Last of the Red Hot Lovers opens on January 28 and runs through February 13, 2022, with performances at 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for members and $10 for students.  Reservations can be made by calling the Church Hill Theatre office at (410) 556 – 6003 or online at churchhilltheatre.org.

Please note that the Church Hill Theatre, Inc. requires proof of vaccination for all audience members, staff, volunteers, performers and Board members at all performances and theatre activities. As you enter, you are expected to show either your vaccination card and photo ID or a digital vaccination card. This policy will remain in effect until further notice. Masks will also be required for audiences, front of house volunteers, and staff inside the theatre except while eating and drinking.

It’s the swinging 1960s and sexually repressed Barney Cashman is determined to be part of the action. Eager but busy managing his seafood restaurant, Barney’s seduction and time-management skills both lack polish. And the women he picks! Elaine is a sexpot for sure, but her needs and Barney’s rapidly diverge. Bobbi seems sweet and vulnerable, until we realize she needs a psychiatrist rather than a lover. And Jeanette—well, she could dampen any man’s libido.  Last of the Red Hot Lovers was a solid hit both on Broadway and on film. The 1972 movie adaptation starred Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss and Renee Taylor. Fifty years later, Barney’s angst and Simon’s wisdom still speak powerfully to contemporary audiences.

Director Bonnie Hill, with a real affinity for Simon plays, has assembled an outstanding and experienced cast. Bryan Zajchowski, seen as Dr. Finache in A Flea in Her Ear, takes on the demanding role of Barney. Brianna Johnson makes her CHT debut as the wacky Bobbi. Christine Kinlock, last seen at CHT in The Importance of Being Ernest and Other Desert Cities, portrays Jeanette. Hill recently directed all three in Circle Mirror Transformation at the Garfield Center for the Arts.  Lisa Witmer, making her CHT debut as Elaine, has a strong theater background in the Chicago area, including the Second City Conservatory.

The production staff includes: Sheila Austrian, Producer; Steve Atkinson, Stage Manager; Earl Lewin, Set Design; Carmen Grasso, Set Construction, Connie Fallon, Costumes, Doug Kaufmann, Light and Sound, and Juanita Wieczoreck, Properties.

For more information, please visit churchhilltheatre.org.

BC Productions proudly announces the premiere of the staged reading of The Chevy’s at the Levee, the latest script by Chestertown playwright Earl Lewin. Performances of Chevy will be held at Church Hill Theatre on Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11 at 8 PM, with a Sunday, December 12 matinee at 2pm. This is a non-ticketed event. Proof of vaccination and masks are required. Donations to the Theatre are appreciated.  

In recent years, BC Productions has collaborated with Church Hill Theatre to present Lewin’s Miracle in 2019, Hitched in 2018, Orlando Rising in 2017, Saint Georges Blues in 2016, Accidentally Wealthy in 2015, and Visiting Sam in 2014. The Chevy’s at the Levee marks Lewin’s seventh production to be premiered at Church Hill Theatre in as many years (though 2020 clearly broke BC Production’s annual collaborative record).  

Lewin, a published playwright, having had two One Act Plays published by Baker’s Plays, brings his extensive experience to directing his own scripts. Church Hill Theatre has a collaborative history with Lewin having provided a venue for original scripts including two musicals She Stoops to Conquer, The Musical and Celluloid both featuring musical scores by Dick Durham. Celluloid played Off Broadway in 2010. Lewin’s murder-musical The Burgundy Wine Mob also debuted at CHT to go on to an Off-Off Broadway production in 2012. His short script entitled Not Responsible was also featured in the Short Play Lab’s MidTown Festival in New York City in 2013. 

The Chevy’s at the Levee maps the adventures of three old guys during their annual one-week fling in Florida who find that their “fling” has flung. These three mature gentlemen, we use the term loosely, believe they can revive their youth on a one-week yearly vacation at a Florida timeshare. They have known one another since their very early years growing up in the same town. This year they are charged with escorting Bob’s (Tom Dorman) niece Laurie (Jane Jewell) on the flight from Philadelphia to Tampa. She is an unusual person who has been living with her brother in New Jersey and should not live or travel alone. She is going to Florida to live with her sister Debbie (Jane Copple)—an arrangement her sister is not happy with. Bob, however, misses the plane due to an episode that may alter this annual pilgrimage forever. The event leaves Carl (Frank Lamont) and Ben (Steve Hazzard) responsible for his niece during transit. 

Carl has delusions of grandeur with Myra (Amy Moredock), a “girlfriend” he sees one week every November in the Florida resort. Now there’s a new one in the plan. He is convinced his Florida fling, and now his friend’s niece Laurie who he was paired with on the flight have both fallen in love with him. Once the three buddies, all widowers, are reunited in Florida, the events of the week continue to spell disaster in this hilarious but often touching story. Their lives, loves, losses, and dreams are revealed as they come to confront the challenges that age and reality present. 

Rounding out the cast and crew are Kathy Jones (Narrator); J.W. Ruth (waiter); Lewin (Director); Doug Kaufmann (Lighting and Sound Design/Operation); and Hope Dorman (Lighting and Sound Design/Operation). 

Please plan to join Lewin and his accomplished cast and crew as they premiere the staged reading of The Chevy’s at the Levee at Church Hill Theatre on Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11 at 8 PM, with a Sunday, December 12 matinee at 2pm. For information: call 410.556.6003 or visit the CHT Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ChurchHillTheatre/ or the BC Productions page at https://www.facebook.com/bcroductionsmd. This is a non-ticketed event. Proof of vaccination and masks are required. Donations to the Theatre are appreciated.

