DEATHTRAP to be Presented by PTPA

Just in time for Halloween, Hazleton’s Pennsylvania Theatre of Performing Arts will present Ira Levin’s witty and intriguing murder mystery Deathtrap for six performances in October at the J. J. Ferrara Center on Broad Street. Director Drew Coffman has announced the cast list for PTPA’s production of the show.

Deathtrap, on Broadway from 1978 through 1982, still holds the record for the longest-running who-done-it in Broadway history. It was nominated for the Tony award as best play and was later made into a movie starring Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, and Dyan Cannon.

Long-time PTPA lead actor Lee Alucci will play Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers who has had a recent string of flops and finds himself in financial trouble. Bruhl and his wife Myra, played by PTPA newcomer Michelle Medek, open the play considering their options in their cozy Connecticut home.

Alucci, a veteran actor and director with the theater troupe, was last seen as Victor Velasco in PTPA’s production of Barefoot in the Park in March. He has had lead roles in many PTPA shows including George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life and Harold Hill in The Music Man. Alucci also directed PTPA’s 2006 holiday production of A Christmas Story and won a Northeastern Pennsylvania Theatrical Alliance award nomination for directing The Prisoner of Second Avenue in 2007. Medek, a member of PTPA’s Board of Directors and a local secondary social studies teacher, takes on the role of Myra, Sidney’s nervously ill but very devoted wife.

In the play, Sidney recognizes real talent and potential success in a script written by Clifford Anderson, a student in one of the classes Sidney teaches at a local college. Sidney and Myra concoct a plan to offer a collaboration to the student and Anderson quickly agrees.

Addison O’Donnell will play Anderson, the student who soon finds that things are not what they appear when he joins Sidney and Myra at their home. O’Donnell has played leads in several PTPA productions, including WillyWonka in this past summer’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Hysterium in last summer’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Obie Adams in A Monster Ate My Homework. O’Donnell was nominated for NEPTA’s 2007 best supporting actor in a musical award for his performance in Forum.

PTPA lead actress Lauren McGill will play the part of Helga ten Dorp, a Dutch psychic who shows up at the Bruhl home. The character of Helga is supposed to have assisted European police solve murders in the past. McGill, who directed Barefoot in the Park at PTPA last spring, has performed in many PTPA shows and was nominated for a NEPTA award as best lead actress in a drama for her role as Catherine in 2007’s Proof.

Rounding out the cast is Director Drew Coffman who will play Porter Milgrim, Sidney’s lawyer and best friend. Coffman, who has directed many of PTPA’s comedies and dramas over the past several years, won the 2007 NEPTA as best actor in a drama for his performance in Proof and shared the directing award for the same show.

PTPA’s production of Deathtrap runs October 3, 4, 10, and 11 at 7 p.m. and October 5 and 12 at 3 p.m. PTPA’s all-you-can-eat dinner buffet will be available 90 minutes before all four evening performances.

Tickets for Deathtrap are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Dinner and show tickets are $28 for adults and $22 for students. Group rates are available and some tickets will be sold at the door. For more information or reservations, call 454-5451 or visit www.ptpashows.org on line.

Sherman Theater Hosts Keller Williams

Jammy Award winner Keller Williams will perform live on the Sherman Theater stage Sunday, September 28. With the 2008 Jammy for “Song of the Year” for “Cadillac” under his belt, Williams takes to touring with this stop in Stroudsburg in support of the Sherman Theater’s Capital Campaign.

Known as a “one-man jam band,” Keller Williams typically uses an electronic looper to deliver all the sound of a full dance/jam band while performing solo. His jams are instinctive, his lyrics full of spirit and humor, his stage presence unparalleled. This amazing musical ability has earned him the right to tour with many greats including Umphrey’s McGee and Bob Weir/Ratdog. In fact, the song for which Williams won his Jammy, “Cadillac” was written for and recorded with Bob Weir himself. For a twist, Williams will tour this time around with Jeff Sipe on drums, Keith Moseley on bass, and Gibb Droll on lead guitar. This lineup will deliver the same danceable bass rhythms, popping acoustic guitar and variety of innovative instrumentals and genres for which Keller Williams is known.

