Towle unveils premieres in 2012 season preview

Jeff Casey, managing director of Hammond's Towle Theater, knows the challenges he'll face when the theater debuts plays and musicals new to region audiences.

"It's always a little bit scary to do something that not only no one else has done, but potentially something that no one's ever heard of," he said. "You think 'Are people going to come? Are they going to trust you enough based on your past work that they'll want to see it?'"

Introducing the upcoming season with a preview celebration Jan. 6 through 8, Towle's 2012 lineup is made up of four productions which will be new to many a Northwest Indiana theatergoer; each of the plays on the bill will make their area premieres at Towle this year.

Towle's season officially opens Feb. 24 with the musical "Ordinary Days." Chronicling the lives of a handful of struggling New Yorkers, "Days" was lauded with accolades and awards when it debuted in 2009 and is making its Midwest debut at Towle.

"Days" is slated to be followed by "The 39 Steps," which pays comedic tribute to early 20th-century big screen thrillers and is based on the Alfred Hitchcock–directed film of the same name, starting May 4. Next up is "Next to Normal," an award–winning musical that made its debut off–Broadway in 2008 and is slated to open at Towle on  July 6.

"Leaving Iowa," a critically acclaimed comedy with roots in Chicagoland, is on tap to debut at Towle on Sept. 7 before the theater company concludes its year with the annual "Fabulous 50s Christmas," schedule to begin Nov. 23.

"Artistically, (bringing new plays to the region) provides some level of relief," Casey said. "People typically don't come into our shows with any certain expectations of what the show should be like because they haven't seen it 10 times."

Towle's preview shows will feature five–minute staged scenes from each of the four plays that make up the 2012 season.

"You want to provide enough punch in that five minutes to pique an audience's interest, but you don't want to give away the whole heart and soul of the show," Casey said. "But if you edit too much, it can come off as completely uninteresting."

The $5 admission fee to the previews can be applied to the purchase of a 2012 Towle season ticket.