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February 3, 2023

The Chestertown Spy

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Arts Arts Notes

The Garfield Center Opens the 2023 Season February 10th with “Psycho Beach Party”

January 18, 2023 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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Charles Busch is the ultimate in off-beat playwrights. He is the author and star of over twenty-five plays including “The Divine Sister,” “The Lady in Question,” “Red Scare on Sunset,” “The Tribute Artist,” “The Confession of Lily Dare” and “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom;” one of the longest running plays in the history of Off-Broadway. His play “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife” ran for 777 performances on Broadway, winning the Outer Circle Critics’ John L. Gassner Award for playwriting, and receiving a Tony nomination for Best Play. He also wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays “Psycho Beach Party” and “Die Mommie Die,” the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

“Psycho Beach Party” is an accurate title for the zany, strange and hilarious play the title represents. Call it Gidget with a personality disorder, or Frankie and Annette go insane, either of which give a sense of the style, wit and comedy of the play. Embracing the era of Hollywood beach movies, it is a parody of 1950s psychodramas, 1960s beach movies and 1980s slasher films. In the plot, Florence Forrest is a Gidget-like character determined to learn to surf, and earns the nickname “Chicklet” from the surfer guys. However Chicklet begins displaying multiple personalities, among them a check out girl, an elderly radio talk show hostess, a male model named Steve and the accounting firm of Edelman and Edelman. Her most dangerous alter ego is a sexually voracious vixen named Ann Bowman who has nothing less than world domination on her mind! Chicklet experiences inexplicable blackouts, and fears that she might be the one responsible for a series of mysterious murders in her beachside town. Hilarity ensues as mischief, madness and the passionate pursuit of the perfect wave delight the audience as beach blankets and Hitchcockian psychological suspense thrillers are tossed around in this rollicking, zany comedy.

The Director of the production is Michael Moore, who directed last season’s Garfield production of “The Laramie Project.” His casting embraces the switched gender aspect of most of Charles Busch’s plays. Chicklet will be played by J.W. Ruth, most recently seen as Joseph in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” this past December on the Garfield stage, and scene-stealing Max in “The Play That Goes Wrong” in the opener of the 2022 season at the Garfield. Patrick Pearce, also seen in “Joseph” and “The Play That Goes Wrong” plays Yo-Yo. Dominic Delcoco, who played Gingy in “Shrek” in 2021 and one of the brothers in “Joseph,” plays Star Cat. Dylan Lyles, who appeared in “Shrek,” “The Laramie Project” and “The Good Doctor” at the Garfield plays Provoloney. The Great Kanaka is played by Garfield favorite Brad Chaires, most recently seen in “Joseph” playing Potipher, the Elvis-like Pharaoh and one of the brothers. Brianna Johnson, last seen in “The Good Doctor” and “The Laramie Project” plays Berdine. Minnie Maloney, last seen on the Garfield Stage in “The Good Doctor” plays Marvel Anne, Connie Fallon, last seen in “Shrek,” plays Mrs. Forrest, and newcomer Cassi Pinder plays Bertina Barnes.

Director Moore is assisted in the production by costumer Connie Fallon, with props by Wendy Sardo, lighting by Butch Clark, sound design by Nic Carter, motion graphic projections by Steven Arnold, sound board execution by Jordan Dixon, photography by Steven Arnold, and print graphics, playbill and marketing by Francoise Sullivan.

The show opens February 10th and runs weekends through February 26th, with performances at 8:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 PM on Sundays. Tickets are already available online and can be purchased through our website at www.garfieldcenter.org or by calling the Box Office at 410-810-2060 on Wednesdays through Fridays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

The Garfield Center Announces Open Auditions for “Psycho Beach Party”

November 28, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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Auditions for the first production of the Garfield Center’s 2023 season, Charles Busch’s “Psycho Beach Party” are scheduled for December 3 at 2:00 PM, December 6 and 7 at 6:30 PM. The play will be directed by Michael Moore, who directed the Garfield’s recent production of “The Laramie Project” as well as performing memorable roles in “Clue” in 2021 and “The Good Doctor” this season. The show performs on weekends from February 10 through February 26th and auditions will be held at the Garfield Center at 210 High Street in Chestertown.

