The Players Club of Swarthmore Theater has an exciting slate of shows for its 97th season. On the Main Stage, seven productions, including two musicals. The club's innovative Second Stage season will include four plays and at least two musical cabaret evenings.

Kicking off the season is The Girl with the Silver Eyes, a smoky mystery adapted from a short story by Dashiell Hammett (of Maltese Falcon fame). It's about a woman who is as dangerous as she is alluring. Fans of 1940's noir films will love this one! September 13-16, 20-23 and 27-29.

As autumn falls and the days get darker, so does the fare on the Players Club stage. October brings Stephen Sondheim's fierce and funny musical, Assassins. The American dream is twisted inside-out in a look back at the stories of men and women who killed, or tried to kill, U.S. Presidents. October 18-21, 25-28 and November 1-3.

A holiday classic gets reworked for the stage in November and December, with A Christmas Story. A grown-up Ralphie Parker remembers the year that all he wanted for Christmas was a genuine Red Ryder BB Gun, but all he heard was, “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Laugh at memories of holidays past – November 23-25, 29, 30, December 1, 2, 6-9 and 13-15.

The forecast for January is Three Days of Rain. This Pulitzer-finalist love story examines a painfully shy architect who thinks he doesn't have talent, a flamboyant southern belle who thinks he does, and the reverberations of their relationship thirty years later. January 3-6, 10-13 and 17-19.

That's followed by Gore Vidal's political drama, The Best Man. It's a National Convention and the leading candidates are a principled intellectual who sees both sides to every issue and an unprincipled politico who favors whatever is leading the polls. This 1960 drama has lost none of its edge a dozen presidential campaigns later. February 7-10, 14-17 and 21-23.

March brings Steel Magnolias. It's the story of six ladies who find companionship and conversation in a small-town Louisiana beauty parlor. Together, their wit is both wicked and winsome; but it's their friendship that will truly “steel” your heart. March 13-16, March 20-23 and 27-29.

The Season wraps up with Disney's Beauty and the Beast. That's right, the Players Club of Swarthmore Theater is mounting the Disney musical extravaganza. The love story of Belle and her Beast is sure to thrill and delight fairy-tale lovers of all ages. The Players Club is planning extra performances for what is sure to be a huge hit! Two 7pm Wednesday shows (April 30 and May 7) will be added to the usual run, plus a 2pm matinée on the final Saturday, May 10 – April 24-27, 30, May 1-4 and May 7-10.

The Players Club is working hard to make live theater accessible to everyone. With the addition of a new ADA-compliant bathroom this fall, the Players Club is now wheelchair-accessible by today's standards, and assisted-hearing devices are available without charge. The Players Club of Swarthmore is located at 614 Fairview Avenue in Swarthmore. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 8pm, Sunday matinées are at 2pm. For more information and subscriptions visit www.pcstheater.org. or call 610-328-4271 (Info) or 1-866-811-4111 (ticket sales through TheaterMania.)