THE HOUSEKEEPER Cleans Up at Lakeville Community Hall

What happens when a reclusive writer unknowingly hires a bag lady to keep his house? Not much housekeeping, that’s for sure. But the audience won’t notice the dust bunnies. They’ll be too busy laughing through two acts of wickedly funny dialogue as The Housekeeper’s two characters play out their love-hate story.

Produced by The Lakeside Players, this decidedly un-domestic comedy starts Tony Schwartz and Marylou Ambrose. It will be performed at Lakeville Community Hall, Route 590, Lakeville (between the United Methodist Church and the firehouse). Performance dates are Oct. 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12; groups of 10 or more get a $2 per person discount.

Written by James Prideaux, The Housekeeper tells the story of Manley Carstairs (Schwartz), a lonely, pompous writer, and Annie Dankworth (Ambrose), the uneducated, pushy bag lady he inadvertently hires to keep his house. Totally inept at cooking and cleaning, Annie is skilled at disrupting her employer’s life to the point where he can’t write and doubts that he ever could. The hilarious and heartwarming comedy portrays the sometimes volatile, often touching, always surprising relationship that evolves over four days.

Will Manley kick Annie back onto the street? Will Annie convince him there’s more to life than book writing? Will Manley ever stop talking to his dead mother? Will Annie ever stop talking and learn to cook? Come to the play and find out!

The Housekeeper is Lakeside’s second production at Lakeville Community Hall for 2008. The community theater company also performs mainstage productions at Union Dale Hall in Union Dale and mystery dinner theaters at area restaurants, country clubs, church halls, and other locations.

Tonylou Productions, the for-profit branch of the company, has a full schedule of day trip entertainment packages planned for 2009 at four venues: Ehrhardt’s Waterfront (Tafton), Fernwood Hotel & Resort (Bushkill), The Chateau Resort & Conference Center (Tannersville), and the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel (Scranton). Packages include luncheon and a full-length play or professional musical entertainment. The Chateau package also includes shopping at the Crossings Premium Outlets and the Radisson package includes a tour of Steamtown National Historic Site and a train ride. Groups of 1 to 100 or more are welcome! Call 226-6207 to book a trip.

For a full schedule of events for The Lakeside Players and Tonylou Productions, log onto www.lakesideplayers.net .To make reservations for The Housekeeper, call 570-226-6207 or buy tickets at the door.