The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights has announced its 2018 – 2019 season. Kicking off in September with the 9-time Tony-winning A CHORUS LINE. In January, the company will produce Agatha Christie’s long-running murder mystery THE MO– USETRAP, and in May, Stephen Sondheim’s musical farce A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. The season closes out with a summer run of the Biographical Rock & Roll Musical BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY.

Creative teams are yet to be announced. More information is available at MetropolisArts.com.

Metropolis Performing Arts Centre’s 2018-2019 Season (from the press release):

A CHORUS LINE – Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante, Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Edward Kleban

A stunning theatrical classic that captures the spirit and tension of a Broadway audition. Exploring the lives and poignant ambitions of professional chorus dancers; those overly dedicated, underpaid, highly trained performers. A CHORUS LINE takes the audience through the final grueling audition for a new Broadway musical. The show features one powerhouse number after another including “What I Did for Love,” “One,” “I Can Do That,” “At the Ballet,” “The Music and the Mirror,” and “I Hope I Get It.” Song, dance, and compellingly authentic drama are fused brilliantly in this nine-time Tony Award winner. A CHORUS LINE captivates heartstrings until the final casting choices are made and the question of why we do anything of value is answered: for love.

THE MO– USETRAP – By Agatha Christie

The longest-running play in London’s West End and one of the best mysteries ever written for the stage. A group of strangers becomes stranded in an English country boarding house, cut off by a sudden snow storm. They soon discover, to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst. The suspects include the newly married couple who run the house, a young architect, a retired Army major, a strange foreigner, an aloof traveler from abroad, and a disapproving guest. A policeman arrives at the house and begins to uncover the rationale of the murderer’s pattern, questioning the background of everyone present. As information is revealed, legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie keeps you guessing until her signature final twist.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM – Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Broadway’s greatest farce promises to have audiences rolling in the aisles. This fast-paced, witty, and irreverent comedy is one of the funniest musicals ever written. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum skillfully combines time-tested comedies of Roman playwright Plautus, with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. A nonstop laughfest in which crafty slave Pseudolus attempts to win the hand of the beautiful but slow-witted maiden, Philia, for his young master, Hero, in exchange for his own freedom. The plot rapidly twists and turns with cases of mistaken identity, slamming doors, bawdy innuendos and hair-brained schemes. This unforgettable musical promises: “Something for everyone: a comedy tonight!”

BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY – By Allan Janes

BUDDY tells the true story of Buddy Holly’s meteoric rise to fame from the moment in 1957 when “That’ll Be the Day” hit the airwaves until his tragic death less than two years later on “The Day the Music Died.” This rocking musical features several of Buddy Holly’s greatest hits including “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Everyday,” “Oh Boy,” “Not Fade Away,” “Raining on my Heart,” and many more. Also featuring memorable hits from other stars of the era, including Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” and The Big Bopper’s “Chantilly Lace.” The incredible but all-too-brief legacy of the young Texan with glasses, whose musical influence revolutionized the golden days of Rock & Roll, continues to live on in BUDDY.