PLAZA SUITE Continues this Weekend at The Grove Theatre

“Plaza Suite”, Neil Simon’s rollicking comedy which became a popular film, continues this weekend at the Grove Theatre in Nuangola. The production features several area professionals who are making their inaugural appearance at the summer stock venue, as well as three popular returning veterans.

“Plaza Suite” explores three different hilarious situations in the same location: Suite 719 in New York’s famed Plaza Hotel. Sean McKeown and Tila Paris Angley (both Wilkes-Barre) play Sam and Karen Nash, returning to the same spot where they spent their honeymoon 25 years before. Sam’s devoted secretary, Jean McCormack, (Kerry Kane, Kingston) throws a wrench into their plans.

Act Two finds famous Hollywood producer Jesse Kiplinger (Walter Mitchell, Bear Creek Village) returning to New York after 27 years with plans to meet and seduce his now married former high school sweetheart Muriel Tate (Diane Sherman, Dallas).

Greg Korin (Luzerne) and Christa Manning (Bear Creek Village) play Roy and Norma Hubley, whose daughter/bride-to-be Mimsey (Kane) has locked herself in the bathroom of Suite 719 and refuses to participate in her wedding planned for the downstairs ballroom. Adam Orseck (Kingston) doubles as the bellhop and groom.

Korin, who starred in last season’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers”, is also the director of this production. Manning has been featured in “Steel Magnolias” and “Always Patsy Cline”. Angley was seen in “Nunsense” . Joe Sheridan is technical director and set designer.

“Plaza Suite” runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through October 12th. For ticket information and reservations, call 208-7679.

Music Box Dinner Playhouse Presents AUDITION FOR MURDER

The Music Box Repertory Company will present AUDITION FOR MURDER, an “audience participation murder mystery” October 10, 11, 12 at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes Street, Swoyersville, PA 18704.

The mystery, written by Eileen Moushey, invites audience members to interrogate suspects of a variety of murders, and prizes are awarded at each performance for those who solve the murders and are able to define the motivations for those murders,

AUDITION FOR MURDER is directed by Dana Feigenblatt and Cate McDonald with a cast that includes Kim Januzzi, Matthew Dane, Jimmy Williams, Jennifer Rogers, Amanda Reese, Kevin Costley, Katharine Moran and Kevin Malone.

AUDITION FOR MURDER is a Dinner Theatre presentation and includes a full buffet dinner served at each performance. Friday,Oct 10 and Saturday, October 11, the bar opens at 6 PM, and the show and dinner begin at 6:30 PM.. On Sunday, October 12, the bar opens at 1 PM, and dinner and show begin at 1:30 PM. The dinner and show cost is $30.00 per person.

For information and reservations, call (570) 283-2195 or 800-698-PLAY.

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.

DEATHTRAP Continues This Weekend at 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.

MORNING’S AT SEVEN at the Shawnee Playhouse

Center Stage Players presents MORNING’S AT SEVEN, opening Friday September 26 at 8:00 pm at the Shawnee Playhouse.

“The year’s at the spring, And day’s at the morn:
Morning’s at seven; The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in His heaven; All’s right with the world.”
-Robert Browning

Paul Osborn’s gentle comedy, Morning’s At Seven, takes place over an evening and a day in late summer, not spring, and although things are definitely not all right with the Gibbs sisters at the play’s beginning, audiences will surely leave the theater smiling.

The story centers on four aging sisters who have lived in the same small midwestern town for nearly 50 years. Ida and Carl live next door to Cora and Thor, who have shared their home with spinster Arry for over 40 years, while Esty and David live a few streets away. At a time when most people are settling comfortably into their twilight years, the sisters’ lives are thrown into an uproar as two of the group begin to question the status quo and decide to make some changes before it’s too late. The catalyst is the arrival of Myrtle, the long-time fiancee of Ida and Carl’s forty-year-old son, Homer. Cora is tired of sharing her home with her sister, Carl is afraid that his life is a failure, and Homer can’t decide whether to finally marry Myrtle.

Still, family is family, and before the end of the weekend, secrets will be revealed and relationships will be healed. Osborn’s play opened on Broadway in 1939 and had two successful Broadway revivals. Its 1980 revival won three Tony awards, and Walter Kerr wrote, “I’m dead certain that all’s right with Morning’s at Seven. It’s enchanting.”

The Shawnee Playhouse fall production is presented in conjunction with Center Stage Players. Sue Butler directs, with Lillian Gonzalez as Stage Manager. The cast includes Pat Van Varick and Dave Hymes as Cora and Thor Swanson, Judy Lawler and Jack Butler as Ida and Carl Bolton, and Sue Butler and Scotty McIntosh as Esty and David Crampton. Katherine Neville plays spinster Arry Gibbs, Patrick Turner is Homer Bolton, and Barbara Calchera is Myrtle Brown.

The play opens on Friday, September 26th, at 8:00pm. It will play weekends through October 26, 2008. Thursday and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 pm and Friday and Saturday evenings performances begin at 8:00 pm. For information and reservations call the Shawnee Playhouse Box Office at (570) 421-5093.

