Peach State Offers 'Pay What You Can' and Online Ticketing

If it’s true that theatre is an honest reflection of the times, then Peach State Summer Theatre’s "Pay What You Can" performances signal the strain of the economic climate and the theatre’s conviction that the show must go on.

Georgia’s official musical theatre is offering two opportunities for theatre enthusiasts to pay what they can to enjoy evening performances of the tender love story “Once on this Island” Wednesday, July 1, and a scheming comedy "The Producers" on Tuesday, July 7.

Peach State Managing Director Duke Guthrie said the theatre does not want ticket prices to inhibit people from being able to experience the transformative art form. Those interested in attending one or both of these performances must stop by the PSST! Box Office to purchase up to four tickets per customer. Phone reservations and on-line purchases do not apply to this special offer, which is subject to availability based on limited seating. Curtains for both "Pay What You Can" performances open at 7:30 p.m.

Online Ticketing

This summer Peach State has also introduced online ticketing capabilities. Theatergoers are now able to purchase individual tickets, season memberships and various packages by visiting the Peach State Summer Theatre Web site at www.valdosta.edu/psst/ .

The online ticketing option does not replace traditional ticket purchasing options. Patrons are still be able to call the Peach State Summer Theatre Box Office at (229) 259-7770 or stop by the office, located on the first floor of the VSU Fine Arts Building. The Box Office is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

The 2009 PSST! Season

Features three shows in a rotating reparatory from June 5 to July 19

Actors will whisk audiences down the mighty Mississippi with mischievous Huck Finn in "Big River" - the musical adaptation of Mark Twain’s Classic novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The show, which won Tony Awards for Best Musical as well as Book and Score, opens June 5 and runs through July 19.

The theatre heads to the Caribbean in the colorful musical "Once on This Island," a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" set in the French Antilles. The award-winning musical about love, loss and redemption runs from June 19 to July 18.

New York is the setting for "The Producers," a musical about a down-on-his-luck producer and his accountant’s scheme to swindle show backers by producing a theatrical flop. With music and lyrics by legendary funny man, Mel Brooks, The Producers is sure to have audience members buckling with laughter. The show, which contains adult language and situations, runs from June 26 to July 18.

For more information about Peach State Summer Theatre and the 2009 season, go to www.valdosta.edu/psst/ .