The Last Five Years
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
June 1-5 & June 8-12, 2005
Nominated for four 2004 Dora Awards, this fresh and contemporary musical from Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown chronicles a young couple’s romance in a new and exciting way: her story starts at the end of their relationship; his begins the day they met. Funny, smart and uplifting, the show reveals how they lived, loved and lost their way in THE LAST FIVE YEARS. “Compulsively enjoyable” New York Post “The music will grab you, the lyrics are laugh-outloud witty . . . Give this one a chance!” Toronto Star

Graceland/Asleep On The Wind
By Ellen Byron
June 15-19 & June 22-26, 2005
GRACELAND: Three days before the estate is to be opened to the public, two ardent ELVIS PRESLEY fans, Bev and Rootie, are camped out before the gates, each determined to be the first to enter the sacred precincts. ASLEEP ON THE WIND. Ten years before the time of GRACELAND, in small clearing in Bayou Teche, Louisiana, the “special place” that Rootie refers to in the other play. This is where Rootie and her favorite brother, Beau, come to talk in private.

Proof (2001 Pulitzer Prize Winner)
By David Auburn
June 29-July 3 & July 6-10, 2005
Catherine, the daughter of a once-brilliant mathematician, is at the center of this play. Caring for her aging father, Catherine is at once attracted and repelled by her father’s genius. She is torn between returning to New York with her sister and helping an old student of her father salvage something meaningful from the stacks of notes her father kept. Falling in love with this student, Catherine learns how much she and her father may have in common. “. . . combines elements of mystery and surprise with old-fashioned storytelling to provide a compelling evening of theatre . . . [PROOF is a] smart and compassionate play of ideas.”—NY Daily News.

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
By Tennessee Williams
July 20-24 & July 27-31, 2005
Tennessee Williams is one of America’s greatest playwrights, and certainly the greatest ever from the South. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is one of the most successful plays of our time. Brooks Atkinson’s review in the New York Times called it “a stunning drama . . . It is the quintessence of life. It is the basic truth.” Atkinson went on to write, “In a plantation house, the members of the family are celebrating the sixtyfifth birthday of the Big Daddy, as they sentimentally dub him. The tone is bright. But the mood is somber. For a number of old evils poison the fun—sins of the past, greedy hopes for the future, a desperate eagerness not to believe in the truths that surround them . . . CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is a delicately wrought exercise in human communication. “. . . a play of tremendous dramatic impact . . . enormous theatrical power.”—NY Post.

Starting Here, Starting Now
By Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire
August 3-7 & August 10-14, 2005
It is a sense of emotional urgency and spontaneity that sets this musical revue apart from others. “STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW is about feelings . . . warmth, contact, the kind of glow that comes over audiences when they are in the presence of genuine emotions they can relate to.” Richard Maltby, Jr., wrote lyrics for STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW, MISS SAIGON, BABY and the Tony award winning musical AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’. David Shire wrote the music for the Tony nominated Baby and Big. His many film scores include NORMA RAE (Academy Award for Best Song), and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN.

Lauren Kennedy & Alan Campbell
In Concert
August 17-20 & August 24-28, 2005
Raleigh-born Broadway star Lauren Kennedy teams up with her husband, Tony nominee Alan Campbell, for an evening of song and silliness. Kennedy hailed by director Trevor Nunn as a "thrilling and rare talent" and Campbell who the NY Times’ Vincent Canby described as a "sensational actor/singer," join forces to create an evening with its roots in theatre but with a vibrant pop sensibility. This eclectic and intimate show features a variety of styles from rock to gospel, from country to swing, from theater to art song. Come join these informal, entertaining and extraordinary talents and be a part of Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy Theater.