Tickets for Keller Williams with Moseley, Droll and Sipe are $21 plus applicable fees. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.shermantheater.com or call 570-420-2808. All seats are general admission and the show begins at 7:30 p.m.

The historic Sherman Theater is a 501c3 non-profit performing arts center located at 524 Main Street in downtown Stroudsburg, PA. Built in the 1920s, the recently renovated Sherman Theater is equipped to present many of today’s biggest shows. Complete with full bar and restaurant, the Sherman Theater offers everything needed for a complete evening of entertainment. Audiences and performers alike have been awed by the acoustic sound, comfort, and historic feel of this incredible performance venue. For tickets and information, as well as a complete show listing, visit www.shermantheater.com or call the Sherman Theater box office at 570-420-2808.

Music Box Dinner Playhouse Announces October Events

AUDITION FOR MURDER (Audience participation murder mystery) OCTOBER 10,11,12. Dinner and Show: $30.00 (All Ages). October 10 and 11 at 6 PM and October 12 at 1 PM. At the Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes St, Swoyersville, PA 18704. Call (570) 283-2195 or 800-698-PLAY for information and reservations.

HANSEL AND GRETEL’S FRIGHT NIGHT (Musical comedy for children):
October 24 at 6 PM, October 25 at 1 and 5 PM, October 26 at 1 PM. Admission includes a McDonald’s Fun Meal. School day performances: October 24 at 10 AM, and 12:30 PM and October 29 at 10 AM and 12:30 PM. At The Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes Street Swoyersville, PA. Call (570) 283-2195 or 800-698-PLAY for information and reservations..

Local Artists to be Featured in Silent Auction

A silent auction of photographs, paintings, collages, and an Edith Head design will be held at The Electric Theatre, 326 Spruce Street, Second Floor (in the old Hotel Jermyn), Friday, Sept. 19 through Sunday, Oct. 5. Besides Ms. Head, artists whose works are included in the showing include Kathy Barrett, Karin Blomen, Austin Burke, Michael Downend, Pat Dunleavy, Drake Gomez, Sally Wiener Grotta, Pat Rokos Henneforth, Ed Osbourne, Kathyrn LeSoine, and Mark Webber.

The auction will be accessible on bid sheet whenever The Electric Theatre is open until 5:30 p.m. October 05, 2008, when the auction will be closed. Box office hours for the Theatre are Wednesdays through Saturdays from 4 pm to curtain, and on Sundays from 1:00 pm to curtain.

Edith Head, Hollywood’s most famous costume designer, won more Academy Awards than any other woman, and even more nominations. Having worked on hundreds of movies, she dressed many of the great stars, such as: Dorothy Lamour (that famous sarong), Bette Davis, Grace Kelly, Veronica Lake, Audrey Hepburn, Steve Martin, Kim Novak, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, and just about anyone who was anyone at Paramount or Universal Studios.

Austin Burke is a local artist who resides in Archbald, PA. He has been painting for more than ten years following instruction at local schools and universities. His featured work, “The Electric City at Night” is part of Austin’s series “Scranton, Looking Up”, which features the city’s handsome architecture. The historic Scranton Electric Building is illuminated by the iconic sign. The view looks north across the Lackawanna County Courthouse Square with the tower of Scranton’s City Hall visible in the background. The City’s landmark buildings and architectural detail are among the favorite subjects of the artist who is also President & CEO of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce.

