All posts by Chad Hembree

Child Actors, Family-Friendly, Musical, Show, Spotlight Acting School

Disney’s Aristocats KIDS (January 15 – 24)

Presented by Spotlight Acting School
Ages: 4–11
Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, Al Rinker and Floyd Huddleston
Music Adapted and Arranged by Bryan Louiselle
Book Adapted and Additional Lyrics by Michael Bernard
Based on the 1970 Disney film, The Aristocats

Two Casts — Two Weekends
Blue Cast: January 15–17
Purple Cast: January 22–24

Performances: Fridays & Saturdays at 6:00pm, Sundays at 2:00pm

🎵

Rating: All ages · Runtime: approximately 30 minutes · Pay What You Can: Friday performances are name-your-own-price; unsold tickets release two hours before showtime.

Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible seating with companion space is in the front row. If you have special needs, just let us know when you arrive.

About the Show
Based on the beloved Disney animated film, and featuring a jazzy, upbeat score, Disney’s The Aristocats KIDS is a non-stop thrill ride of feline fun, complete with unbelievable twists and turns.

In the heart of Paris, a kind and eccentric millionairess wills her entire estate to Duchess, her high-society cat, and her three little kittens. Laughs and adventure ensue as the greedy, bumbling butler pulls off the ultimate catnap caper. Now it’s up to the rough-and-tumble alley cat, Thomas O’Malley, and his band of swingin’ jazz cats to save the day.

Disney’s The Aristocats KIDS features plenty of exuberant group numbers and a cast that can be expanded by adding additional alley cats to the chorus.

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403


Book now

“Disney’s The Aristocats KIDS” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 423 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019 — www.MTIShows.com

Adult Actors, Comedy, Show, The Bluegrass Players

Hyde, Dr. Jekyll, Hyde! (January 15 – 23)

Presented by The Bluegrass Players
Ages 16+
Written by David Chapelle
Directed by Joy Lady
January 15 – 23

Performances:
January 15-17 (Fri & Sat 8:00pm, Sun 4:00pm)
January 22-23 (Fri & Sat 8:00pm)

Runtime: approximately 2 hours (two acts, 15-minute intermission) · Pay What You Can: Friday performances are name-your-own-price; unsold tickets release two hours before showtime

Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible seating with companion space is in the front row. If you have special needs, just let us know when you arrive.

Forget everything you know about Jekyll and Hyde… this isn’t it! Hyde, Dr. Jekyll, Hyde! is a laugh-out-loud melodrama loosely (very, very loosely) inspired by the classic character. Any resemblance to the story you know is purely coincidental… and hilarious.

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403

Tickets:
Book now

“Hyde, Dr. Jekyll, Hyde!” is presented through special arrangement with melodrama.net

Adult Actors, Comedy, Show, The Bluegrass Players

The Murder Mystery at the Murder Mystery (January 29 – February 6)

The Bluegrass Players present
By Brian D. Taylor
Directed by John Bailey
January 29 – February 6

Performances: Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 4:00pm

Runtime: approximately 75 minutes · Pay What You Can: Friday performances are name-your-own-price; unsold tickets release two hours before showtime.

Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible seating with companion space is in the front row. If you have special needs, just let us know when you arrive.

Rating: Comedy/mystery — recommended for ages 14+

Tickets: Coming soon

🎭 About the Show
The players at The Murder Mystery Playhouse are rehearsing a new show — a not-so-good British murder mystery with cheesy dramatic music and questionable accents. But when the lights go out and a character dies onstage for real, nobody’s laughing.

The cast keeps replaying the scene, and every time they reach the end, someone else ends up with a fire poker in the chest. Is it a curse? A rival theatre company’s sabotage? Or something far more twisted? This hilarious play-within-a-play comedy keeps the audience guessing until the very last twist.

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403

Produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Denver, Colorado | www.pioneerdrama.com

Family-Friendly, Musical, Show, Spotlight Acting School, Teen Actors

Cinderella: Youth Edition (January 29 – February 7)

Presented by Spotlight Acting School
Ages 9-14
Directed by Jazzlyn Threlkeld
Music Director: Letha Hembree
January 29 – February 7

Performances:
🔵 Blue Cast: January 29-31 (Fri & Sat 6:00pm, Sun 2:00pm)
🟣 Purple Cast: February 5-7 (Fri & Sat 6:00pm, Sun 2:00pm)

Rating: All ages · Runtime: one hour · Pay What You Can: Friday performances are name-your-own-price; unsold tickets release two hours before showtime.

Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible seating with companion space is in the front row. If you have special needs, just let us know when you arrive.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: Youth Edition brings the timeless enchantment of the classic fairy tale to the stage in a one-hour musical specially designed for young performers. The beloved story of a kind-hearted girl, a magical evening, and a glass slipper is reborn with the Rodgers & Hammerstein hallmarks of originality, charm, and elegance. Filled with unforgettable songs like “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible,” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” it’s a magical introduction to musical theatre for the whole family.

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403

Book now

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: Youth Edition is presented through special arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com

Adult Actors, Comedy, Dinner, Family-Friendly, Show, The Bluegrass Players

Tuned in for Murder Dinner Show (February 11 – 14)

The Bluegrass Players present
By Chad Hembree
February 11 – 14

Performances: Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 6:30pm, Sunday at 1:30pm

Runtime: approximately 3 hours, including dinner

Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible seating with companion space is in the front row. If you have special needs, just let us know when you arrive.

