The seasons and years change, but one thing stays the same: high-quality production and exciting shows from the Collin Theatre Center.

The 2008-09 season is no different. Five shows are on tap, including two regional premieres of new scripts. One of the regional premieres is One Shot, One Kill written by Pultizer Prize-nominee Richard Vetere, which runs from Oct. 14-19, and the other is The Ruby Sunrise, directed by Collin College professor Gail Cronauer, which runs from Dec. 4-14.

"It is always challenging for our students, directors and designers to work with new scripts.  We are honored to have been given the opportunity to bring these two new plays to life on our stage,” said Brad Baker, chair of the Collin College theatre department. "This theatre season may be our most exciting yet.  We have a great mix of dramas, comedies and a family-friendly musical.”

All productions will be at the John Anthony Theatre or Black Box Theatre, both  located on the Spring Creek Campus.

Big Love
By Charles L. Mee

Oct. 9-19

Fifty brides flee their fifty grooms and seek refuge in a villa on the coast of Italy in this modern re-making of one of the western world's oldest plays, The Suppliant Women, by Aeschylus. And, in this villa on the Italian coast, the fifty grooms catch up with the brides and mayhem ensues: the grooms arriving by helicopter in their flight suits, women throwing themselves over and over again to the ground, pop songs and romantic dances, and, finally, unable to escape their forced marriages, 49 of the brides murder 49 of the grooms … and one bride falls in love. Note: This show contains adult situations and is not recommended for children. Directed by Robin Armstrong.

One Shot, One Kill
by Richard Vetere
Southwest Regional Premiere

Oct. 14-19

Sergeant Nick Harris has just returned from a dangerous mission during the early days of the Iraq War.  During his debriefing with Major Mark Royce, Sgt. Harris requests to be dismissed from the Corps.  What happened on that mission? And who is really to blame? One Shot, One Kill is a searing and uncompromised look at the machinations of war. Mr. Vetere will visit Collin College to participate in this production. Note: This play contains adult language and discussions of the politics of war. Not recommended for young patrons. Directed by Brad Baker.

The Ruby Sunrise
By Rinne Groff

Southwest Regional Premiere

Dec. 4-14

The Ruby Sunrise is a roller-coaster ride of surprises. The play begins in 1927: a scruffy teenage girl hides out in a barn in rural Indiana, where she scrounges electronic parts and constructs the first television set. Could this have really happened? If this were the truth, how many people would be allowed to know about it? (Indeed, how many people have ever heard the name of Philo Farnsworth, the 14-year-old farm boy who actually did build the first television, only to have RCA cheat him out of any royalties?) From the compelling story of young Ruby in Act One, we are suddenly thrust into the world of 1950s New York and the Golden Age of Television. In this world, there are even more surprises. There are also lots of laughs, although these are painful at times. Looking back at the ludicrous conventions of 1950s TV, we wonder what we could have been thinking at the time. Playwright Groff also makes us wonder what we're thinking now, as young Ruby explains how television will change the world. For example, she is sure that it will put an end to war.  After all, who could bear to see war in their living room? Directed by Gail Cronauer.

Big River
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Music and Lyrics by Roger Miller

March 5-15

Big River follows young Huck in pre-Civil War America. Huck is torn between the choices of living a wild, responsibility-free life with his abusive drunken father versus holding to the strict expectations of the townsfolk who have taken him in. The young Huck also has to deal with his confusion about what is right or wrong in the world. Huck stages his own death so he can seek adventures elsewhere, and he and runaway slave Jim board a raft down the Mississippi. There, they find much conflict and great joy as they encounter a slew of unique characters and situations. They also learn a lot about friendship and themselves. The story of their journey downstream is an American classic that captures the rhythms, sounds and spirit of life on the big river. Note: This show is perfect for the entire family. Directed by Mark Mullino with choreography by Paula Morelan.

Don Juan in Chicago
By David Ives

April 30-May 10

Don Juan is a handsome, rich, sexually naïve nobleman in sixteenth-century Spain. His servant, Leporello, urges him to find a girlfriend and lead a normal life, but the Don is more interested in finding the meaning of life through books and alchemy. Afraid he won't have time to find it, Don Juan calls up the Devil and cuts a deal that grants him (and Leporello) immortality -- as long as Don Juan seduces a different woman every day. Unfortunately, the first woman he seduces is Dona Elvira, his true love.  Infuriated by the Don's abandonment, Elvira cuts her own deal with the Devil: She won't die until she sleeps with Don Juan a second time. Four hundred years later, exhausted by endless sex and still pursued by Elvira, Don Juan and Leporello grapple with the sexual mores of contemporary urban America.  With never any time to pursue the meaning of life, Don Juan swears off sex after promising Elvira one last evening with her. Hearing this, the Devil calls in his debt. Will Don Juan, Leporello and Elvira be doomed to eternal damnation … or, to eternal bliss?  A hilarious comedy from the award-winning author of All in the Timing. Note: This show contains adult situations, and is not recommended for children.  Directed by Robin Armstrong.

For more information, visit www.collintheatrecenter.com.