By Jackie Demline
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dayton's 2004-05 professional theater season is looking worth the drive, led by the tour of The Producers at the Schuster Center and this season's Tony Award front-runner for best play, The Retreat from Moscow, at Dayton's small professional resident company Human Race.

Cincinnati composing team Janet Vogt and Mark Friedman's Green Gables, which was workshopped by the Human Race last year and had its professional debut last fall at Columbus Children's Theatre, will have a full run at the Victoria Theatre in May produced by Human Race.

Friedman is gleeful about the possibilities.

Human Race exec director Kevin Moore "said they're building this show to go into a truck," he reports with a clear intention to tour it to other cities.

The lineup:

Victoria Theatre Association with Fifth Third Bank Broadway Series (performances at the Victoria Theatre unless otherwise noted): Oct. 5-17, Gershwin musical Crazy for You; Nov. 9-21, Pat Hazell's Bunk Bed Brothers; Jan. 18-30, Cathy Rigby in Peter Pan (Schuster Center); Feb. 15-27, 42nd Street; April 20-May 1, The Producers (Schuster Center); May 3-15, Green Gables.

Human Race: Loft Series 1 (in collaboration with the Victoria Theatre Association): Dec. 2-19, Crimes of the Heart; March 24-April 10, The Retreat from Moscow; June 9-26, Steve Martin's zany new The Underpants.

Will Moscow be a regional premiere? That answer will come when Cincinnati professional theaters announce their seasons beginning in March.

The Human Race's Loft Series 2 is scrappier: Oct. 14-31, WAS, a new musical based on the cult novel by Geoff Ryman, which plays with The Wizard of Oz; Jan. 27-Feb. 13, The Drawer Boy.

In February, 2005, Human Race will collaborate with Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra on a limited run of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, the rarely produced concert-play by Tom Stoppard. Among the featured actors will be Cincinnati Playhouse favorite Bruce Cromer.

Information and subscriptions for all series are available at Ticket Center Stage, (937) 228-3630 and toll-free (888) 228-3630 and online at ticketcenterstage.com. Single tickets will go on sale at a later date.

For additional information regarding Human Race, call (937) 461-3823 or visit www.human.racetheatre.org.

Jackie Demaline