Ken Ludwig, America’s preeminent comic playwright and author of recent Alley hits The Three Musketeers and Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, debuts his latest play, Lend Me A Soprano, to kick off the season. The play is set in 1934, when the clever and combustible Lucille Wiley, Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is ready to welcome world-class soprano Elena Firenzi for her one-night-only starring role in Carmen. Alas, Elena arrives late, her impassioned husband Pasquale has a fit of jealousy, and it remains to be seen whether Mrs. Wiley’s mousy but determined assistant Jo can save the day. Based on Ludwig’s Tony Award-winning Lend Me A Tenor, the roles are reversed, and the ladies take the lead in this madcap screwball comedy guaranteed to leave audiences teary-eyed with laughter.

Inspired by the original novella, Melrose captures Dickens’ witty wording and evocative style to surprise audiences with parts of the familiar story they didn’t know were there! With rich Victorian costumes, exciting magical elements created by acclaimed magician Jim Steinmeyer, and beautifully sung holiday carols, A Christmas Carol tells the beloved story of Scrooge and his miraculous transformation. This new production of a holiday tradition is the perfect way for families to recapture the nostalgia of Christmases past and to create memories for many Christmases to come.

Guitars tuned. Mic checked. Get ready to rock! This darkly funny, electric new play with music tells the story of a Khmer Rouge survivor returning to Cambodia for the first time in thirty years, as his daughter prepares to prosecute one of Cambodia’s most infamous war criminals. Backed by a live band playing contemporary Dengue Fever hits and classic Cambodian oldies, this thrilling story toggles back and forth in time as father and daughter face the music of the past. Lauren Yee brings us an intimate rock epic about family secrets set against a dark chapter of Cambodian history.

You wouldn’t look twice at Peggy Jo. She's a good daughter, always tips, plays by the rules - but when she dons a fake beard, sunglasses, and ten-gallon hat, she becomes “Cowboy Bob”- the slickest bank robber Texas has ever known. And she may just be the life-affirming inspiration one waitress in a Dallas Chili’s badly needs to buck routine and take control of her own life. Equal parts Riot Grrrl rage and Texas twang, this world premiere musical loosely based on actual events - and co-authored by Galveston’s own Molly Beach Murphy - invites audiences to join the heist, take life by the reins, and let it ride.

With rich Caribbean tones of his island home, Derek Walcott (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature) adapts the ancient story of Odysseus, the soldier-king who spends 10 adventurous years making his way home from the Trojan War. Interspersing the story with a commentary by the blind singer Billy Blue adds richness and a musical lilt to the classic tale. While Odysseus’ loving wife Penelope stays chaste in Ithaca, fending off suitors ready to take the throne, Odysseus and his crew face shipwrecks, wrathful gods, sirens, monsters, incarceration, mermaids, a side trip to hell, and absolutely foul weather.

The wit of Oscar Wilde meets the cunning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this comic twist on a classic sleuthing caper, Wilde’s muse, actress Lillie Langtry (a.k.a the Jersey Lily) presents Holmes with what seems like an open and shut case. But with his superior powers of deductive reasoning, Sherlock wastes no time in exposing a much more sinister conspiracy. Meanwhile, Oscar Wilde is in the throes of writing his acclaimed Importance of Being Earnest and Holmes might inspire some of the play. In a fast-paced ride full of surprises and disguises, Holmes and Watson must do whatever it takes to help their friends…while facing their greatest foe.