Enter Church Hill Theatre’s newly renovated interior to find desperate lovers, scheming neighbors, and secrets behind every toga. (There may also be a courtesan or two!) The musical farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum runs for two more weekends, November 12 – 21, 2021. The shows run Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 2PM, with the doors opening thirty minutes before curtain. Tickets may be purchased online at churchhilltheatre.org or by calling the theatre office between 10AM and 2PM Wednesday – Saturday at 410.556.6003.

Please note that the Church Hill Theatre, Inc. requires proof of vaccination for all audience members, staff, volunteers, performers and Board members at all performances and theatre activities. As you enter, you are expected to show either your vaccination card and photo ID or a digital vaccination card. This policy will remain in effect until further notice. Masks will also be required for audiences, front of house volunteers, and staff inside the theatre except while eating and drinking.

Director Liz Clarke has assembled a cast, crew, and production team of faces both familiar and new to the CHT stage. Musical Director Erin Bradley makes her Church Hill debut conducting our six-piece orchestra: Grace Wheatley on piano, Tom Anthony; bass, Ron Demby; clarinet, Frank Gerber; percussion, Jim Pileggi; trombone, and David James; trumpet. Kendall Chaires (theatre business manager) returns as choreographer with the incomparable Sylvia Maloney as producer. Costumes designed by Tina Johnson, lights by Doug Kaufmann, set by Tom Rhodes, and stage management by Steve Atkinson and Jim Johnson

Our playgoers will first be greeted by the slave Pseudolus, brilliantly played by J.W. Ruth. His entourage – the multi-talented Proteans – Maria Boone, John Crook, Morgan Leigh, Calla McClusky, and Travis Stotts, accompany him. Join us to find out if Senex (Matt Folker) will escape his…er…his lovely wife Domina (Heather Joyce-Byers), if Hero (Caleb Ford) will win the love of Philia (Averie Hitzges), if Erroneous (Eddie Vance) will make it around the earth, and if Hysterium (Frank Wirmusky) will successfully woo Captain Miles Gloriosus (Bradley Chaires)! Don’t forget to be on the lookout for Marcus Lycus (Zachary Schlag) and his courtesans: Kendall Chaires, Chelsea Clough, Lindsey Jones, Betsey Read, Debbie Roschli, and Becca Van Aken.

If you are in need of a good laugh and a quick escape (to Ancient Rome!), be sure to grab tickets to A Funny Thing On the Way to the Forum at Church Hill Theatre. Questions? Email Kendall Chaires at businessmanager@churchhilltheatre.org.

Church Hill Theatre proudly announces a radio production based on Alfred Hitchcock’s mystery The 39 Steps. Inspired by Hitchcock‘s classic tale, and adapted for radio by George Wells, this romantic thriller is a fast-paced ride through the signature world of the Master of Suspense. Richard Hannay is visiting 1930’s London when he meets Annabella Smith, who is on the run from foreign agents, after a disturbance at a music hall. Later that night, Annabella is murdered, and Hannay must then try to break the spy ring and prove his innocence. From an epic train ride to a feisty love interest, Hannay has his work cut out for him as he searches for the truth about The 39 Steps.

Director Christopher Wallace has announced the cast for this romantic thriller. Howard Mesick will create the part of Richard Hannay, and the part of Annabella Smith will be played by Jane Copple who will double in the role of the professor. Hannay’s feisty love interest, Pamela Stuart, will be played by Colleen Minahan, joined by Marcia Gillam as the innkeeper. At the Music Hall the Narrator will be played by Brian Moore, with Steve Hazzard as the manager and Frank St Amour creating the memorable Mr. Memory. Rounding out the ensemble cast, and playing multiple roles in classic radio style, will be Lynn McClain, Robin Wood, Jane Terebey and Connor Christopher.

Kat Melton will be handling the complex sound and special effects, while Michelle Christopher will be the Stage/Zoom manager; Shelagh Grasso produces.

The covid safe, live streamed through zoom, radio production is Friday April 9 and Saturday, April 10 at 8:00pm and Sunday, April 11 at 2:00pm. Tickets for this exciting production are available online at www.ChurchHillTheatre.org.

Church Hill Theatre will be live streaming The Worst Choice, a searing—and timely—new play by John Carl Haas this February. Haas, a history professor at Chesapeake College, poses a disturbing moral question: what if General William Tecumseh Sherman had been challenged, even faced court martial, for his hard tactics during the final year of the American Civil War. By the end of the play, Haas has also challenged us to consider what we might have done in similar circumstances.

The Worst Choice is a testy conversation between General Sherman and retired General Ethan Allen Hitchcock, an officer widely respected for his ethical values. Preparing for a hostile Congressional inquiry, Sherman hopes Hitchcock will help defend decisions that hastened the end of the war. Far from supporting Sherman, Hitchcock believes there was no ethical justification for the resulting loss of civilian lives and property. While the drama unfolds in a drab Washington City hotel room in 1865, the audience is invited to imagine the destruction of Atlanta, Sherman’s army “foraging” its way to the sea, the burning of South Carolina’s capitol, and the behavior of both war-weary troops and Southern civilians. Although the discussion between Sherman and Hitchcock is fictional, the characters and historical events are real.

Professor Haas, known to many from his acting roles on the CHT stage, has written this play which works well for a Zoom presentation. Robert Thompson, Theater Department professor at Chesapeake College, plays General Sherman and CHT veteran actor Will Robinson portrays General Hitchcock. Shelagh Grasso is the Producer/Director and Michelle Christopher is the Stage Manager.

CHT is proud to live stream this world premiere production via Zoom at 8 pm on Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13, and at 2 pm on Sunday, February 14. Tickets for the Zoom connection are $20 (with discounts for students and members) and may be purchased through the CHT website: www.churchhilltheatre.org