Season 52
Written by Ed Tasca
Directed by Barbara Clippinger
With Ed Tasca starring as Mark Twain
August 25 - 28, 2016
Ed Tasca (of Ajijic, Mexico) wrote this original review based on the philosophy, wisdom, grudges and memoir of America's maestro of humor and irreverence.
Not quite a one-man show, it features many of Twain's characters interrupting his lecture in performance of some of their most famous scenes. The lecture is an original, drawing on much material that hasn't been presented before, most humorous, some poignant and all provocative. Subjects range from religion to travel abroad to life in the old west to the Civil War, often in context with today's news. And Ed has taken on the laughable task of trying to portray the great American luminary.
Written by Tina Howe
Directed by Peggy Lord Chilton
September 23 - October 2, 2016
The Churches are preparing to move from their Beacon Hill home to their cottage in Cape Cod. Gardner, now retired, slips in and out of senility as his wife Fanny tries to keep them both afloat. They await their daughter, Mags, who is coming home to help them move. On the verge of artistic celebrity, Mags also wants to paint their portrait. Fondly funny, sometimes painful, it's a reminder that love can and does mend differences.
Cast: Peggy Lord Chilton (Fanny Sedgwick Church), David Wharff (Gardner Church), Tina Leonard (Margaret ("Mags") Church).
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Ann Swiston
October 21 - 30, 2016
A soft-hearted comedy set in rural Ireland, Outside Mullingar reveals a deep yearning for heart, home, land, faith and a sense of belonging.
Anthony and Rosemary are two introverted misfits, and not young any more. Painfully shy, he's spent his entire life on a cattle farm in rural Ireland, a state of affairs that suits him well. Rosemary lives right next door, determined to have him, and watching the years slip away. With Anthony’s father threatening to disinherit him and a land feud simmering between their families, Rosemary has every reason to fear romantic catastrophe. But then, in this very Irish story with a surprising depth of poetic passion, these yearning, eccentric souls fight their way towards solid ground and some kind of happiness. Their journey is heartbreaking, funny, and ultimately deeply moving.
Cast: John Patrick Shanley: Peter Luciano (John Patrick Shanley), Dave McIntosh (Tony Reilly), Douglas Pinkerton (Anthony Reilly), Mary Hunt (Aoife Muldoon), Deborah Spitz (Rosemary Muldoon)
Written by Neil Simon
Directed by Phil Shepherd
December 2 - 11, 2016
Grief, infidelity and divorce – Neil Simon’s unusual platform for an extraordinarily funny, heartfelt and witty comedy!
George and Jennie are in love, utterly perfect for each other, and getting married. There are just a few problems: 1) They’ve only been dating for two weeks. 2) George’s beloved wife of twelve years just passed away. 3) Jennie has just gone through five years of counseling culminating in a messy divorce.
George’s brother, Leo, and Jennie’s friend, Faye, don’t have it any easier. Their marriages are in trouble, they’re worried about George and Jennie, and they are thinking about having an affair with each other. Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical Chapter Two examines what it means to truly love someone else, and asks whether finding a soulmate can happen more than once in a lifetime.
Cast: Kevin Leitch (George Schneider), Zane Pumuglia (Leo Schneider), Michele Lococo (Jennie Malone), Collette Clavadetscher (Faye Medwick)
Written by Ariel Dorfman
Directed by LB Hamilton
Assistant Director Collette Clavadetscher
January 13 - 22, 2017
Set in a post-revolution South American country that has only recently returned to democracy, Dorfman's explosively provocative, award-winning psychological thriller stars Jacinta Stringer, Paul Kloegman and Russell Mack.
After being named to head a commission to investigate crimes committed by the recently ousted military regime, Gerardo (Russell) finds himself stranded by a flat tire. Good Samaritan Dr. Roberto Miranda (Paul) offers the lawyer a ride home. Upon hearing Miranda's voice, Gerardo's reclusive wife, Paulina (Jacinta), believes him to be the monster who degraded and tortured her years before.
Dorfman's tense, shadowy psychological thriller asks timely and universal questions: Does a civil society have the moral responsibility to avenge the victims of past persecutions? Is personal revenge ever justified? When does the oppressed become the oppressor?
Cast: Russell Mack (Gerardo), Jacinta Stringer (Paulina), Paul Kloegman (Dr. Roberto Miranda)
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Script Adaptation by David Thompson
Based on the Play by Maurine Dallas Watkins
Staged and directed by Barbara Clippinger
Choreography: Alexis Hoff
Music Direction: Patteye Simpson
February 17 - 28, 2017
Set in the legendary city during the roaring “jazz hot” 20s, Chicago tells the story of two rival vaudevillian murderesses locked up in Cook County Jail.
Nightclub star Velma’s serving time for killing her husband and sister after finding the two in bed together. Driven chorus girl Roxie’s been tossed in the joint for bumping off the lover she’s been cheating on her husband with.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Velma enlists the help of prison matron Mama Morton and slickster lawyer Billy Flynn, who turn Velma’s incarceration into a murder-of-the-week media frenzy, thus preparing the world for a splashy showbiz comeback. But Roxie’s got some of her own tricks up her sleeve…
Principal Cast: Alexis Hoff (Velma), Kristine (Roxie), Chet Beeswanger (Fred Casely), Rob Stupple (Amos Hart), Russell Mack (DA Martin Harrison), Peter Luciano (Sgt Fogarty, Mama Morton (Patteye Simpson), Patrick DuMouchel (Billy Flynn), Peggy Lord Chilton (Mary Sunshine)
Dancers: Val Jones, Heather Hunter, D'Le Beatty-Tobias, Maritza Freyslinger, Allyson deJong, Joanne Stuart, Pamela Johnson
Ensemble: Flemming Halby, Sharon Lowry, Jeff Kingsbury, Peter Luciano, Heather Hunter, Cortlandt Jones, Graham Miller, Chet Beeswanger, Catherine Gonzales, Jutta McAdam
Written by Gary Richards
Directed by Paul Kloegman
March 24 - April 2, 2017
Reginald, a Brooklyn widower, tries to pull his life together by moving to a Florida condo complex for senior citizens. Smart move. It seems most of the residents there are widows eager for male companionship.
The play is chock-full of interesting insights. It's about learning to reshape dreams, and it's difficult to not respond on some level.
Cast: Richard Miller (Reginald Herring), Judy Long (Doris Cabella), Greg Clarke (Ernie Cabella), Florette Schnelle (Sheila Haskett), Mary Hunt (Bev Perkins)
