The Theatre Steering Committee is pleased to announce a season filled with exciting and entertaining stage productions in the Callaway Theatre for 2022/2023. “We are thrilled to be bringing a full year of live theatre to El Dorado,” said committee chairperson Katy Callaway Hayes. “We have three great shows on the horizon, and it’s an amazing time to get involved with the South Arkansas Arts Center and our community theatre.”

This fall, mystery is afoot at SAAC with the production of “Deathtrap,” a comic thriller full of plot twists, double crosses, and sinister motives. The Tony-award-winning play by Ira Levin centers on playwright Sidney Bruhl, who will stop at nothing to defeat his writer’s block and stage another hit, and his talented student Clifford. Sponsored by Southern Bancorp and Nexans-AmerCable, the show will run November 4-12, with auditions planned for September 19 and 20.

Spring 2022 will see the famously carnivorous plant Audrey II onstage in “Little Shop of Horrors,” sponsored by Murphy-Pitard Jewelers. The musical, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, uses the musical styles of rock, doo-wop and Motown to tell the story of a downtrodden florist named Seymour, who finds himself raising a mysterious plant that will soon change the lives of everyone around them. Show dates are March 3-11.

Finally, the season will close with a spectacular summer musical, when “Newsies: The Musical” takes the stage July 14-17, 20-24, 2022. Inspired by the real-life newsboys’ strike of 1899 in New York City, the show is based on the 1992 Disney film and pits the scrappy, young newspaper sellers against tycoon Joseph Pulitzer in an underdog battle for the ages. The high-energy, fun-for-all-ages musical will be sponsored by Murphy USA.

SAAC is currently accepting applications for directors for “Deathtrap” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” Interested individuals should supply a letter of intent, resume, and a short production proposal to Laura Allen at laura@saac-arts.org by September 1, 2022. For more information, please contact the SAAC office at 870-862-5474