Karen Blomain is an author, poet and artist. She and her husband, Michael Downend, co-wrote the play, An American Wife, which premiered at The Electric Theatre in 2007. Among her various books is “A Trick of Light.” Karen’s third book of poetry, “Hard Bargain,” will be released soon. A consultant poet with the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and a founding member of Mulberry Poets and Writers, Karen has conducted international workshops in Russia, Croatia, Austria, France, Ireland and Mexico. Karin’s impulse to collage comes from the same obsession that fuels her poetry: the desire and openness to the beauty and grace in the quotidian. The title of each collage, a thematic decision arrived at while she works, attempts to include the viewer in a specific narrative experience of creating the piece.

Drake Gómez is Associate Professor of Art at Keystone College, where he teaches drawing, painting, and art history. Mr. Gómez received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida, and his master’s from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and has exhibited his paintings and figurative drawings in juried shows and exhibitions nationwide. In addition to his work as an artist, he has outlined his approach to teaching art in peer-reviewed articles and conference presentations. As Exhibitions Director for the Linder Gallery at Keystone College, Mr. Gómez has curated or organized nearly thirty exhibitions featuring the work of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. He currently resides in Dalton.

Mark Webber holds a Masters Degree in Painting from the Parsons School of Design in NYC, where he also taught before relocating to NEPA in 1988. He has exhibited many times in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Florence, Italy, as well as at many local galleries. He was invited to do a residency at the Albers Foundation in Connecticut, and he’s completed two commissions for the University of Scranton. Mark currently teaches Drawing, Painting and Aesthetics at Marywood University.

Michael Downend has shown his work in various one-man and group exhibits, and has provided photographs for book covers. He has been honored for his photo and narrative coverage of the March for Soviet Jewry in Washington, DC. His current new book project is “Los Ninos de Mexico”(a collaboration with his wife, novelist, scriptwriter and artist, Karen Blomain. for their series “Children of the World.”). Michael was the writer/narrator of the award-winning PBS documentary, “A Journey to the Endless Mountains” and other programs. Min, recently broadcast on NPR, is the first in a series of his radio plays about women - ordinary and heroic - commissioned by public radio. Michael and Karen’s play An American Wife was premiered by Electric Theatre Company in 2007.

Patricia E. Dunleavy is a pianist, poet, photographer, and painter. She has won regional awards for her photography, her painting, and her music. Pat returned to performing solo piano in 2006 after a twenty-four year absence from the stage. She has given two recitals as benefits for Electric Theatre Company and is planning another for Spring 2009. An educator with degrees in Music, English and Business in addition to her Ph.D. in higher education administration, Pat is honored to serve as the President of the Electric Theatre Company’s Board of Directors.

Pat Rokos Henneforth ventured into the world of photography at age ten when her grandfather gave her ten dollars which she used to buy a Brownie camera. She still carries a camera almost everywhere she goes and photographs whatever interests her. Born legally blind in one eye, Pat vividly remember getting glasses at age four. It was the first time she realized that trees had individual leaves on them and were not just big green blobs. That discovery still influences her photography; which is evident by her love of details and fascination with light. Pat has been involved in photographing various productions at the Electric Theatre Company since 2002.

Sally Wiener Grotta has traveled on assignment all over the world, to every continent (including Antarctica several times), and many exotic islands (such as Papua New Guinea). A recipient of a 2008 Lackawanna Council on the Arts Grant and a 2009 Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Grant, her pictures have appeared in numerous one-woman and group exhibits, scores of national glossy magazines, many books and various ads. She has published eight nonfiction books (most on photography and all co-authored with Daniel Grotta), and her literary agent is currently marketing her first novel, ‘The Winter Boy” to potential publishers. Sally serves on the Board of Directors of the Electric Theatre Company.

