“SYLVIA:” A FRISKY, FURRY LOVE STORY

  

ASHLEY AYALA AS THE ADORABLE "SYLVIA" AT THE CT CABARET THEATRE

For companionship and unconditional love, you have to look no further than the furry four legged friend of man, the dog. A puppy can chew a large hole in your heart as well as in your favorite shoe. But not everyone is an animal lover, willing to feed and water, scoop and groom, as Greg discovers when he brings home “Sylvia” to his unsuspecting and unwelcoming wife Kate

Weekends until November 2nd, Berlin’s Connecticut Cabaret will be setting out doggy treats and water bowls for this adorable comedy by A. R. Gurney. Ashley Ayala is adorable, cuddly and cute, curious and contentious as Sylvia, the dog Greg, Michael Gilbride, chooses to love and wife Kate, Barbara Horan, resolves to hate. Sylvia, however, elects to ignore the tension and plants her paws firmly on the forbidden and off limits sofa. Be forewarned, Sylvia has a severely challenged potty mouth and says exactly what she feels in four letter to twelve letter statements.

Greg, enduring problems at the office, finds comfort and solace in Sylvia’s slobbering affection. Kate, with a challenging job of teaching Shakespeare to junior high school students, would prefer to relegate Sylvia to her proper place, the pound. Dave Wall interacts with all three as he plays comic roles as Tom and Leslie, a fellow dog park visitor and a therapist while Carleigh Schultz gets up close and personal with Sylvia (much to her dismay) when she visits their apartment.

How Sylvia performs the greatest trick of all, winning over Kate, is revealed in this well acted play, directed with playful and caring touches by Kris McMurray. CJ Janis provides musical interludes that add nicely to all the “doggy” songs like “Hound Dog” and “How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?"

For tickets ($35), call CT Cabaret, 31 Webster Square Road, Berlin at 860-829-1248 or online atwww.ctcabaret.com. Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7:15p.m. Remember this is cabaret, so bring your own goodies to share at your table or plan to buy desserts on site.This is the theater’s 22nd anniversary so come and celebrate.

There’s no need to sit up and beg, for Sylvia is eager to put her head on your knee and please you to pieces.

LEGACY THEATRE OF BRANFORD VALUES TIME IN ALL ITS ELEMENTS

A TRIO OF CABARET SINGERS PERFORMING "PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE" AT THE
STONY CREEK MUSEUM FOR THE LEGACY THEATRE OF BRANFORD

Yesterday, today and tomorrow were the themes of Branford’s newest entertainment venture, “a carousel of time” if you wish, when The Legacy Theatre took the stage of the Stony Creek Museum August 22, 23, and 24. Six cabaret singers–Linda Klein, Jenya Weinreb, Barbara Pochan, Michael Frost, Jackie Trimble Shapiro and Pam Faber-enthusiastically took the stage and musically explored a timeline from “Past, Present, Future” with almost twenty offerings, all played on the piano by David Bell, under the direction of Artistic Director Keely Baisden Knudsen and stage manager Amy Rose VanNess.

Stony Creek Museum has been the temporary home of The Legacy Theatre from November 2018 to August 2019 as its new home at the former Puppet House Theatre is being renovated. In fact, these concerts included a flashlight tour of the new building as part of the presentation. 

Songs that evening included such sentimental favorites as “The Way We Were,” “As Time Goes By,” “It Was A Very Good Year,” “Crazy,” “Maybe This Time,” and “I Wish You Love.” The passage of days and the meaning of love were evident in every word. “The Trolley Song” reminded us of the time trolleys clanged on Branford Roads.

This historic showplace that once welcomed the likes of Orson Welles and the Mercury Players will soon be a launch pad for innovative productions, family programming and children’s productions. This gift to the community will be an educational and entertaining addition to the shoreline.

Upcoming events include appearances at the Guilford Performing Arts Festival September 27-29 that features music, dance, theatre, poetry, storytelling, a circus, hands-on-drumming, workshops and shows for kids.On Sunday, September 29 at 4 p.m. the Legacy will offer “77 U-Turn” written and performed by Julie Fitzpatrick while the day before at 4 p.m. Legacy’s Wheel Life Theatre Troupe ambulating on crutches and in wheel chairs will perform for free. Go to https://guilfordperformingartsfest.org.

In September, you can purchase tickets for a Murder Mystery Dinner at Woodwinds as a Fall Fundraiser on October 17. Writer, performer and director Michael Sayers will lead the audience through a bushel of clues with professional actors dropping hints for all the potential detectives in the audience. According to Sayers, “This is a wonderful collaboration that has begun from one group helping another. We are offering a direct donation to the Legacy. The show “Auditions Are Murder” is set in a theater and there is active participation for the audience. We are looking forward to augmenting future activities like the upcoming Edgar Allen Poe “Poetic” coming when the new theater opens." Go to www.LegacyTheatreCT.orgfor more information.

Keep your eye on all the new and exciting state of the art happenings that The Legacy Theatre is offering, in all its 127 seats and 6000 square feet of historically accurate and “dreamy” possibilities set to open in 2020.