The Shawnee Playhouse’s 29th Season continues throughout the fall with the haunted comedy BLITHE SPIRIT, opening on Halloween and continuing through November 9.

For tickets, showtimes, and more information please contact the Shawnee Playhouse Box Office at 570-421-5093 or visit www.TheShawneePlayhouse.com

PERFORMANCE DATES AND TIMES:
Thursday October 9 at 2:00 pm.
Friday October 10 at 8:00 pm.
Saturday October 11 at 2:00 pm.
Sunday October 12 at 2:00 pm.

Thursday October 16 at 2:00 pm.
Friday October 17 at 8:00 pm.
Saturday October 18 at 2:00 pm.
Sunday October 19 at 2:00 pm.

Thursday October 23 at 2:00 pm.
Friday October 24 at 8:00 pm.
Saturday October 25 at 2:00 pm.
Sunday October 26 at 2:00 pm.

Chenango River Theatre Announces Final Production of the Season - CRIMES OF THE HEART

Question: “And why did you shoot your husband?”

Answer: I just didn’t like his looks, that’s all . . . and I don’t much like yours either.”

Thus begins one day in the manic lives of three southern sisters - one repressed, one irrepressible, and one suffering from being caught smack in the middle.

The only play to ever win the Pulitzer Prize before opening on Broadway (1981), Crimes of the Heart is a comedy laced with homespun humor that takes shots at the heart of Southern traditions, as it offers an illuminating, poignant look at family relationships.

Besides winning the Pulitzer, Crimes received the NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best American Play, as well as 4 Tony Award Nominations and 3 Drama Desk Award Nominations.

It is an astonishing first play, initially presented by the Actors Theatre of Louisville, then Off-Broadway, and then on Broadway, where it established the author as a major voice in theatre. Warm-hearted, irreverent, zany and brilliantly imaginative, the play teems with humanity and humor as it examines the plight of three young Mississippi sisters betrayed by their passions. Author Beth Henley succeeds in keeping the audience in stitches throughout, using the blackest of humor to illuminate the sisters’ struggles, their rivalries and ultimately their bonds.

It’s the oldest sister’s 30th birthday. Lenny is on her way to becoming a spinster - she’s the one still living at home, now taking care of Old Granddaddy, who’s in the hospital with “all those blood vessels popping in his brain”. Her youngest sister, the dim-witted, adorable Babe, just shot her husband in the stomach and is getting bailed out of jail. She doesn’t want to explain why she shot her high-society husband to anyone, least of all to Barnett, the bright young lawyer they’ve hired to defend her, who also has a long-standing crush on her. It turns out her husband, Zach, had been abusing her, but Babe has also been having an affair, and there are photos documenting the infidelity (and a surprising shock).

Lenny has summoned the middle sister, Meg, home from California. Meg went there after Hurricane Camille - abandoning her boyfriend, Doc, who got his leg crushed during the hurricane because Meg insisted on riding out the storm instead of seeking shelter. He now walks with a limp, and is married, neither of which stops Meg from spending one more night with him. She was pursuing her singing career, but that ended when she went nuts and was committed to a mental hospital. She also drinks - a lot. And let’s not forget that Lenny’s 20 year-old horse, Billy Boy, just died - he was struck by lightning. Or that their presumptuous, judgmental, social-climbing first cousin, Chick, is in a tizzy because her two kids just ate paint.

In the end, will the three sisters find ways to escape the ghosts of the past to somehow seize the future? The only crime would be if you didn’t find out.

For Chenango River Theatre’s production, Heidi Weeks (Toronto), who just starred in CRT’s Other People’s Money, plays the pivotal role of Lenny, the plain Jane oldest sister. Nicole Davidsen (NYC) will portray middle sister Meg, the party girl of the family, while Haley Zale (Michigan, NYC) plays youngest sister Babe. Betsy Head (NYC) is featured as Chick, the sisters’ society climbing cousin), while Paul Hufker (NYC) plays the lawyer Barnette and Zach Le Vey (NYC) fills the role of Meg’s one time lover Doc.

CRT’s final production of the season, Crimes of the Heart runs October 10 - November 2 in the company’s new building at 991 State Route 12, about 3 miles south of Greene.

Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30, plus Sunday matinees at 2:00pm. Tickets are $16 Thursdays, $18 Fridays & Sundays, and $22 on Saturdays. All performances start on time and there is no late seating. The box office opens one half hour before curtain. For reservations, call 656-8499 (TIXX), or go to www.chenangorivertheatre.org.

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.

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.

SWEENEY TODD Coming to the Music Box Dinner Playhouse

SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece, will be presented by the Music Box Repertory Company, September 12 to 14,18 to 21, and 25 to 28, at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes Street, Swoyersville, PA 18704.

SWEENEY TODD, often referred to as a “Musical Thriller”, is a story of a barber in 1840’s London who seeks vengeance on an evil Judge who has raped his wife and has sent him to prison on trumped-up charges. Sweeney escapes, returns to London, and with the help of Mrs. Lovett, baker of the ”worst meat pies in London”, the Judge meets his doom. In the process, Todd and Lovett discover the secret ingredient that turns the worst pies to the tastiest pies in London.

