Be sure to catch the latest production from Actors Theatre of Indiana, a show that promises a night of familiar music in some not-so-familiar situations when A Grand Night for Singing takes the Carmel Community Playhouse at Clay Terrace stage beginning next Wednesday, July 7. Broadway songwriters Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II created such iconic shows as Oklahoma!, Carousel, and The King and I. Plucking songs from the songwriting duo's famous musicals , A Grand Night for Singing drops them into new situations when the characters meet each other for the first time and romance blossoms.

The musical review first opened on Broadway in 1994, winning critical acclaim and earning a Tony nomination for Best Musical." USAToday noted that "A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING is enough to restore one's faith in the future of the revue", while the New York Post called it "a splendiferous show of songs."

The 20 performances begin July 7 and run though Sunday, August 1. Shows start at 8:00 PM on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays throughout July. Sunday shows have a 2:00 curtain time at the Carmel Community Playhouse at Clay Terrace. Weekend performances are $32 each. Wednesday and Thursday performances are value prices at $20 each. Go to www.actorstheatreofindiana.org to order tickets online or call 317-669-7983.

Set on the grounds of a beautiful mansion, the production stars ATI Founders Judy Fitzgerald, Cynthia Collins and Don Farrell along with local stage veteran Jill O'Malia and Bradley Reynolds, a New York theatre producer and actor who grew up in speedway.

Butler University graduate Jill O'Malia, a veteran of many Rodgers & Hammerstein productions, says audiences are in for a real treat with the rich harmonies and tuneful music that they know from the stage and screen.

"This show is all about the different situations of romance. It's a lot of fun to work with people who are professional and people who really care about the sound. It's right on the dot." Noting that there are hummable favorites from The Sound of Music and South Pacific, O'Malia says, "there is also music from a few shows that are not as well known - such as Me and Juliet. These will be big crowd pleasers that are fun, new, and fresh."

The show includes some 30 Rodgers and Hammerstein songs, each performed in a new context.

"It's a fair guess that the songwriting duo never imagined the song Shall we Dance as a comedy dance routine, or that they thought about How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? as a lover's lament. But that's exactly how these songs have been re-imagined in this production," said ATI co-founder Don Farrell, who is also directing and choreographing the show.

For New York actor and Broadway producer Bradley Reynolds, taking songs out of their original context and weaving them into another story proves the timeless nature of Rodgers and Hammerstein's music.

"Their work is so completely enduring. In this setting, everything is contemporary and the plot has nothing to do with the original settings - but it works." Among other selections, Reynolds will be featured in We Kiss In A Shadow -- originally from The King and I - and Honeybun, the South Pacific song reworked as a tap number for the whole cast.