Next season could be one for the ages at the Modern

The Modern Theater announced the 2015-16 season with a party on Saturday night.

Artistic director George Green said they’re contractually prohibited from announcing the name of the Coeur d’Alene season opener (at the former Lake City Playhouse), until next month. But he could give a hint: If you like 1980s hair bands, then don’t stop believing that you’ll enjoy this Tony-nominated musical. The mystery show will run Sept. 11 through Oct. 10. 

Also on the docket for Coeur d’Alene:

• “The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical,” with music and lyrics by David Nehls, book by Betsy Kelso, Nov. 27-Dec. 20. Lake City Playhouse staged the original “The American Trailer Park  Musical” last year. This time around, we visit the denizens of Armadillo Acres,  a mobile-living community in Florida, just in time for the holidays.

• “All My Sons,” by Arthur Miller, Jan. 22-Feb. 7, 2016. Arthur Miller based this drama on a scandal in which three Army Air Force officers were convicted of conspiring to approve defective aircraft engines for military planes. Elia Kazan directed the initial Broadway run, in 1947, and the play won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, and two Tony awards.

• “Maybe Baby” is a comedy by Matthew Harget, the Modern’s resident playwright. It’ll run March 4-20, 2016.

• “A Bright New Boise,” by Samuel D. Hunter, April 22-May 8, 2016. Hunter, a Moscow, Idaho, native and winner of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (aka the “genius grant”) won an Obie Award for this dark comedy set in the break room of a Boise Hobby Lobby, as the employees wrestle with questions of faith and forgiveness. This will mark the first time a Hunter play has been fully staged in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene metro area. “A Bright New Boise” will run April 22-May 8, 2016.

• The season finale: “Anything Goes,” with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and a new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman. This shipboard musical is classic Porter, with a stowaway, an heiress, a nightclub singer and a gangster meeting cute on the high seas. From June 3-26, 2016.

• The Summer Encore show is “Dogfight,” based on the 1991 movie starring River Phoenix and and Lili Taylor, is about a group of Marines looking for a night of fun before deploying to Vietnam. One of them meets a waitress, who teaches him about love and compassion. It runs July 29-Aug. 14, 2016.

At the Modern Theater Spokane , the season begins with “Other Desert Cities,” by Jon Robin  Baitz. This drama centers on a Palm Springs family dealing with divergent political views and family secrets. It premiered Off-Broadway in 2011 and moved to Broadway later that year, where it earned strong reviews. It runs Sept. 25-Oct. 11.

The Spokane season continues with:

• “Wild Party,” by Andrew Lippa, a Drama Desk, Obie and Outer Critics Circle winner. Based on a 1928 poem by Joseph Moncure March, this Prohibition-era musical tells the story of Queenie and Burrs and their epic party.  Things take a violent turn when jealousy erupts. Nov. 6-29.

• “Lucky Me,” by Robert Caisley. Described as a whimsical comedy, “Lucky Me” centers on a woman named Sarah, who has nothing but bad luck, and Tom, the TSA agent she meets disastrously on New Year’s Eve. Her father, who is blind, is instantly suspicious of Tom’s motives. This is another show with regional ties, as Caisley is head of the dramatic writing program at the University of Idaho. Jan. 1-17, 2016.

• “Last of the Boys,” by Steven Deitz. This drama centers on two longtime friends, Ben and Jeter, who, 30 years later, are dealing with the repercussions of the Vietnam War and the tensions of the 1960s. Feb. 19-March 6, 2016.

• “Next to Normal,” by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, will be co-produced with Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre, and staged at the Bing Crosby Theater. This musical tells the story of a suburban family struggling with issues of mental health; it won three Tony awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. April 7-17, 2016.

• “The Ladies Foursome,” by Norm Foster, takes to the golf course for a comedic afternoon of love, life, sex and work. May 13-29, 2016.

• “Man of La Mancha,” the classic by Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion, will conclude the season in Spokane. July 8-30, 2016.

The company also plans two add-on events at the Bing. For one night only, it’s “A Night of Edgar Allan Poe,” in which musical director Zach Baker and several artists put their own stamp on the poetry of Poe (Oct. 24). “All is Calm,” the touching World War I remembrance that debuted locally in Coeur d’Alene this past holiday season, will return to the Bing this year for a four-night run (Dec. 17-20).

For ticket details, visit moderntheater.org.

Summer in February

 Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre isn’t waiting until summer to get things going.

The company is holding a concert, “The Music of West Side Story and Other Leonard Bernstein Songs,” at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 in Todd Hall at North Idaho College.

The cast includes Jenny Shotwell, Kasey Nusbickel, Cody Bray, CST Artistic Director Jadd Davis and others. Among the songs on the bill are “Tonight,” “Somewhere” and “One Hand, One Heart.”

Tickets are $25 and are available through the CST website, www.cdasummer theatre.com/.