pm. We can be reached via phone at (864) 233-6733 or via email at boxoffice@centrestage.org. Please allow for delayed response times due to our reduced staff. We will certainly return your calls and emails as soon as we are able.

And remember, we provide the best seat in town no matter where you sit!