“Monster” themed season will grace Pandora Productions 2024-25 season
Tickets and season subscriptions to Pandora Productions fifth show season celebrating queerness, relationships, and love are now live. Gil Reyes, producing artistic director for Pandora audiences are in for a fun and meaningful season.
The stellar “MONSTER 2024-2025” themed season presented itself naturally and organically.
“We had our calendar slots set before the selection of shows, so I began looking for queer Halloween productions to fill those initial slots,” said Reyes, who decided to bring the beloved Little Shop of Horrors to the Louisville stage beginning in August, with a twist.
Pandora promises to focus a queer lens on this already campy cult classic musical tale of an unassuming alien life form bent on world domination, played by Louisville’s very own May O’Nays. Enjoy all the songs and the story you love with the added glam, gore, and subtle gender politics that Pandora brings to the conversation.’
“It’s a campy show to begin with, but by introducing drag and gender swapping with other roles… Our version is reimagined with a lot to say about the non-binary and how people perceive each other in general,” Reyes told Queer Kentucky.. “With a drag queen playing the plant, our version is definitely more costume than puppet.”
Next in the MONSTER line-up starting October 2024 is Monsters of the American Cinema by Christian St. Croix.
“I’m excited about all the shows, directing is the way I love theater the most, but I’m really excited about the second play of the season, Monsters of the American Cinema. It’s a two person play and just a joy to direct… The intergenerational aspect is so important because it creates opportunities for conversations and connection between different age groups and generations,” said Reyes.
The February 2025 debut of She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen was also partially selected for this reason, as well as being such a strong and poignant piece of modern playwriting.
“I was amazed and thrilled at how many younger theater goers love this show” Reyes said.. “It’s a great script and I love it. I hope to bring in a younger crowd… Even though it’s about a relationship between sisters, it’s not about the sister being gay, but it’s about acceptance and connection. More about how we can foster opportunities for people to connect and talk.”
A high school production of the adapted ‘Young Adventurers Edition’ written by the playwright was recently canceled in 2021 by an Ohio Superintendent allegedly on the grounds that ‘one of its characters might be gay.’
“I want to push the envelope and provide new opportunities in Louisville to express what’s most important for the LGBTQ+ community. We are a safe space for artists and audiences,” Reyes claims.
“I also want to continue to look for intersection with non-LGBTQ+ members, that’s a big goal. About 50% of our audience is currently hetero and we appreciate that support… It’s about the importance of getting queer stories told and highlighting local artists who are trying to do this work. In supporting Pandora Productions, people are investing in a vibrant Louisville theater community.”
She Kills Monsters is directed by fan fav Mollie Murk, an actor and teaching artist.
“Mollie Murk is so talented and I was so excited to offer them the opportunity to direct… I want to expand the director pool. I have a lot of big ideas for Pandora Productions.”
Though Reyes was not born in Louisville and moved around a lot as a young child, his family set down roots here just in time for high school, so he has an answer for the very Louisville question, “Where did you go to school?”
“I attended Kentucky Country Day, but don’t hold it against me,” Reyes jokes.
For the December 2025 playbill, Reyes partnered with longtime associate and fellow actor Brain David Walker to bring new work to the stage with Yeti for Love… and heat-up the city as ‘fur flies in this love story between a bear and a yeti… This holiday season, expand your heart (and your queer identifiers) with a Pandora premiere by one of Louisville’s own internationally acclaimed gay playwrights.’
“It’s a bear love story with a body-positivity theme… accepting who you are and how you look in this society.”
“Brian has a tendency to shock audiences and show things people aren’t used to seeing on stage,” Reyes warns of the steamy content. “But it’s also about loneliness during the holidays, set in a nursing home, and… there’s a yeti.”
To close out the Spring 2025 season, Pandora Productions is tapping into the recent popularity of puppet based TV shows and movies with Avenue Q ‘because everybody loves puppets! Especially when they help teach the social and ethical life lessons you don’t learn in school. Welcome to the not-so-normal neighborhood where puppets, monsters, and plenty of flawed people come together to find their purpose.’