AT IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE, LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS A “CABARET”

SAM GIVEN AS THE EMCEE IN "CABARET" AT IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE

If you were in the habit of wearing rose colored glasses and of dancing as if the music would never end, you might be excused for not acknowledging the world was in danger, on the edge of chaos and collapse. In Germany, the rise of the Nazi party was insidious and sinister, frightening and demoralizing and sufficatingly wrapping its talons like a poisonous snake around its victims, the Jews. Today with headlines about serious problems splashed across newspapers and journalists strategically placed around the world ready to comment on the latest disaster, it is not hard to remember other times in history when circumstances were ripe for global trouble. Certainly when American writer Cliff Bradshaw hopped aboard a train to enter 1930’s Berlin, he could not have foreseen the storm brewing so close to the horizon.

The Ivoryton Playhouse invites you to revisit this frenetic and frantic time as created by John Masteroff’s book, John Kander’s music and Fred Ebb’s lyrics in “Cabaret” until September 1. Pull up a chair at the Kit Kat Klub and get caught in the escapism that the partygoers indulged in so breezily and completely. The excellent cast makes it heartbreakingly clear that danger is in the nightclub, on the clever set by Daniel Nischan, the great costumes by Kate Bunce, the distinctive lighting by Marcus Abbott, the on target sound by Ray Smith and the intoxicating music directed by Michael Morris.

Sam Given is the incredible erstwhile Emcee leading the grandiose parade, dedicated to seeing you have a good time and forget all your troubles, if you ever had any. He welcomes you to leave any worries outside the door and let the sparkling singer Sally Bowles, played by a perky Katie Mack, entertain you. You will be encouraged, like Cliff (Andy Tighe) to ignore the precision marching of Hitler’s army and the rise of the Nazi movement. If you dance fast enough, you can pretend there are no dangers lurking, to those of the Jewish faith like Herr Schultz (John Little) or his intended wife Fraulein Schneider (Carolyn Popp). The major symbol of Germany is embodied by Ernst Ludwig (Will Clark) while Fraulein Kost (Carlyn Connolly) is emblematic of the Germany ready to fall in line with the new regime.

Light hearted fun in songs like “Don’t Tell Mama” and “It Couldn't Please Me More” give way to the alarming message of “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” and the hidden in plain sight discrimination of “If You Could See Her.” Todd Underwood directs and choreographs this “musical with teeth.”

For tickets ($55, seniors $50, students $25, children $20), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton (exit 3 off route 9) at 860-767-7318 or online at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Scrap off the glitter on the surface of the Kit Kat Klub and discover that all is not beautiful, no matter how hard the Emcee tries to make you believe otherwise.

“SPAMILTON” SHOOTS ITS WITTY ARROWS STRAIGHT AT ITS TARGETS: LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA AND ”HAMILTON”

Even if you’ve never scored tickets for the most hyped show currently

on Broadway, as a beggar lady tries to do frequently in the show by asking the playwright, you are sure to be charmed and highly amused by this spoof, skewer, satire, parody, pun, roast, ribbing and barb filled comic show “Spamilton An American Parody” currently shining brightly at West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park until Sunday, September 8, in association with the Bushnell. Credits go to Gerard Alessandrini who since 1982 has been poking fun at the current musical hits on Broadway to great and deserved acclaim.

This time around Alessandrini has set his sights and his sharp pens and

arrows on the largest star in the firmament “Hamilton” and its genius

of a creator Lin- Manuel Miranda and the results are bloody brilliant.

A revolution occurs back in 1776 and again in 2019 and the resulting

“roast” is prime succulent eating. With an outstanding cast that

energetically moves non-stop, fast and furiously, on stage, we meet

a lot of the original members of Hamilton’s world, like Jefferson,
Madison, Washington, King George and Burr mingling with modern icons like Sondheim, Peters, Streisand, Cher, Liza and the Obamas.

Alessandrini takes no prisoners as he gleefully mashes bits and pieces

of traditional favorites together like “Mary Poppins,” “Into the Woods,”

“Gypsy,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Sweeney Todd,” “1776,” “West Side

Story” and so many more. If you are a true Broadway fan, you will delightin all the clever ways he manipulates the story line. With actors of suchnote as Chuckie Benson (Franklin, Washington etc.), Paloma D’Auria (allthe ladies), Brandon Kinley (King George III), Adrian Lopez (Lin-Manuel), Dominic Pecikonis (Daveed Diggs and others), Datus Puryear (Aaron Burr,Leslie Odom Jr) and Marissa Hecker (swing), the 80 minute show flies by. Curtis Reynolds on the piano keeps the rhythm chugging merrily along.

To give you a little taste of the humor, the famous writer is advised to

”Smile more. Rhyme less.” He is also told ”He’s a theater icon/He’s half

Hamilton/Half a can of cold Spam.“ The hit song from the show “I am not

giving up my shot” now becomes “ I am not going to let Broadway rot”

that is Manuel’s writing and working goal.

