With most of our local arts organizations at least one or two productions into their 2019-20 seasons, is it too early to look ahead to summer 2020?

Not if you’re a theater fan and particularly enjoy the productions that come to the Wagon Wheel Center in Warsaw each year.

This upcoming lineup was recently announced, and season subscriptions are already on sale, with single show tickets coming in the weeks ahead.

It’s a great set of shows that includes older classics and some newer ones sure to entice. Opening the season is The Wizard of Oz (June 3-13), a story which needs no recap. Fans of the film are undoubtedly devoted to those memorable performances, but theater fans have much to anticipate since watching the world become colorized and melting a witch are way cooler live and in person.

That show is followed by another well-established musical, Guys & Dolls (June 17-27). The Damon Runyon short stories turned Broadway hit (several times over) is filled with great characters like Nathan Detroit, Nicely-Nicely Johnson, and Miss Adelaide, not to mention crowd-pleasing numbers like “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” and “If I Were a Bell.”

July opens with a bang — or at least a rousing band of “76 Trombones” — when The Music Man comes to town (July 1-11). The story of fast-talking Harold Hill and his improbable evolution thanks to the love of Marian the Librarian is a surefire hit as are the songs of Meredith Willson.

A significantly newer show visits later in the month when Big the Musical takes the Wagon Wheel stage (July 15-25). The musical based on the popular Tom Hanks film tells the story of a boy who wishes he were big and then has to navigate the world as a man-child, learning a lot about life and growing up along the way.

The final two shows of the summer season establish how there really is something for everyone in this series. Pride & Prejudice (July 29-August 8) is one of the most beloved classics in literary history, helping to keep the name of Jane Austen in the hearts and minds of devoted readers for more than two centuries.

And now for something completely different … Always … Patsy Cline (August 12-22) rounds out the summer with a stirring tribute to the late country singer whose correspondence with a fan in Houston provides the backstory to a tale of friendship and tragic loss. Of course, the show is filled with Cline’s music, which is treat in itself.

For more information about tickets and showtimes, visit wagonwheelcenter.org.

Work on your dancing

If you and your partner have wanted to try out some nifty dance moves of your own but haven’t known where to start, Fort Wayne Dance Collective has a few ideas for you.

Last month they began their Couple Dance Classes and will continue to offer them in December, March, and June. Coming up on Dec. 28, FWDC will host “Winter Waltz,” a class that will break down the waltz and other classical ballroom techniques, making them a little bit less intimidating. On March 28, couples can “Swing into Spring,” and on June 27 get ready for a “Sizzling Salsa Summer.”

Classes run from 6:30-8 p.m. and cost $12 per person or $20 per couple. To make it a real date night, FWDC’s downstairs neighbor Cinema Center will provide a cash bar. For information about registering, call the Dance Collective at (260) 424-6574.

News and Venues covers Northeast Indiana’s music and arts organizations, venues, and colleges, from large to small. Send your news items to info@whatzup.com.