EVITA Opens at Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre

Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre to perform EVITA September 13th, 19th, and 20th at 8:00 PM and September 14th and 21st at 3:00 PM. All tickets $18.00

Nicole Rasmus stars as Eva Perone, the dynamic, larger-than-life persona & wife of former Argentine dictator, Juan Peron (played by Joe Sheridan). A lavish musical drama based on the hit stage production by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, EVITA tells the life story of Eva Duarte who leaves her rural home for Buenos Aires in the company of Latin singer Agustin Magaldi (played by Doug Hertel), eventually becoming the wife of President Juan Peron and a heroine to the people of Argentina. The musical, a story of love and politics, follows Eva’s methodic rise to sainthood in her homeland and shows all the battles and triumphs she endured in her short life. Also starring in the production, are Dave Baloga as Che and Grace Wazowica as the mistress.

Joe Sheridan is both Director & Technical Director; Michele Millington is Musical Director; Lee LaChette is Choreographer; Barb Maxwell is Costumer; Mary Ann Ulichney and Judy Fried are Play Executives.

Big City Training in Scranton - Update

“The loss of excitement is the beginning of professionalism. The thrill of standing on stage, of receiving the audience’s attention and admiration, the release of becoming someone other than yourself; all these stimuli are transient and superficial. They must be replaced by something more deeply rooted which takes as its starting point the audience’s experience rather than your own.” So, says British actor and author Simon Callow in his biography of Orson Welles, The Road to Xanadu. The goal of Electric Theatre Company’s Fred Griffin Conservatory for Actors is to foster in the actor that loss of excitement that Callow describes, and put in its stead a growing sense of service to the audience. In other words, to make of the talented but untrained actor, a professional, if not in terms of financial status, at least in attitude, skill, ability, and in their eagerness to continue to grow as an artist. Griffin Conservatory is a 18 month comprehensive training program that begins November 23 and in its two-season course takes the student through May 2010.

Griffin Conservatory can be used as a jump-start to a career or as qualifying training for postgraduate study. In either case, students finish the program with a readiness to compete — a readiness owing to a curriculum based in skills honed by the profession and to the program’s remarkable affordability.

The affordability factor is key to everything the program stands for. “An actor who thinks they are ready to give becoming a professional a real shot while paying off $80,000 in debt is dreaming,” says faculty member Mary Ethel Schmidt. “Getting a shot at the profession is difficult in the best of circumstances, but if you have to work a regular job while you’re doing it just to pay for your education, it becomes impossible — save for the fortunate few.”

Griffin Conservatory is specifically designed to give the student an acting education on a par with any they would receive at a major conservatory, without the frills and without the cost. “It’s not just a nice thing to do for the young actor,” says David Zarko, ETC’s producing artistic director, “is a realistic way to get into the profession. Being flexible and ready for anything is what counts in the first ten years or your career. We give our students that opportunity right out of the gate.”

However, to provide the student with the level of training a professional track requires while still keeping costs low, means a shorter, more intense period of study than most programs demand. Classes run 12 to 24 hours a week (with optional flex time), not including breaks, and the first year total hours, including rehearsals for final project and optional sessions, is 720. “That’s 200 more hours than you would get at The American Academy, for example” notes Schmidt, “and for less than 30% of the cost.” The second year is served as an acting apprentice. Students are cast in mainstage productions, assigned a mentor from the resident artistic company, earn Equity Membership Candidate points, take classes with and from the company, build a professional resume, are encouraged to create independent projects, and nurture contacts with artists from around the globe. The second year is free.

Anyone in the region or out of it who is contemplating a career as an actor, vocational or avocational, should give Griffin Conservatory a serious look. It is by far one of the most humane programs going, and as Pat Brogan, a recent graduate, puts it “What you guys do, works!”

For complete information on Griffin Conservatory, visit http://www.electrictheatre.org/ (Education:Griffin Conservatory). To schedule an audition, call 570/558-1515 by October 20, 2008. Auditions continue through October 26.