SWEENEY TODD opened on Broadway in 1979 to critical acclaim, and won 8 of itsnominated 9 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Music and Lyrics, Best Book, Best Direction and Best Actor and Actress awards for Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury. A recent revival starring Patty Lupone won several Tony Awards and the film version starring Johnny Depp, and directed by Tim Burton, won the Golden Globe Award for best movie in the comedy/musical category.

At the Music Box, the starring role of Sweeney Todd will be played by Ron Araya, and the role of Mrs. Lovett will be played by Nancy Brown. Other principal roles will be played by Sal Infantino, Marcelle McQuirk, Amanda Reese, Kyle Segerra, Larry Vojtko, Kevin Malone, and Dane Bower.

Citizens of London will be played by Dana Feigenblatt, Cate McDonald, Jesse McNatt, Katherine Moran, Linda Orseck, Jennifer Rogers, Amanda Shaffern, Jessica Werbin, Mitchel Burke, Joel Campbell, Kevin Costley, Matt Dane, Justin Shaffern, Bill Ulichney, Jonathan Wallace, and Jimmy Williams.

SWEENEY TODD is directed and choreographed by Kevin Costley, with musical direction by Aimee Radics, sets and lighting by Michael Gallagher, and costumes by K. D. Love.

Tickets are now on sale for Dinner and Show and Show-only. Special discount rates are available for groups of 20 or more, senior citizens, students and children 12 and under. Show-only tickets are available to all students for $12.00.

Performance times are: Thursdays through Saturdays: Bar opens at 6 PM, a full buffet dinner catered by A TOUCH OF CLASS OF Wilkes-Barre is served at 6:30 PM, and Curtain is at 8 PM. On Sundays, the bar opens at 1 PM, the buffet is at 1:30 PM. And Curtain is at 3 PM.

For more information and reservations, call (570) 283-2195, or 1-800-698-PLAY.

Award Winning Comedy-Drama Opens At Chenango River Theatre

Money, Power, Sex. The triple crown of corporate America. And donuts (Krispy Kreme, of course). Wall Street corporate raider Garfinkle, looking for his next big score, sets his sights on New England Wire and Cable. Trying to stave off the takeover, Jorgenson, the factory owner, hires a Wall Street lawyer, Kate. A funny, riveting and serious game of cat-and-mouse (and mutual attraction) ensues as Garfinkle and Kate struggle to get the upper hand.

Speeding like a bullet train to its fascinating conclusion, author Jerry Sterner’s award-winning play Other People’s Money traces the fate of a still viable business that, in the present business environment, may be worth more to its stockholders sold for scrap than it is as the economic engine of an entire community, supplying over 1,200 well-paying jobs to a struggling region.

Other People’s Money won the 1989 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play and has been in continuous production around the country since its debut.

“Funny, serious, suspenseful, involving, disturbing, and above all,expertly crafted…epic grandeur and intimate titillation combined. It is the most stimulating kind of entertainment.” John Simon, New York Magazine

Chenango River Theatre’s production will feature Equity actors from both the local area and around the country. Binghamton actor Bill Gorman plays the pivotal role of Jorgenson, the factory owner trying to preserve his company, not for himself but for what it means to his town. Paul Romero (NYC) plays the coarse, sexist corporate raider Garfinkle, based on a philosophy of “he who dies with the most toys, wins.” Paul has appeared on a regular basis in sketches with David Letterman on the Late Show, and has worked with numerous major regional theatres around the country, including The Shakespeare Theatre (Washington, DC), Portland Stage and Huntington Theatre (Boston), as well as working in television on Spin City, Law & Order, All My Children and Guiding Light, among others.

Heidi Weeks, from Toronto, plays the lawyer Kate, summoned to defend against the corporate raider, only to find herself both repulsed and attracted to him. Also playing major roles are two actors who have worked previously with CRT: Drew Kahl (most recently seen as Andy in I Hate Hamlet) plays Coles, and Judy McMahon (Betty in The Foreigner) portrays Bea, Jorgenson’s long-time assistant and lover.

Directing the production is CRT’s Artistic and Managing Director Bill Lelbach, who in reflecting on the show, said, “This show may be more timely now than when it was written - it’s like watching a murder mystery - you don’t know who’s going to be left standing at the end, and it’s funny to boot. It has great resonance for an area like ours - just imagine the impact if someone decided to buy out the biggest employer in our region for the sole purpose of dismantling the company because short term it would provide greater benefit to the stockholders.”

The play climaxes as Jorgensen and Garfinkle address the stockholders at the Annual Meeting with the fate of the company in the balance. The ultimate result is both logical and surprising, as stockholders must choose to vote their conscience or their wallet.

Other People’s Money runs from August 29 - September 21 at Chenango River Theatre’s new (and air-conditioned) 99 seat theatre at 991 State Route 12, about 3 miles south of Greene.

Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30, plus Sunday matinees at 2:00pm. Tickets are $16 Thursdays, $18 Fridays & Sundays, and $22 on Saturdays. All performances start on time and there is no late seating. The box office opens one half hour before curtain. For reservations, call 656-8499 (TIXX), or go to www.chenangorivertheatre.org.

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