A hilarious cult favorite, imagine Gidget crossed with “The Three Faces of Eve” and “Mommie Dearest.” Chicklet, a perky teenager in Malibu Beach circa 1962, wants to learn to surf and join a group of beach bums led by the great Kanaka. Unfortunately, she suffers from a multiple personality disorder. Seeing red causes her to transform into various other selves, including a sinister vamp out to conquer the world. Complications arise when a movie starlet flees the set of her latest rotten movie to hide among the surfers. The climax is a wild luau scene where hypnosis reveals the shocking root of Chicklet’s psychosis.

The play became a film in 2000, featuring an adapted screenplay by Busch and with performances by Lauren Ambrose, Thomas Gibson, Amy Adams and the story’s creator, Charles Busch, as Captain Monica Stark.

Auditions will consist of readings from the script. The play requires 6 female adult actors and 5 male adult actors. If anyone interested in auditioning needs additional information, contact the Director, Michael Moore, at charles.moore@qacps.org.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

The Garfield Center’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to Open December 2

November 9, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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Putting just the right finish on a very successful season, the Garfield Center has been hard at work on their upcoming production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”  Sure to be a hugely popular show, patrons should arrange their tickets sooner rather than later. Tickets can be purchased anytime online at www.garfieldcenter.org or by calling the Garfield Center at 410-810-2060 during regular box office hours Wednesdays through Fridays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The Garfield Center is pleased to announce that Chesapeake Bank and Trust is the production sponsor for “Joseph.”

Director Jen Friedman has a wealth of experience as a comedienne, actor and director. She never felt too inclined to direct a musical – except for one. She’s always had a passion for “Joseph” and hoped she would finally have a chance to let her years-long ideas and concepts be realized on the stage. “I wanted to direct Joseph because it reminds me of my childhood, and it’s something that my family would enjoy together,” Jen said. “I really enjoy the show and it is a perfect show for the Garfield’s family musical slot. My cast and staff have been working very hard to put on a spectacular show, and I know that Kent County and Eastern Shore families will have great memories from coming to see our work.”

In the Garfield Center’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Joseph (center, J.W. Ruth) and the Narrator (Heather Joyce-Byers, at Joseph’s right) enjoy Jacob and his wife’s parental attention while his jealous brothers (left) look on and plan his fate. The children’s chorus (right) observe as they learn Joseph’s story.

Jen is surrounded by additional expertise within her production staff. Betsy VanBenthuysen is Music Director for the production, Cavin Moore is Choreographer, Hope Dorman is the Stage Manager, Steven Arnold is set designer and photographer, Butch Clark oversees the lighting and set construction, Nic Carter oversees the sound design and Jen Friedman is overseeing costumes and props. Francoise Sullivan designs and publishes the playbill.

The cast that Jen has chosen is an extremely talented group of experienced local performers. Leading the show in the title role of Joseph is J.W. Ruth. He’s been seen in several recent and prominent roles in the area, including the roles of the Prince and Pseudolus in CHT’s Into the Woods and A Funny Thing Happend on the Way to the Forum, along with his side-splitting turn as Max in GCA’s The Play That Goes Wrong. Joining him to co-lead the production is Heather Joyce-Byers as the Narrator. Heather was also in CHT’s Into the Woods as The Witch as well as several past GCA productions including Annie and 2021’s SAST.

Performing featured roles are Herb Ziegler as Jacob, Bradley Chaires as both Potipher and Pharaoh, Lisa Webb as Potipher’s wife, John Mann as the Butler, Patrick Pearce as the Baker, Regan King as the Snake, and Dominic Delcoco as the Camel.

