Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe offering new season filled with hopes and dreams

Season opens with the family-friendly 'Carmela Full of Wishes' Oct. 5-8

August 24, 2023

The Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe (BBTT) will offer theatrical performances filled with hopes and dreams during its 2023-24 season.

The upcoming season includes four acclaimed productions:

• “Carmela Full of Wishes,” adapted by Alvaro Saar Rios, Oct. 5-8;
• “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, Nov. 28-Dec. 1;
• “Constellations” by Nick Payne, Feb. 15-18, 2024;
• “[title of show]” with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and the book by Hunter Bell, April 18-21 and 24-25, 2024.

Each Thursday performance will include a special interactive question-and-answer session with the talented cast and crew.

Performances will take place at the Blinn College-Bryan Campus Student Center (Room F-120, map ) and other Brazos Valley venues. Season and individual tickets for all shows will be available at www.blinn.edu/boxoffice. Season tickets are $20 and include all four productions. Individual tickets for “Carmela Full of Wishes,” “Miss Bennet,” and “Constellations” are $5, and tickets for the musical “[title of show]” is $10.

“We are looking forward to another exciting season of award-winning productions,” Drama Professor Greg Wise said. “Each of these shows highlights the limitless possibilities of the world around us, and the power of our dreams in making that world a better place.”

Carmela Full of Wishes

Directed by Instructor Evleen Nasir, “Carmela Full of Wishes” is adapted by Alvaro Saar Rios and based on the Newberry Medal and Caldecott Honor-winning book by Matt de la Pena and illustrator Christian Robinson.

In this ode to family, dreamers, and finding hope in the most unexpected places, young Carmela wakes up on her birthday to discover that her wish has already come true – she finally is old enough to join her big brother as he does the family errands. As they travel through their neighborhood, Carmela discovers a lone dandelion growing in the pavement. Before she can blow it, her brother encourages her to make a wish.

This production is recommended for ages 5 and older and will take place in Blinn-Bryan Student Center Room F-120 at 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 5-7, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8. The play will be the BBTT’s entry in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

BBTT will offer special matinee performances to area elementary schools and educators. For more information, email BBTTCarmela@blinn.edu.

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley

Recommended for ages 12 and older, “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” is a sequel to Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Set two years after the novel ends, this play features nerdy middle sister Mary as the unlikely heroine. Mary is growing tired of her role as the dutiful middle sister among everyone else’s romantic escapades, but when the family gathers for Christmas at Pemberley, an unexpected guest sparks Mary’s hopes for independence, an intellectual match, and possibly even love.

Shows will be staged at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Nov. 28-30, in Blinn-Bryan Student Center Room F-120 and at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church as part of Downtown Bryan’s First Friday.

BBTT will offer special matinee performances to area elementary schools and educators. For more information, email BBTTMissBennet@blinn.edu.

Constellations

Recommended for ages 15 and older, “Constellations” offers a multiverse of possibilities when Roland and Marianne meet at a party. Each choice they make unlocks a series of branching paths leading them to a variety of outcomes – some wonderful and some tragic.

Payne’s genre-busting play offers wit, wonder, and an overflowing sense of life as it creates a vibrant collision of love and theoretical physics.

Each show will be held in Blinn-Bryan Student Center Room F-120. The curtain will rise at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 15-17, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18. This show contains adult language and themes.

[title of show]

Nominated for a 2009 Tony Award and Best Book of a Musical, [title of show] features Jeff and Hunter, two struggling writers who hear about a new musical theatre festival. With the deadline for submissions just three weeks away, Jeff and Hunter decide to create something new with the help of their friends.

Recommended for ages 15 and older, the show will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 18-20, 2024, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Blinn-Bryan Student Center Room F-120. The production will then shift to Texas A&M University’s Black Box Theatre for shows at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, April 24-25, 2024. This show contains adult language and themes.