TheNortheast Theatre’s 2007-08 Season was sponsored by ServiceMaster by Griffing, Patsel’s, Everything Natural, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, Bold Gold Media, Lackawanna County Council on Education and Culture, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Auditions at the Electric Theatre

Electric Theatre Company will hold auditions for two of its mainstage productions on September 21 at The Electric Theatre, 326 Spruce Street, second floor, in Downtown Scranton. Both Equity and non-Equity actors are welcome to audition for A Christmas Carol which begins rehearsal December 2, and ends performances December 14. The show is directed by Ed Chemaly, and auditions will involve reading from sides which will be available online as of September 10. Non-Equity actors are encouraged to audition for The Very Nearly Perfect Comedy of Romeo & Juliet which begins rehearsals January 13 and ends performances February 22. The show is directed by David Zarko, with assistance from Angelo Crotti and Mark McKenna. Actors will audition with sides (also posted on September 10) and rhythm and movement games.

Auditions are by appointment only. For full information visit ETC’s all new website at www.electrictheatre.org (now playing).

EVITA Coming to Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre

Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre announces the Production Staff & Cast for the opening production EVITA. Joe Sheridan, Director & Technical Director; Michele Millington, Musical Director; Lee LaChette, Choreographer; Barb Maxwell, Costumer; Mary Ann Ulichney & Judy Fried, Play Executive. CAST: Nicole Rasmus as Eva Perone; Dave Beloga as Che; Doug Hertel as Magaldi; Joe Sheridan as Juan Perone; Grace Wazowica as the mistress.

Ensemble: Brandon Baker, David Baker, Kevin Beleski, Richard Brandreth, James Filipowich, Jeff Fremont, Ryan Hertel, TJ Major, Mason Riepert, Jim Sinclair, Brian Soy, Paul Stucker, Alyssa Blamire, Michelle Blamire, Roberta Brandreth, Amanda Brooks, Nicole Caroll, Ashlee Danko, Beth DeMichele, Hannah Gabriel, Sara Horst, Stacey Horst, Janara Koehler, Hollie Major, Gabby Richards, Eileen Rosen, Louise Nork Stuart. Children’s Chorus: Kiley Bartusek, Derrik Beleski, Sarah Blamire, Will Colacito, Emily Gabriel, Julia Gabriel, Alyssa Golden, Quinn Hemphill, Alexis Legg, Abby Martino, Alexa Martino, Kayleigh Oustrich, Alex Pietralczyk, Julianna Pillets, Katie Roarty, Margaret Roarty, Abigail Stucker and Brittany Thompson.

A lavish musical drama based on the hit stage production by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Evita tells the life story of Eva Duarte who leaves her rural home for Buenos Aires in the company of Latin singer Agustin Magaldi, eventually becoming the wife of President Juan Peron and a heroine to the people of Argentina. The musical is a story of love and politics, showing all the battles and triumphs Evita has in her short, but amazing life.

To receive information on becoming a season member or for additional information on volunteer opportunities, membership meetings, auditions and show sponsorships call 570-823-1875.

Performance dates: September 13th, 19th, and 20th at 8:00 PM and September 14th and 21st at 3:00 PM. All tickets $18.00.

Electric Theatre Company Announces 17th Season

Low Prices, High Excitement

The newly coined Electric Theatre Company takes up the mantel of The Northeast Theatre for the 2008-09 season with a full menu of innovations. The Company will produce eight mainstage plays ranging from one based on Shakespeare to a world premiere comedy headed for off-Broadway. The newly formed resident artistic company (the “company” in TNT’s new name) will act, direct, design, and teach in residence from mid-August through July 2009, presenting ninety mainstage performances, numerous special events, and offering the newly expanded and reformatted Fred Griffin Conservatory for Actors. Artists from beyond the company will include a costumer from Istanbul, a director from Montpellier, and an actor from Orvieto, as well as the usual guest artists from the Scranton area, New York, and around the country. In response to the tightening economy ETC is lowering its ticket prices to just a dollar above 2003-04 levels, while keeping Pay-What-You-Can nights for preview performances, and moving Cheaper-than-a-Movie nights to Wednesdays after opening. And yes, there is more; the perennially popular PlayPass has turned into a kind of theatrical debit card, saving you money, increasing convenience, and providing the Theatre with operating capital in the meantime. And you will notice a new look for the Theatre itself, may visit a new website, will recieve a new large format program when you attend, and will delight at many more surprises as the season unfolds.

