The Countess by Gregory Murphy will be the season opener, followed by Senior Class, a musical review by Saul Illson.  Next, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Rocket Man, by Steven Dietz, Anna Christie, by Eugene ONeill, and the season will close with Cowgirls, Conceived by Mary Murfitt, book by Betsy Howie and music and lyrics by Mary Murfitt.

 The Countess, September 11~October 11, 2003.  In London in 1848, three idealistic young artists John Everret Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Holman Hunt banded together to form the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.  John Ruskin, the foremost art critic in Victorian England, stood virtually alone in his defense of this group of artists.  Here is the story of his wife Effie, the battle she waged to build a life and marriage for herself and an unresponsive husband, her relationship with Millais, and her ensuing social banishment by Queen Victoria.

 Senior Class October 23~November 22, 2003.  The professional premiere of this tender and funny musical revue is a celebration of aging.  When Five Senior actors get together, and with words and music celebrate their senior-hood, the results are at once charming, hilarious and thought provoking.  When they start to list famous seniors, Sophia Loren, Paul McCartney, Al Pacino, Mick Jagger, the role of Senior Citizen takes on a whole new energy.

December 12~December 21, 2003.  Charles Dickens glorious tale of redemption, A Christmas Carol, once again graces the stage of the Hofmann Theatre.  Always a delight, and for many, a Christmas Tradition, Scott Denisons production of this story is sure to please even the fussiest Christmas reveler. Come; learn with us the true meaning of Christmas, served up with love and best wishes from Center REPertory Company.

Rocket Man February 5~March 6, 2004.  While exploring the possibilities of a Parallel Universe, and the inner workings of a Crosswalk Signal Box Donny decides to clean out his attic, put all of his possessions on the front lawn and post a sign: Heres my life--make an offer, raising the eyebrows of his friends and the ire of his family.  But Donnys musings are at once fascinating and evocative.  Youll fall in love with Steven Dietz characters and be sorry to see the final curtain fall on this beautiful play.

March 25~April 24, 2004.  Anna Christie is a classically complex ONeill tale of a young woman who falls in love and yearns to be worthy of that love.  Though he garnered his second Pulitzer Prize for Anna Christie, Eugene O'Neill received sharp criticism for the play when it opened.  He rebuffed that criticism at first but later renounced the work and tried to block its publication.  O'Neill eventually admitted to having "deliberately employed all the Broadway tricks I learned in my stage training" to create a play that is structurally a comedy but has the raw heart and dogged spirit one normally associates with the only American playwright to win the Nobel Prize.

May 13~June 12, 2004.  Our final production of the season is Cowgirls, a thoroughly delightful musical that is a showcase for the talents of 3 gifted actor/musicians.  The Cowgirls of the title are actually the Cog Hill Trio, a group of female classical musicians in the midst of a dilapidated U.S. tour.  Mistaken for the "Cowgirl Trio", they have been booked into Hiram Hall, a run down country music palace in Rexford, Kansas.  Hiram Hall owner, Jo Carlson who is in danger of losing her venue due to old debts left by her father, is depending on her new act to save her business from extinction. While this may sound like a piece of fluff, the personal story of each character gives their adventures some well-balanced weight.  

Now in its 37^th season, and its 13^th year as The Dean Lesher Regional Centers resident company, Center REPS mission is to present exceptional theatre for the audiences of the East Bay and greater Bay Area.  With an artistic staff of professional directors, designers, and technicians, the company attracts the finest Equity and non-Equity actors from the Bay Area and around the country.  Center REP presents the best in theatre--classic and standard plays, musicals of quality, and new and innovative works to entertain, inform and challenge.

thru March 9  "The Scarlet Pimpernel"   Blackmail, bribery, deception.  A delightful romp...Contra Costa Times

May 3 - May 25   "Honk!"