Providing "excellence in theater since 1935," The Town Players of Newtown have announced their plans for 2018.

The community theater will host four fully staged productions: Lying in State, Suddenly Last Summer, Fox on the Fairway, and Dancing at Lughnasa.

Written by David C. Hyer and being director for Town Players by Timothy Huber, the season opener will be presented May 18-June 9. Lying in State centers on a late state senator who dies in a ridiculous gun accident, turning him into a national hero. The local political party leaders are strenuously looking for someone to fill his senate seat. His ex-wife is looking for a bugler to play at his funeral.

A host of other zany characters are looking for love, votes, and the right casket in this madcap comedy about love, politics, and things not being what they seem to be.

Auditions will take place March 4-5.

In one of Tennessee Williams's most haunting pieces of writing, Suddenly Last Summer shows how far will one mother go to preserve her son's reputation.

Catherine Holly has witnessed the murder of her cousin Sebastian, which has sent her to a psychiatric hospital. When Sebastian's mother invites a psychiatrist to question Catherine about her story, she paints a picture so graphic it's almost unbelievable.

Terry Polvay will direct this production, which will run July 20-August 11; auditions are scheduled for May 6-7.

The zany comedy Fox on the Fairway, written by Ken Ludwig and being directed by Gene Holaszewski, takes audiences on a hilarious romp that pulls the rug out from underneath the stuffy denizens of a private country club.

Filled with mistaken identities, slamming doors, and over-the-top romantic shenanigans, it is a furiously paced comedy that recalls the Marx Brothers classics. It is a madcap adventure about love, life, and man's eternal love affair with golf.

Performances are scheduled for September 21-October 13, and auditions will take place July 8-9.

The 2018 Town Players season will close with Brian Friel's the story of five unmarried sisters eking out their lives in a small village in Ireland in 1936.Dancing at Lughnasa,

Audiences meet them at the time of the festival of Lughnasa, which celebrates the pagan god of the harvest with drunken revelry and dancing. The action of the play is told through the memory of the illegitimate son of one of the sisters as he remembers the five women who raised him.

Performances are planned for November 16-December 8. Director Sherry Asch will conduct auditions September 9-10.

Productions are staged at The Little Theatre, 18 Orchard Hill Road. Most shows have Friday and Saturday evening shows, with two Sunday matinees.

Season tickets are on sale now. The cost of $66 per ticket provides each ticket holder the opportunity to see all four staged productions, and any staged readings, for the price of three full price tickets. Season tickets can be purchased at newtownplayers.org. Tickets for single shows will be going on sale closer to each production.

The theater group's website has also been updated. In an effort to make it more user friendly, the website now includes simplified navigation and a mobile-friendly theme. The theater can also be reached at 203-270-9144.

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