It all begins with previews of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw on September 17. One of the most charming plays ever written, it is often the favorite of Shaw fans, too. A romantic comedy, a satire on war and operetta, a commentary on East meeting West, the play has something for everyone and then some. David Zarko directs, and guest artists include Maura Malloy, Jim Fitzgerald, and awarding winning scenic designer, Brian Jones.

The second offering of the season is a world premiere comedy about the secret lives of older men, The Men of Mah Jongg by Richard Atkins. The show will be a co-production with Queens Theatre in the Park of New York City, and it will move there immediately after the Scranton run. This charming comedy about four men who secretly take up the traditionally female game of mahjong, will make you laugh and touch your heart. The cast may include some of your favorites from the New York stage, television, or film!
For the holidays, ETC remounts last season’s word-for-word version of Charles Dickens’ AChristmasCarol. Ten actors play over sixty characters and tell the story using all the words that Dickens wrote. You’ve never been to a Carol like this one; the story has more facets than you can imagine when heard in its entirety. Guest artists will include Tony nominee John Cariani among several others.

Acting Alone 2009, the Theatre annual festival of the monodrama this year goes mainstage with two shows in rotating repertory: The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien and performed by Maura Malloy, and Mariama: A Tale of Freedom and Grace created and performed by Marian Oliker of Santa Cruz, California. Acting Alone 2009 plays from January 7th to the 18th.

Zuppa del Giorno, ETC’s American commedia troupe joins forces with Mark McKenna recently of Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem and Angelo Crotti from Montpellier, France, with a fresh, imaginative, and deeply poignant take on Shakespeare’s great love story, Romeo & Juliet. This version’s full title is The Very Nearly Perfect Comedy of Romeo & Juliet, and will put the two lovers as red nose clowns trapped in a world of masked characters from commedia dell’arte.

Brilliant Traces by Cindy Lou Johnson is described as a big journey in a small cabin. This startlingly intimate, moving, oddly funny play takes place one snowy night in the Alaskan wilderness when the young man who secrets himself in a small cabin receives an unlikely guest. After that, lives unfold in most surprising ways. Guest artists include scenic designer Brittany Vasta of Lehigh University, and Scranton costumer Rachael Miller.

The season closes with an unlikely genre bender, an Irish sex farce by one of the greatest playwrights of modern Irish theatre, Hugh Leonard; The Patrick Pearse Motel. Seldom produced outside of Ireland, the play follows the outrageous shenanegans of two couples on the rise business-wise in the Dublin suburbs of 1972. A bored wife, a distracted husband, a vain school chum turned BBC star, a drunken revolutionary, and more all cross paths at an yet-to-be-opened motel themed after “the troubles”. It’s a laugh riot, beginning to end, with a brogue. Guest artists include director Tom Byrn, recently of Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble.

In addition to the mainstage season, The Electric has a full slate of surprises in store that will be announced during the season. Stay tuned, you don’t want to miss the news as it breaks!

Visit ETC’s all new website at www.electrictheatre.org for information on all of the Theatre’s activities, to buy tickets and PlayPasses, to shop Amazon.com, or to sign up for the monthly e-Newsletter. Call 570-558-1515 for a printed brochure, to buy tickets or PlayPasses, or find out more about the season. The Electric Theatre is located at 326 Spruce Street, Second Floor in the Old Hotel Jermyn in Downtown Scranton.

Shaw Comedy Opens Electric Theatre’s 17th Season

“A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it; it would be hell on earth.” There is a curiously liberating quality in that phrase penned by George Bernard Shaw, playwright, music critic, political philosopher, and wit. Shaw had a habit of liberating minds with his trenchant observations on life, society, education, government, religion, war, and… well name it, he commented on it. And he commented so brilliantly, with such wit and fun, and with such a solid sense of fairness and affection for humanity, that he remains a favorite 125 years after his first play, and 60 years after his last. His plays are second only to those of Shakespeare in frequency of production on the English speaking stage.