As Joseph’s jealous and devious brothers are Bradley Chaires as Asher, John Mann as Levi, Patrick Pearce as Dan, Joel Tolbert as Reuben, Regan King as Napthali, Dominic Delcoco as Isaachar, Tom Dorman as Simeon, Quentin Bergenholtz as Benjamin, Jim Johnson as Zebulum, Ian Stotts as Judah, and Magdalena Chevaz as Gad.

And performing in the children’s chorus are Lilly Askew, Kyleigh Batchelor, Maria Boone, Olivia Jane Coppage, Addyson Crooks, Daria Fox, Madelyn Hopwood, Aubrey Johnson, Clover King, Jocelyn Matera, Carly Mourlas, Maddison Riley, Riley Rosati and Rooney Rosati.

The Garfield Center strongly recommends purchasing tickets early as the show is expected to be very popular and will likely sell out.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

New Orleans Jazz Master Don Vappie Headlines Chestertown Jazz Festival

September 9, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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The many moods of New Orleans music will be filling the air in Chestertown’s Wilmer Park for the 26th Annual Chestertown Jazz Festival this Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10.

The festival opens at noon on Saturday with the traditional Gospel featuring Sylvia Fraser and The Anointed Vessels – Lester Barrett, Jr., Zita Seals, Monica Christy, and Kevin Benjamin on piano.

Headliner Don Vappie, 4 string banjo maestro, Creole cultural expert and jazzman extraordinaire has been called a living embodiment of New Orleans music. His band, the Jazz Creole Jazz Serenaders, features vocalist Quiana Lynell, trumpeter Kevin Louis, clarinetist and saxophonist Tom Fischer, bassist Richard Moten, piano and keyboard player Mike Esnault, and drummer Brian Richburg. They will take the audience through the many moods of New Orleans music: traditional jazz, soul-funk, blues, rhythm and blues, zydeco, and Dixieland.

Don Vappie

Also on the bill are the Chestertown Festival Brass Band, Dave Robinson and his youth group, the Capital Focus Jazz Band, and local favorites, Philip Dutton and the Alligators.

Thursday, September 8, the Mainstay in Rock Hall presents Zydeco-a-Go-GoIn conjunction with the Jazz Festival

Tickets are still available for the Friday night Big Easy cocktail party and concert featuring the Dave Robinson and the Conservatory Classic Jazz Band and New Orleans style cuisine prepared by Chef Rodney Scruggs and his team from Watershed Alley.

To purchase tickets and for more information on the 26th Annual Chestertown Jazz Festival, September 8 – 10, visit https://www.garfieldcenter.org/gcaevent/2022-chestertown-jazz-festival/ or call the Garfield Center at 410.810.2060.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

The Garfield Center Opens Neil Simon’s Comedy “The Good Doctor” September 16

September 7, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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Photo: GCA’s “The Good Doctor” in rehearsal. TOP LEFT, an overzealous dentist (Dylan Lyles) goes to war with his patient’s (Bob Chauncey) teeth. BOTTOM LEFT: a man and woman (Jim and Diane Landskroener) debate whether or not to elevate their passing acquaintance into something more. BOTTOM RIGHT: At the theatre, Cherdyakov (Michael Moore) has the terrible misfortune of sneezing on General Brassilhov (Bob Chauncey), shocking Brassilhov’s wife (Minnie Maloney) and as the Narrator (Frank St. Amour) looks on. TOP RIGHT: The cast of “The Good Doctor” includes (front) Diane and Jim Landskroener, (back, left to right) Dylan Lyles, Bob Chauncey, Minnie Maloney, Michael Moore and Frank St. Amour (not pictured are Brianna Lyn Johnson and Ben Gilbert).

