With the opening of “Spamalot” last week, the Peach State Summer Theatre 2023 season is in full swing.

“The SpongeBob Musical,” a live show based on cartoon favorite SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends in Bikini Bottom, opened early last month.

“Mahalia: A Gospel Musical,” a musical about gospel music legend Mahalia Jackson, opened three weeks ago.

With the opening of “Spamalot” – a live musical based on the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” all three PSST! shows play in rotating repertory through late July.

The creative team behind PSST! is Hank Rion, artistic director, H. Duke Guthrie, managing director, and several show directors, choreographers, scene designers, technical directors, sound designers, a live orchestra and more.

Valdosta State University is the umbrella organization for PSST!

VSU originally sponsored summer musical theatre on Jekyll Island for several years.

In the early 2000s, the group traded Jekyll for home, opening the summer musical theatre in Valdosta.

It was, and remains, a courageous, ambitious and bold move.

Presenting a full season of three professional musicals in a matter of weeks in a comparatively rural section of Georgia takes a certain amount of daring.

PSST! shows are gems in the heart of South Georgia. The Valdosta Daily Times has long believed in the PSST! mission, serving as corporate sponsor for more than a decade.

Many people from other parts of Georgia would be surprised to discover the state’s official musical theatre is located in Valdosta.

Though PSST! attained the state designation several years ago, many Valdosta residents still seem surprised to learn professional music theatre is available each summer in Lowndes County.

End the surprise.

Go see a PSST! show. But do it soon.

Plenty of other folks already know the quality of Peach State Summer Theatre. Tickets are selling quick, and in a few weeks, PSST! will be gone until next summer.

More information: Call PSST! box office, (229) 259-7770; or visit www.valdosta.edu/psst.