Electric Theatre Company will present one of Shaw’s most beloved plays, Arms and the Man, as its first production of the 2008-09 season. The play previews September 17, 18 and 19, opens September 20 (with a post-show dance party), and plays through October 5 at the Electric Theatre, 326 Spruce Street on the second floor, Downtown Scranton.

Arms and the Man was first published in 1898 in a collection of Shaw’s work entitled “Plays Pleasant”, and it may indeed be the most pleasant of his comedies. But pleasant doesn’t mean that he resists applying his scalpel to dissect a number of scrappy issues. Arms and the Man is a romance that takes place during a ten day proxy war in 1885 between Austria and Russia, one that was actually fought by the Serbs and Bulgarians. A Swiss mercenary from the AustroSerbian army finds refuge in the bedroom of a young upper class Bulgarian lady. This tattered, worn, and frightened man hardly fits the heroic figure the young lady expects of a warrior, but when he complains of hunger the lady responds to his humanity and offers him chocolate creams; hardly grub a real soldier should enjoy, according to her romantic ideals. And to her horror, he devours them all and asks for more. That is the beginning of a play in which the characters explode illusions into dust and throw neat convention into a topsy-turvy mess. High romance is made to seem a mockery as base practicality takes on a romantic glow.

Arms and the Man is the first play that The Northeast Theatre is producing under its new name, Electric Theatre Company, and the first play to be produced involving the Theatre’s new resident artistic company. “We chose Arms and the Man because we love it and it fits the company beautifully,” explains producing artistic director, David Zarko. What the company didn’t know was that Arms and the Man was the play that launched The Northeast Theatre seventeen seasons ago. “That was just a wonderful serendipity,” says Zarko, ” and makes this new direction we’ve taken seem just right.”

The Theatre is taking a number of initiatives this season besides the new name. There’s the resident artistic company of five members who will work continuously for all 45 weeks of the season as actors, designers, teachers, and directors. In response to the tightening economy, ticket prices are going down to levels not seen since the 2004-05 season. The ever popular PlayPass is changing too. Always famous for its flexibility, it is now even more so. Use it like a debit-card to buy as many tickets as you want, whenever you want them, and save up to 40% on the cost. The web site at www.electrictheatre.org has been completely redesigned so that not only can you buy tickets and PlayPasses online, but can quickly find details and information on any of the Theatre’s many performances and programs. The Theatre itself has been redecorated, and new areas have been made public for receptions and parties. And when you attend, you’ll notice many more improvements and changes.

It all begins with previews of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw on September 17. David Zarko directs, and the cast includes Resident Artistic Company members James Langan, Conor McGuigan, Mary Ethel Schmidt, and Heather Stuart. They are joined by New York actors Tom Patterson, Jim Fitzgerald, and Maura Malloy (who is a native of Scranton), and Griffin Conservatory graduate Pat Brogan. Marybeth Langdon is stage manager. Designers include Scenic Designer Brian Jones (chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, Indiana University of Pennsylvania), Lighting Designer James Langan of Scranton, Properties Mistress Liz Feller of Clarks Summit, Sound Designer Conor McGuigan of Scranton, and Costumer Rachael Miller of Carbondale.

Visit ETC’s all new website at www.electrictheatre.org for show times, to purchase tickets and PlayPasses, to shop Amazon.com, to sign up for the monthly e-Newsletter, and for information on all of the Theatre’s activities. Call 570-558-1515 to buy tickets or PlayPasses, or if you already have a PlayPass, to make reservations. The Electric Theatre is located at 326 Spruce Street, Second Floor in the Old Hotel Jermyn in Downtown Scranton.

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