2023 Season Revealed!
We’re promising a memorable year with our 2023 season announcement! The season will coincide with our 100th anniversary celebration. In addition to the lineup of shows, we’re also unveiling two additional special events to celebrate the centennial year and a new logo and website as a part of our rebranding effort.
“As we enter our 100th anniversary, it is really important for us to honor those that helped build such a robust and meaningful community organization while looking ahead to what the future holds for QCT,” said Executive Director Burgundy Hill. “It’s an excellent time to give the look of an organization a refresh.”
At Thursday night’s Annual Meeting, we unveiled eight shows as a part of next year’s season and season tagline “Make Today Worth Remembering,” which is a line from the summer musical, THE MUSIC MAN.
“With our 2023 season,” said Brandon Thomsen, QCT’s artistic director, “I wanted a lineup of shows that reflects what we have offered our volunteers and patrons over the past 100 years, and what we will continue to aspire to, which is a sense of belonging. This organization welcomes participation from all walks of life, regardless of previous theatre experience, and through theatre, individuals come together as a community in their work to create or experience something truly unique and wonderful. Whether it’s onstage, backstage, or in the audience, we invite you to become involved with QCT, and to quote Harold Hill, ‘make today worth remembering.’”
The 2023 Season ticket includes:
RENT (April 21-23, 27-30) — La Vie Boheme! Jonathan Larson’s iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that shaped a generation of audiences and taught us all to measure our life in love. Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.
THE MUSIC MAN (July 20-23, 27-30) — The Music Man follows fast-talking traveling salesman, Harold Hill, as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band that he vows to organize – this, despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian, the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen by curtain’s fall. By turns wicked, funny, warm, romantic and touching, The Music Man is family entertainment at its best. Meredith Willson’s six-time, Tony Award-winning musical comedy has been entertaining audiences since 1957 and is a family-friendly story to be shared with every generation.
CLUE (September 8-10, 14-17) — Based on the iconic 1985 Paramount movie which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, Clue is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery. The tale begins at a remote mansion, where six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. Led by Wadsworth – the butler, Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock and Colonel Mustard race to find the killer as the body count stacks up. Clue is the comedy whodunit that will leave both cult-fans and newcomers in stitches as they try to figure out…WHO did it, WHERE, and with WHAT!
THE HOBBIT (October 19-22, Student Theatre Production) — Before The Lord of the Rings, there was The Hobbit. Join Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield on their legendary quest to reclaim the dwarves’ ancestral home from the sinister dragon Smaug. From the Shire, to the Battle of the Five Armies, to deep underground—where a twisted creature guards his “precious” ring—Bilbo’s journey through Middle-earth abounds with peril, unparalleled adventure, and a healthy helping of Hobbit humor.
PETER PAN (December 1-3, 6-10) — This holiday season, “just think of lovely things, and your heart will fly on wings” as Peter Pan returns to Quincy Community Theatre. The mysterious and ageless Peter Pan arrives in the Darling nursery, where he whisks Wendy, Michael, and John to the island of their dreams where no one gets old: Neverland. There, they encounter the island’s fascinating inhabitants, including a ticking crocodile and bungling pirates led by the dastardly, devious Captain Hook. Based on J.M. Barrie’s classic tale and featuring an unforgettable score, Peter Pan is the evergreen celebration of childhood’s joy and the sweet sadness of growing up.
Additional Family/Student Theatre productions for 2023 include:
DISNEY’S MOANA JR. (February 23-26) — Disney’s modern classic follows the strong-willed Moana as she and the demigod Maui set sail across the Pacific on an epic journey of self-discovery and camaraderie. With colorful characters drawn from the rich mythology of Oceania, an unforgettable score, and empowering messages of bravery and selflessness, Moana Jr. asks how far each of us will go to unlock the hero within.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (June 15-18) — “The course of true love never did run smooth” in Shakespeare’s most popular comedy, when a group of hopelessly lovestruck (and lost) teenagers stumble into an ancient enchanted forest. Here, the fairies love to wreak havoc on unsuspecting humans almost as much as they love playing tricks on one another. Add an eccentric rogue spirit and a bumbling troupe of wannabe actors into the mix—and what could possibly go wrong?
QCT ON THE ROAD: LIONS IN ILLYRIA (Touring April 17-May 26) — Animals rule the world in this magical retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. A young lioness named Violet is shipwrecked on the weird and wonderful shores of Illyria, where she quickly finds herself entangled in the wild (and wooly) drama of its residents. This hilarious and heartfelt comedy is the perfect way to introduce to Shakespeare to an elementary school audience! Each booking of Lions in Illyria includes an exclusive QCT study guide to help prepare your students for the show.
In addition to the slate of shows, we will be offering two special events to celebrate the anniversary year.
Ultimate Cast Party (May 12) — Cast and crew from our previous productions will be invited back to the space to find their signature on the wall, relax in our green room, and celebrate their lasting legacy.
Dream Roles Reimagined 100th Anniversary Gala (September 22) Some of QCT’s most recognizable faces will take the stage for some of your favorite musical theatre numbers, with a twist. Performers will live out their musical theatre fantasies with stunning (and unexpected) renditions of iconic Broadway numbers. This black-tie fundraising event will feature one-night-only entertainment, dinner, dancing, and special surprises throughout the night.
Audiences can catch every moment of the 2023 Season while receiving discounted tickets with Season Tickets. Season Tickets are available to new Season Ticket holders beginning October 24, 2022. Current season ticket holders may renew their seats beginning October 10, 2022, with guaranteed seating renewals for Fixed Season Ticket holders through October 21, 2022.
We are encouraging everyone to get involved in the theatre this year! Aspiring actors of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels are encouraged to audition. Along with volunteer actors on the stage, volunteers are needed backstage to help with set construction, costumes, and the tech crew.
For more information about the 2023 Season, auditions, or volunteering, call the QCT Box Office at (217) 222-3209 or visit 1qct.org. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Original logos for the 2023 Season by Pichi Fernandez. The new organizational logo was designed by Pichi Fernandez. The new website was developed by The Relish Jar. The rebranding effort was generously supported by the Tracy Family Foundation.