Cast and creators of “Mom’s the Word 3: Nest 1/2 Empty,” to be staged at Surrey Arts Centre in October. (photo: Emily Cooper/Arts Club Theatre Company)

Cast and creators of “Mom’s the Word 3: Nest 1/2 Empty,” to be staged at Surrey Arts Centre in October. (photo: Emily Cooper/Arts Club Theatre Company)

Laughs, thrills and music in Arts Club shows coming to Surrey next season

Stephen King’s ‘Misery’ story and hit musical ‘Onegin’ among three productions in company’s touring series

SURREY — Arts Club Theatre Company is bringing a comedy, a thriller and a musical to Surrey as part of its annual road show.

The company’s series at Surrey Arts Centre for 2017-18 will open with Mom’s the Word 3: Nest 1/2 Empty, by the Mom’s the Word Collective.

Stephen King’s chilling Misery, along with Onegin, the Amiel Gladstone/Veda Hille musical that won 10 Jessie awards, are the other two ACT shows hitting the Bear Creek Park theatre stage next season.

Subscription tickets for the three-show series are now on sale, in person and by phone, 604-501-5566; single tickets will go on sale on July 31, via Tickets.Surrey.ca.

New for the 2017/18 season, Surrey Arts Centre is moving to zone pricing for Arts Club On Tour productions.

“Zone pricing means you can choose where you want to sit based on your budget,” according to a post at Surrey.ca.

Zone A tickets are $114 for all three shows, Zone B tickets are $99 and Zone C seats are $79, including taxes, facility fees and service charges.

“A new generation of laughs” is promised in the hit comedy Mom’s the Word 3: Nest 1/2 Empty, which plays from Oct. 11 to 21.

“Their kids are grown, their marriages have ‘evolved,’ and their bodies are backfiring,” reads a show-preview post on the city’s website. “Life doesn’t get any prettier, but it never strays far from ludicrous or poignant as the moms continue to mine their personal history for every embarrassing detail. Filled with insights, secrets, and ribald humour, this brand-new show from the moms you love is both hysterical and deeply touching.”

The show comes with an audience advisory for mature themes, nudity and strong language.

Later in the season, Misery will hit the stage from Jan. 10 to 20, 2018.

The William Goldman script, based on the novel by Stephen King, focuses on novelist Paul Sheldon, who is rescued from a car crash by his “Number One Fan,” Annie Wilkes. “He wakes up in her secluded home in the mountains of Colorado. While Annie nurses him back to health, Paul soon realizes that he is not her guest, but her captive. Angered that he has killed off her favourite character, Annie forces Paul to resurrect her in a new book, and Paul soon finds himself writing for his freedom – and his life.”

The musical Onegin will be staged from Feb. 21 to March 3, 2018. “When Evgeni Onegin visits the Larin family home, his romantic charms stir passions long forgotten by its residents. Poet Vladimir Lensky’s romantic ideals are challenged after Onegin flirts with his fiance, Olga, and even the sensible Tatyana falls for the handsome rogue. The hit musical moves, shakes and wakes audiences with its sweeping score, leaving the powerful question swirling in their minds: Look around, look around, look around, do you see someone worth dying for?”

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

Langley Times