Rating: 14+ — all welcome

Tickets: Coming soon

Dinner menu: Coming soon

📻 About the Show
Completely revamped for this season, Tuned in for Murder is a fan favorite 1980’s Themed Murder Mystery Dinner Show. Written by local playwright and director Chad Hembree, this zany mystery delights audiences with a host of crazy characters. You’re invited to the 50th Anniversary of WJRK, and the owner has big news to share if he can live that long.

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403

Adult Actors, Drama, Show, The Bluegrass Players

Romeo and Juliet (February 19 – 27)

Presented by The Bluegrass Players
Ages 16+
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Chad Hembree
February 19 – 27

Performances:
February 19-21 (Fri & Sat 8:00pm, Sun 2:00pm)
February 26-27 (Fri & Sat 8:00pm)

Pay What You Can: Friday performances are name-your-own-price; unsold tickets release two hours before showtime

Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible seating with companion space is in the front row. If you have special needs, just let us know when you arrive.

Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy about two young lovers from feuding families whose fates are sealed by a world divided against them. A cast of unforgettable characters — from the fiery Tybalt to the wise Friar Laurence — drives this story of love, loyalty, and loss, performed by The Bluegrass Players in an intimate evening of classic theatre.

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403

Tickets: Coming soon

Child Actors, Family-Friendly, Musical, Show, Spotlight Acting School

Disney’s Aladdin KIDS (February 26 – March 7)

Presented by Spotlight Acting School
Ages: 4–11
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
Music Adapted and Arranged and Additional Lyrics by Bryan Louiselle
Book by David Simpatico
Based on the 1992 Disney film, Aladdin
February 26 – March 7

Performances:
Blue Cast: February 26-28 (Fri & Sat 6:00pm, Sun 2:00pm)
Purple Cast: March 5-7 (Fri & Sat 6:00pm, Sun 2:00pm)

Rating: All ages · Pay What You Can: Friday performances are name-your-own-price; unsold tickets release two hours before showtime

Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible seating with companion space is in the front row. If you have special needs, just let us know when you arrive.

Based on the iconic animated film, with an Academy Award-winning score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, Disney’s Aladdin KIDS is sure to send audiences soaring on a flying carpet ride filled with romance and adventure. When the street urchin, Aladdin, vies for the attention of the beautiful princess, Jasmine, he uses a genie’s magic power to become a prince in order to marry her. Iago, Jafar, the Genie, and more are here in Disney’s Aladdin KIDS, a musical adventure filled with magic, mayhem and the power of love.

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403

Tickets: Coming soon

“Disney’s Aladdin KIDS” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 423 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019 — www.MTIShows.com

Family-Friendly, Musical, Show, Spotlight Acting School, Teen Actors

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory JR. (April 2 – 18)

Presented by Spotlight Acting School
Ages: 14–18
Book by David Greig
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
Based on the novel by Roald Dahl
April 2 – 18

Performances:
Blue Cast: April 2–4
Purple Cast: April 16–18

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory JR. is your golden ticket to a crowd-pleasing, outrageous ensemble musical with plenty of delicious roles. This 60-minute Broadway Junior adaptation follows Charlie Bucket, a kind boy from a struggling family, who finds a golden ticket and earns a tour of Willy Wonka’s mysterious, candy-filled factory — complete with chocolate waterfalls, nutty squirrels, and the great glass elevator, all revealed by Wonka’s army of curious Oompa Loompas. The show features the classic favorites “The Candy Man,” “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket,” “Oompa Loompa,” and “Pure Imagination.”

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403

Tickets: Coming soon

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory JR. is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Family-Friendly, Musical, Show, The Bluegrass Players

Pirates of Penzance (May 14 – 22)

Presented by The Bluegrass Players
Ages: All ages — an intergenerational production
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by W. S. Gilbert
Directed by Megan McCauley
May 14 – 22

Performances:
May 14-16 (Fri & Sat 8:00pm, Sun 2:00pm)
May 21-22 (Fri & Sat 8:00pm)

Pay What You Can: Friday performances are name-your-own-price; unsold tickets release two hours before showtime

Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible seating with companion space is in the front row. If you have special needs, just let us know when you arrive.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved operetta follows young Frederic, mistakenly apprenticed to a band of soft-hearted pirates until his 21st birthday. Released at last, he falls for Mabel, daughter of Major-General Stanley — until a technicality reveals he was born on February 29, and his 21st birthday won’t arrive until he’s 84. A whirlwind of pirates, policemen, and general merriment ensues in one of the most beloved operettas ever written.

Location: The Spotlight Playhouse — 214 Richmond Rd, Berea, KY 40403

Tickets: Coming soon

Dinner

Dinner Shows at The Spotlight Playhouse

Leave a comment

Dinner theater is back in full swing at The Spotlight Playhouse. Here’s what’s coming:

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (All-New) Dinner Show

October 2, 3, 10 & 11 — Fridays & Saturdays at 6:30pm, Sunday October 11 at 1:30pm. An all-new mystery dinner show written by Chad Hembree, presented by The Bluegrass Players.

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Dinner Show

December 17, 18, 19 & 20 — Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 6:30pm, Sunday December 20 at 1:30pm. Written & directed by Chad Hembree, presented by The Bluegrass Players.

Tuned in for Murder

February 11 – 14 — Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 6:30pm, Sunday at 1:30pm. By Chad Hembree, presented by The Bluegrass Players.

Tickets: Coming soon — check the show pages above or call 859-756-0011.