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"Sondheim on Sondheim" by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim, at the Lyric Stge Company of Boston in 2016. (Photo by Mark S. Howard)

Lyric Stage Sets 5 Shows for 2017-18 Season

The lineup will feature two works by Stephen Sondheim.

BOSTON: The Lyric Stage Company of Boston has announced the first five plays of its 2017-18 season.

The season will launch with the musical Road Show, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weideman, about an entrepreneur and his brother who chase the American Dream, from the Alaskan gold rush to the Florida real estate boom in the 1930s. Producing artistic director Spiro Veloudos will direct.

Next up will be Souvenir, by Stephen Temperley, about the life of eccentric Manhattan socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, who had an improbable career as a singer despite her inability to sing. Veloudos will direct.

Following will be Gypsy, with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, based on the real-life memoirs of burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee and her relentless stage mother. Rachel Bertone will choreograph and direct.

The season will continue with Orlando, adapted by Sarah Ruhl from the novel by Virginia Woolf, about a man who wakes up to find himself a woman after a wild night in 17th century Constantinople. A. Nora Long will direct.

Next will be The Wiz, with book by William F. Brown and music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls, a soulful retelling of The Wizard of Oz that features a mix of rock, gospel, and soul music in the land of Oz. Dawn M. Simmons will direct.

Founded in 1997, the Lyric Stage Company of Boston produces plays and musicals in addition to its educational programming.

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