The original production of Neil Simon’s comedy “The Good Doctor” opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Broadway in 1973 and featured a stellar cast including Christopher Plummer, Marsha Mason, Frances Sternhagen, René Auberjonois, and Barnard Hughes. The play was a departure for Simon from his usual living room-style comedy.  He set out to celebrate the irony and droll humor of Anton Chekhov’s work by encapsulating the style within short sketches tied together by a narrator suffering from writer’s block. In one sketch, a government clerk over-apologizes and has a nervous breakdown after accidentally sneezing on a general during a night out at the theatre. In another sketch, a crafty seducer goes to work on a wedded woman, only to realize that the woman has been in command from the first overture. And then there’s the visit to the chair of a frighteningly overzealous Dentist. And let us not forget the classic tale of a man who offers to drown himself for three rubles. The stories are droll, the portraits affectionate, the humor infectious, and the fun unending. Sometimes absurd, sometimes melancholy, but always enjoyable, it is a modern take on the essence of Chekov featuring various comedic styles and characterizations.

Directing the production is Bonnie Hill, a seasoned director who has staged multiple productions at The Garfield Center and Church Hill Theatre, among others. The production stage manager is Sheila Austrian, who is no also no stranger to the local stage, having appeared in, and worked on, many productions. Costumes are by Connie Fallon, with assistance from Nita Wieczoreck, Props are by Wendy Sardo, Lights and Sound are by Butch Clark and Nic Carter, the Sound technician is Amelia Plummer, Photography is by Steven Arnold, and the poster and program is by Francoise Sullivan.

The show features a splendid cast of gifted local actors, some of which are new to the Garfield Stage. Playing diverse roles throughout the program are Frank St. Amour, Bob Chauncey, Ben Gilbert, Brianna Lyn Johnson, Diane Landskroener, Jim Landskroener, Dylan Lyles, Minnie Maloney, and Michael Moore.

The show runs weekends from September 16 through October 2, with performances starting at 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 PM on Sundays. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.garfieldcenter.org or by calling the Box Office on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 AM to 3 PM.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

The Garfield Center to Hold Auditions for “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”

September 1, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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To begin work on its 2022 season-closing production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” the Garfield Center will be holding open auditions in September for the musical, which will run weekends from December 2 through December 18. Featuring a score of music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, it was his first successful stage musical and one of several collaborations with lyricist Tim Rice.

“Sha la la, Joseph, you’re doing fine! You and your dreamcoat, ahead of your time!,” the musical is a reimagining of the Biblical story of Joseph, his father Jacob, eleven brothers and the coat of many colors. Told entirely through song with the help of a Narrator, the musical follows preferred son Joseph who, after being sold into slavery by his brothers, ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar but ends up in jail after refusing the amorous advances of Potiphar’s wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled, Elvis-inspired, Pharaoh. Joseph’s solution to Egypt’s famine elevates him to Pharaoh’s right-hand man and reunites him with his family. The magical musical is full of catchy songs in a variety of styles, from a parody of French ballads (“Those Canaan Days”), to country-western (“One More Angel in Heaven”) and calypso (“Benjamin Calypso”), along with the unforgettable classics “Any Dream Will Do” and “Close Every Door.”

AUDITION DATES are Saturday, September 17 at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, September 20 at 6:30 PM, and Thursday, September 22 at 6:30 PM. Auditions are open to anyone of any age, including children. The show features a children’s chorus. All roles are available for casting. Auditions will be held at the Garfield Center for the Arts at 210 High Street in Chestertown.

To audition, you must be prepared to sing either a music theater or pop song that demonstrates your singing ability and your range. Singing without accompaniment (a cappella) is allowed, but performers are strongly encouraged to bring some form of accompaniment. There will be no piano accompanist provided, so if you wish to sing using piano sheet music, you must bring your own accompanist. For karaoke-style accompaniments, a bluetooth speaker will be provided. CD tracks or thumb drive files are discouraged due to limitations in available playback equipment, so have your playback music ready on your phone to broadcast over bluetooth.

