Shirley Jones to open 2016-17 season at New Theatre

The New Theatre will kick off its 2016-17 season with something unusual for the Overland Park company: the world premiere of a cabaret-style show centered on the life and career of Oscar winner Shirley Jones.

The show is “Have You Met Miss Jones?” and will feature Jones and her son Patrick Cassidy, an accomplished Broadway musical-theater actor. The piece is written by her eldest son, Shaun Cassidy, a TV writer/producer whose theater credits include performances in “Blood Brothers” on Broadway and productions in London’s West End. Shaun and Patrick’s father was actor Jack Cassidy.

Jones won an Academy Award as best supporting actress for the 1960 drama “Elmer Gantry” with Burt Lancaster. Her other film roles include librarian Marian Paroo in “The Music Man,” Julie Jordan in “Carousel” and Laurey in “Oklahoma!” On television she starred in “The Partridge Family,” which also featured stepson David Cassidy. On Broadway she appeared in the original production of “South Pacific” and the 2001 revival of “42nd Street.”

Richard Carrothers, co-owner of the New Theatre, said Jones and the Cassidys have been working on the piece for some time and occasionally would try out sections of it at venues around the country. The New Theatre production will be the first time the material will be performed as a full-length show, he said.

“What makes it interesting is that it’s about three specific lives in musical theater,” he said.

“Have You Met Miss Jones?” is scheduled to run Sept. 22 through Nov. 27.

The rest of the season:

▪ “The Fabulous Lipitones,” Dec. 1, 2016-Feb. 12, 2017. New Theatre favorite George Wendt (“Cheers”) returns to headline this comedy about three members of a barbershop quartet who scramble to find a replacement for the suddenly deceased fourth member. The show is by composer Randy Courts and writers John Markus and Mark St. Germain.

▪ “Boeing-Boeing,” Feb. 15-April 23, 2017. Marc Camoletti’s farce about a bachelor engaged to three flight attendants was a hit in London and New York. Making her New Theatre debut as the amorous bachelor’s housekeeper will be Debra Jo Rupp, a veteran film and TV actress best known for roles on “That ’70s Show” and “Friends.”

▪ “The Dixie Swim Club,” April 26-July 2, 2017. Morgan Fairchild stars in this comedy about five friends, all Southern women who met on a college swim team, who get together once a year to reminisce and dispense unsolicited advice. The play by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten spans 33 years.

▪ “Million Dollar Quartet,” July 6-Sept. 24, 2017. This popular jukebox musical imagines a gathering of iconic music legends Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tenn.

For more information, call 913-649-7469 or go to NewTheatre.com.

At the Unicorn

The Unicorn Theatre recently announced the first six shows of its 2016-17 season.

First up is “Hand to God” by Robert Askins, a Broadway and off-Broadway hit satire about puppetry, the church and the devil.

Also on the schedule:

▪ “Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical,” based on the 1994 Australian film about drag queens booked to perform at a remote desert resort.

▪ “The Way We Get By,” Neil LaBute’s two-character play about the morning after a one-night stand.

▪ “The Octoroon” by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a “meta-melodrama” about racial identity and stereotypes based on a 19th-century antebellum play.

▪ “I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard” by Halley Feiffer, a dark comedy about the relationship between an actress and her playwright father.

▪ “How to Use a Knife” by Will Snider, about a newly sober chef and his unlikely friendship with an African porter.

Two more titles will be announced later. Call 816-531-7529 or go to UnicornTheatre.org.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Shirley Jones to open 2016-17 season at New Theatre."