Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, 100 Drury Lane, in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., has a great lineup of plays and musicals for audiences in 2009.

Known for producing acclaimed, innovative and classic musicals, it has just announced its new season schedule, featuring five musicals that have never been seen on the Drury Lane stage.

Hot off the Broadway stage, the musical comedy "Curtains," directed by William Brown, previews March 19, 2009, and opens March 26 and runs through May 17; the feel-good musical review "Pump Boys and the Dinettes," directed by Shawn Stengel, previews May 28, 2009, and opens June 4 running through Aug. 2; the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret," directed by Jim Corti, previews Aug. 13, 2009, opens Aug. 20 and runs through Oct. 11; the delightful Jazz Age musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie," directed by Drury Lane Artistic Director William Osetek, previews Oct. 22, 2009, opens Oct. 29 and runs through Dec. 20; and the beloved musical "Funny Girl," directed by Gary Griffin, ends the year, in previews Dec. 31, 2009, and opens Jan. 7, 2010, and runs through March 7, 2010.

So what's the scoop on these shows?

The hilarious new Broadway whodunit "Curtains," directed by Brown, marks his Drury Lane directorial debut.

He has won many Jeff Awards, having directed at numerous Chicagoland venues including the Writers Theatre, TimeLine Theatre, Northlight Theatre and the Goodman Theatre's annual production of "A Christmas Carol."

A "play within a play," "Curtains" takes place at Boston's Colonial Theatre in 1959. It's the opening night of "Robbin' Hood of the Old West" and the new musical could be a smash hit, if it weren't for the show's incredibly untalented leading lady. When she is murdered during the curtain call, Lt. Frank Cioffi is summoned to investigate. The lure of the theater soon becomes irresistible to the stage-struck detective, and he finds himself just as dedicated to making the show a hit as he to solving the murder.

Directed by Stengel, the next show is a toe-tapping, charming musical tribute to life along the open road. Stengel himself starred in the long-running production of "Pump Boys and the Dinettes" at the Apollo Theater for all four years. The pump boys sell high-octane fuel on North Carolina's Highway 57 and the sassy dinettes, Prudie and Rhetta Cupp, run the Double Cupp diner next door. Between changing tires and baking pies, the gang performs a rousing, down-home mix of country western, rock 'n' roll and blues in this charming tale of friendship, romance and life's simple pleasures.

Up next, the international smash hit musical "Cabaret," directed by Corti. Set in the sexy, sultry Kit Kat Klub in late-1920s Berlin before the Nazis' rise to power, "Cabaret" is a provocative tale of love and war. The mesmerizing show depicts the intertwined stories of an English cabaret singer, an American writer, a rich German politician, a Jewish fruit vendor and the denizens of Berlin who are caught in a tumultuous changing society.

Winner of the 2002 "Best Musical" Tony Award, "Thoroughly Modern Millie," directed by Drury Lane Oakbrook's Osetek, tells the humorous story of a young girl from Kansas who takes New York City by storm as she flaps, taps and Charlestons her way into the Roaring '20s. Millie experiences the hustle and bustle of Jazz Age Manhattan at a time when women were just entering the workforce and rewriting society's rules.

And then there's the wonderful story based on the life of Ziegfeld Follies comedienne Fanny Brice, which will be directed by Griffin, who serves as the associate producer at Drury Lane Oakbrook. It's the semiautobiographical tale of Brice's meteoric rise to fame and her stormy relationship with Nick Arnstein, a wealthy and charming gambler. From her start as a gawky Brooklyn teen fast-talking her way into show business to becoming the toast of New York to the unraveling of her personal life, "Funny Girl" is a stunning, richly told tour de force about one of Broadway's biggest stars.

Inquire at box office or Web site for details and prices. For reservations, (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or (219) 852.4327.

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