Some auditioners may also be put through a light dance or movement audition, so please wear regular shoes instead of open-toe shoes or sandals.

This audition information is also available on the Garfield Center’s website at www.garfieldcenter.org/gcaevent/joseph-auditions.  Additional questions may be emailed to Director Jen Friedman at: feastofreason1@yahoo.com.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

The Garfield Center for the Arts Announces Their 2023 Season!

August 4, 2022 by Spy Desk 1 Comment

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From modern cult comedy to the classically familiar to the pomp and pageantry of a beloved Disney classic, the Garfield Center’s exciting 2023 season will provide audiences with all the feels we expect from live theatre.

The new season opens February 10, 2023, with Psycho Beach Party by Charles Busch. Performances will run weekends until February 26. An instant cult hit that resulted in its 2000 film version, imagine the fun of living in 1962 Malibu Beach, where we might rub elbows, surf and dance with Frankie and Annette at a beach party. Chicklet Forrest is your average tomboyish Gidget with one crazy secret: she is living with several hilarious split personalities. Meanwhile, dark and mysterious murders seem to be happening to the people around her and let’s just say her mother is a complete ‘drag.’ Her most dangerous personality is the vixen Ann Bowman, who loves to command the stage to get what she wants. A colorful array of supporting characters tackle everything from friendship to sexuality in a parody spoof that keeps the laughs coming. The comedy will be directed by Michael Moore.

Next up is Prescription: Murder by William Link & Richard L. Levinson. Performances will run weekends from April 14 through 30, 2023. With it’s characters and style providing the inspiration for the TV series Columbo, its theatrical predecessor Prescription: Murder tells the story of a brilliant psychiatrist and his mistress who hatch a plot to murder his neurotic, possessive wife. The execution of their plan and the creation of their perfect alibi depends on a bizarre impersonation. Lt. Columbo must engage the psychiatrist in a duel of wits until the doctor succeeds in having Columbo removed from the case. However, it is the mistress who proves to be the weak link that leads to a trap and a surprising climax! Nic Carter will direct the production.

Short Attention Span Theatre returns to the Garfield Stage on June 23 for yet another annual installment of trailblazing new short plays that always features a cast of lovable local GCA favorites. Typically premiering new 10 minute plays, many times by local playwrights, SAST is a local, well-loved tradition. Performances will run weekends through July 9, 2023. Mark Sullivan will once again produce SAST.

September brings us Kate Hamill’s critically lauded adaptation of Little Women, running weekends from September 22 through October 8, 2023.  The Wall Street Journal called it “an ingenious compassion of Alcott’s novel that is by turns funny and painfully poignant…it touched me to the heart.” The story brings fond familiarity: Jo March isn’t your typical Victorian lady. She’s indecorous and headstrong, and one day she’s going to be a great American novelist. As she and her sisters grow up in the middle of the Civil War, they strive to be brave, intelligent, and imaginative young women. But as adulthood approaches, each sister must negotiate her private ambitions with society’s expectations. In a war-torn world defined by gender, class, and personal tragedy, Jo March gives us her greatest story: that of the March sisters, four dreamers destined to be imperfect little women. The production will be directed by Hester Sachse.

And closing the season will be Disney’s Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, with new songs by Alan Menken and Tim Rice. Running weekends from November 24 through December 10, 2023, step into the enchanted world of the Broadway and international sensation that has been produced in 37 countries worldwide. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the original Broadway production ran for over thirteen years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is actually a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out: if the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity. With its wonderfully colorful characters and infectiously memorable songs, the Garfield Center’s production is sure to put a smile on your face, a song in your heart and an exclamation point on another wonderful season. Jennifer Kafka Smith will direct the production.

