Gretna Theatre unveils schedule for summer 2024 season

Gretna Theatre has announced the schedule for their 97th summer season, which this year includes five mainstage productions and four Family Series presentations.

The summer series will be performed at the historic Mount Gretna Playhouse, with the exception of the play “Every Brilliant Thing,” which will be performed at the Timbers restaurant outside Mount Gretna.

“We are so excited about the incredible line-up of programming we have in store for Summer of 2024,” producing artistic director Michael Philip O’Brien said in a press release. “There is truly something for everyone and we are so excited to welcome audiences back to Mount Gretna this summer for captivating theatrical experiences.”

Here is the summer lineup:

• “The Greatest Love for Whitney,” May 30-June 8, created by Mark Clements, directed by Dan Kazemi. The show takes audiences through a journey of Whitney Houston’s record-setting hits, including “I Will Always Love You,” “Saving All My Love For You,” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.”
• “Burt & Me,” June 20-29, book by Larry McKenna, music and lyrics by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. This summer musical tells the story of high school sweethearts Joe and Lacy, and Joe’s plan to win Lacey back years later with the help of Bacharach’s music. Features “Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer for You,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and “Close To You.”
• “Chess,” in Concert with the Hershey Symphony, July 11-20, music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, lyrics by Tim Rice, directed by Michael Philip O’Brien. Featuring music from two members of ABBA and lyrics by the man who helped pen “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Evita” and “Aida,” this musical was inspired by the political and international spectacle of the 1972 World Chess Championship between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky.
• “Every Brilliant Thing,” Aug. 1-10, by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, directed by Kate Galvin. This heart-wrenching and hilarious one-man play inspires laughter and tears, based on true and untrue stories and told with the help of the audience. (Performed at the Gretna Timbers.)
• “Great Balls of Fire,” Aug. 22-25, created by Jason Cohen and Michael Schiralli. Back by popular demand, Cohen brings his his ivory-smashing, high-energy performance as Jerry Lee Lewis, featuring songs by Lewis’s contemporaries such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Buddy Holly, as well as the New Orleans and gospel traditions that inspired Lewis.

Located in the arts/resort community of Mount Gretna, Gretna Theatre is one of south-central Pennsylvania’s few professional theaters and one of the oldest summer theaters in America.

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