One of Disney’s many theatrical productions is coming to Charlottesville this summer! No, it’s not The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Aida, Beauty and the Beast, or The Little Mermaid. It’s the stage version of Disney’s smash television musical about high school … that’s right, High School Musical.

Live Arts is taking on this behemoth of teenage talent for their summer musical, so mark your calendars. Performance dates are July 11 through August 2. Disney’s productions tend to be over-the-top excellent and earmarked for Broadway success when they’re adapted, well as long as you’re not counting their version of Tarzan or The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

And, no doubt Virginians are waiting with baited breath for Disney’s adaptation of their much-aligned Pocahontas, a movie whose historical and visual inconsistencies caused bile to rise in the mouth of everyone who visited Jamestown with their fourth grade class and knew the real age of Pocahontas when she met John Smith.

For those of you who don’t have a tween or a teen in the household, or for those who can resist the magical draw of Disney on their younger household residents, Play On! has Guys and Dolls on their May calendar. Performances run from May 8 until May 24, with a Sunday matinee on May 11. Frank Loesser’s music and lyrics, combined with a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, always provide a night of good entertainment and a nostalgic look back to classic Broadway of the mid-20th century.

So, just because it’s summer doesn’t mean Charlottesville’s theatre is taking a vacation. Enjoy the local talent on the stages of both theatres, while taking in a night on Charlottesville’s downtown mall.

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