Tickets for the new season will not go on sale until after the start of the new year. For further information between now and then, check in on occasion at our website at www.garfieldcenter.org or our Facebook page.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

GCA’s Playmakers is Back with Winnie The Pooh this Weekend

July 26, 2022 by Garfield Center Leave a Comment

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The Garfield Center for the Arts’ Playmakers has returned! The GCA’s annual summer youth education camp for children ages 8-15 has a long and successful history of teaching skills in theatre craft and performance. The camp had been suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic but has finally returned after its hiatus. This summer’s Playmakers will present “The Adventures of Winnie The Pooh” this weekend, starting at 7 PM on Friday and Saturday, July 29, 30, and 2 PM on Sunday, July 31.

The camp divided participants into two age groups, ages 8 to 11 and ages 12 to 15, for age-specific activities. The remaining camp time was spent with all participants working together to produce and perform their “Winnie the Pooh” production. Campers have also enjoyed the performances of professional cultural artists, presented by The Hedgelawn Foundation, on select camp days, including historical instrumentalist Stephen Christoff, storyteller Debra Mims, and dancer, drummer, singer and storyteller Ssuun.

Leading Playmakers has been its Director Amanda Mickle and Assistant Director Patrick Pearce. Originally from Smyrna Delaware, Amanda spent 13 years with The School of Delaware Ballet and Delaware Ballet where she danced in various supporting and lead roles in multiple productions, including “The Nutcracker” for seven years. Amanda attended Washington College, where she studied English and Education. Currently, she is the 7th and 8th grade Language Arts teacher at Kent School where she has directed and choreographed the 8th Grade Musical for two years with last year’s “Frozen Jr.” and this year’s “Beauty and the Beast, Jr.” Patrick recently appeared in the Garfield Center’s hit production of “The Play That Goes Wrong.” Last year, he appeared in “Clue” and Short Attention Span Theatre. Patrick received his BA in Drama from Washington College in 2000 and now teaches US History at the Kent School in Chestertown.

This year’s Playmakers campers are Lizzy Assante, Lillian Babylon, Bailey Bortz, Sydney Bortz, Olivia Coppage, Ben Gilbert, Giosue Greenwell, Sam Holdgreve, Madelyn Hopwood, Emy Karlik, Clover King, Maggie Lindsay, Ava Potter, Mallory Reed, Natalie Ritchie, Will Ritchie, Amelia Ritchie, Lia Schut, Masun Sullivan, Stella Sullivan, Alex Wilson, and Vivian Young. Playmakers has had a terrific staff of counselors and interns this summer, including Allison Holdgreve, Devin Merton, Josie Merton, Clare Padula, Eva Veciana and Kendall Willis.

The performances are free to the public, but donations made at the performances toward production costs and next year’s Playmakers camp is encouraged and appreciated. Lobby doors open one hour prior to show time and the House doors open for general seating starting one half hour prior to show time. No advance reserved seating is allowed.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Chestertown Spy, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

The Garfield Center’s Auditions for Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor Set for July 12, 14 and 16

July 5, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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The Garfield Center for the Arts has announced audition dates for their upcoming production of the Neil Simon comedy The Good Doctor. Auditions are set for Tuesday and Thursday, July 12th and14th, both starting at 5:30 PM, and Saturday, July 16th, starting at 1:30 PM. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Needed are at least 2 female and 3 male actors, but flexible casting involving a larger cast size is likely. Familiarity with the script is helpful but not necessary,

The original production of Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Broadway in 1973 and featured a stellar cast including Christopher Plummer, Marsha Mason, Frances Sternhagen, René Auberjonois, and Barnard Hughes. The play was a departure for Simon from his usual living room-style comedy. He set out to celebrate the irony and droll humor of Anton Chekhov’s work by encapsulating the style within short sketches tied together by a narrator suffering from writer’s block. In one sketch, a feisty old woman storms a bank and upbraids the manager for his gout and lack of money. In another, a crafty seducer goes to work on a wedded woman, only to realize that the woman has been in command from the first overture. And let us not forget the classic tale of a man who offers to drown himself for three rubles. The portraits are affectionate, the humor is infectious, and the play is a lot of fun for its actors and audience.

If anyone interested in auditioning has additional questions, please send an email to the Director, Bonnie Hill, at her email address at bonniehill@zimbracloud.com or to GCA Executive Director Steven Arnold at sarnold@garfieldcenter.org.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

The Garfield Center’s Short Attention Span Theatre Opens June 24th and Runs Through July 10th

June 16, 2022 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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Comedy and laughter is the theme for this year’s edition of the Garfield Center’s annual Short Attention Span Theatre. Presenting a diverse set of short plays ranging from the outrageous to the hilarious, this year’s SAST received over 350 script submissions from playwrights across the country and internationally. SAST opens for live performances starting June 24th.

Directed by Nic Carter and written by Chicago-based playwright Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend, “Beast” is a comedy about the crone responsible for a prince’s transformation into the Beast revisiting her victim with an unnatural proposition in mind. Performing the play is Jen Friedman and Dominic Delcoco.

“Porcelain Seance” is directed by Mark Sullivan and is written by local playwright Rudy Schreiber. A stream-of-consciousness comedy that takes place in a public restroom stall, it tells the story of Reeco, a man who may or may not know the person in the stall next to him. Playing Reeco is Robert Walton and it has a special appearance by Dominic Delcoco.

“Precipice” is a comedy about a crisis-driven meeting on a window ledge between a man and woman as they realize things about themselves and each other. Directed by Jennifer Kafka Smith and written by Philadelphia-based playwright Alex Dremann, the play will be performed by Sharon Herz and Zac Ryan.

SAST in rehearsals. On the left, Karen Hill, Gil Rambach, Beverly Hall Smith and Jennifer Kafka Smith rehearse “Stay Golden.” On the right, Sharon Herz and Zac Ryan rehearse “Precipice.”

In the comedy “Science Friction; or, The Rapid Deconstruction of a Rational Mind,” directed by Melissa McGlynn and written by Florida-based Ken Preuss, a man returns from a trip to discover that his girlfriend has become so immersed in his science fiction collection that she has blurred the lines between fiction and reality. Performing in the piece is Adrienne Wrona and Zac Ryan.

“Stay Golden” is a warm and funny nod to pop culture familiarity. Written by Canadian playwright Jessica Moss and directed by Nic Carter, the play is about three middle-aged friends conspiring to find a way for their fourth friend to join them in living out their golden years together in Miami. The cast includes Simone Collins, Karen Hill, Beverly Hall Smith, Jennifer Kafka Smith and Gil Rambach.

Jen Friedman and Amanda Fry appear in “Taking Sum Lumps,” a comedy directed by John Mann and written by Florida’s Ken Preuss. When a woman breaks a mirror, an agent who dispenses bad luck has an offer: does she want 7 years of bad luck or will she take it in one lump sum?

Steven Arnold directs Chicago-based playwright David Lipschutz’s “Two Pigeons Talk About Sh*tting On People, And Then They Sh*t On People, A Love Story.” In the play, a couple of pigeons pause from “targeting” pedestrians on the sidewalk below to find love. Playing the pigeons are Amanda Fry and Dominic Delcoco.

“Why Did You Bother Killing the Sea Witch” is a comedy written by Florida-based playwright Jenna Jane and directed by Adrienne Wrona. In the aftermath of the Prince’s triumphant battle against the Sea Witch, the Mermaid’s plan for happily ever hits a snag when she realizes that she and the Prince’s want different things. The play will be performed by Brianna Johnson and Robert Walton.

Once again premiering original plays and featuring a large cast of local performers and directors, SAST is produced by Worton resident and GCA Board President Mark Sullivan.

Performances begin June 24th and run at 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 PM on Sundays through July 10th. Tickets are $20.00 for general audiences and $10.00 for students and can be purchased online anytime at www.garfieldcenter.org or by calling the box office at 410-810-2060 Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 AM to 3 PM.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Garfield Center for the Arts, local news

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