For tickets ($43.50-56), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West

Hartford at 860-523-5900 ext.10 or online at playhouseonpark.org. 

Performances are Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at 2p.m. and 7:30 p.m.,Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

“Spamilton” is a fun excursion into history and the world of Broadway

that you won’t want to miss bragging about around the pool or the water

cooler. 

“DECADES IN CONCERT 70S” WOWS DOWNTOWN CABARET CROWD

THE ENERGETIC STARS OF "DECADES IN CONCERT:  THE SEVENTIES"

The 1970s were marked by incredible highs and lows, from the first email transmission to the resignation of President Nixon due to the Watergate scandal, the election of two women to high office Isabel Martinez de Peron in Argentina and Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in Great Britain to the vocal protests over the Vietnam War, the movement for women’s equality and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Bobby Kennedy, the signing of the Egyptian Israeli Peace Treaty and the massacre in Munich at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

The 70s were termed “pivot of change” and also the “Me decade” by author Tom Wolfe.  Billy Jean King defeated Bobby Rigg and space exploration was questioned.  Microwave ovens became popular and Louise Brown became the first test tube baby.  A lot happened in the 1970’s and you are now invited to view all these events through photographic projections highlighting the music that reached its peak, disco, at this time.

Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theatre just offered up an outstanding preview to “Decades in Concert: The Sounds of the Seventies.”  Hold on to your leisure suits and platform shoes and mark your calendars for three weekends January 31 to February 16 when this incredible show returns to the stage.  Conceived by Hugh Hallinan and written by Phill Hill, this show features a quartet of shimmering stars Everton Ricketts, Mikayla Petrilla, Robert Peterpaul, Saige Bryan with Kaylin Weller as understudy to all the parts.

You won’t need to wear a miniskirt or bell-bottomed pants to get into the groove, but you will see a veritable fashion parade of the trends thanks to costume designer Lesley Neilson-Bowman.

The group belts out hits like “I Will Survive,” “Everything is Beautiful,” “Rocketman,” “Big Yellow Taxi, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” “Oh Mandy” and so many more.  

The era was marked with dozens of genres from punk rock to disco, hard rock to easy listening, soul to rhythm and blues, and this show highlighted fifty of the finest.  Mark your calendar now for the end of January 2020 so you won’t miss this musical tribute to the 70’s.  Call the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport at 203-576-1636 or go online to check out all the upcoming events at MyCabaret.org, like “Mamma Mia” September 20-October 13 and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” December 6-29.. If you were lucky enough to witness this preview weekend, you’ll be sure to want a second dose of disco and its accompanying delights.

“THE BIKINIS” BEING MUSICALLY REVEALED IN WATERBURY

ANNA HICKS, BRITTANY MULCAHY, ERIN WEST REED AND ZANI SCOTT AS “THE BIKINIS”

                                    PHOTO BY PAUL ROTH

 Even if you have never walked on hot beach sands in a bikini, you will have a lot to share with a quartet of women who once upon a time donned the scanty outfit to enter and win a singing contest twenty years earlier on a boardwalk in New Jersey. The foursome are enjoying a reunion at their favorite Sandy Shores Mobile Home Beach Resort to help determine of the greedy land developers will convince the residents to sell their trailer park spaces so the group can construct luxury condos on the site.

Thanks to co-writers Ray Roderick and James Hindman and composer and musical arranger Joe Baker, you’re invited to a beach party musical “The Bikinis” at Waterbury’s Seven Angels Theatre where their Stage Seven Community troupe will be putting down the plaid beach blankets and rubbing on the suntan lotion weekends until Sunday, August 18.

 

You’ve made good friends with the “Jersey Boys,” but now it’s time to make room on stage for the Jersey Girls. In 1964, four B.F. F.’s (best friends forever) on a lark enter a talent contest wearing (you guessed it) bikinis and win the Belmar Beach boardwalk banners. Two teenage sisters from Paramus, Jodi (Erin West Reed) and Annie (Brittany Mulcahy), join forces with their impetuous cousin Karla (Anna Hicks) from Philadelphia and their best bud Barbara (Zani Scott) from Staten Island to make their summer fun memorable and you’re invited along for the roller coaster ride.

 

With a parade of almost thirty favorite tunes like “It’s Raining Men,” “Dedicated to the One I Love,” “It’s in His Kiss,” “I’m Every Woman,” “Under the Boardwalk” and “Chapel of Love” as well as brand new songs like “In My Bikini” and “Sandy Shores,” you’ll find yourself dancing in your seat and humming right along.

 

According to Ray Roderick, who started out juggling three hats for the initial show, as creator, choreographer and director, “The show is about fun, females and friendship. It’s 75% songs we know and love and 25% new material. It showcases women in a positive way, written by men who love them.”

 

Calling it “a joyous party,” Roderick finds it “an easy, breezy show where the women don’t stop. They are a talent pool that delivers and has fun in the process.” Stating that the musical’s title is a metaphor for the struggle for equality women face, he feels they are empowered by it, even as they are still vulnerable. The quartet of females in the show relive their past but focus, decades later when they reunite, on the here and now.

The great rock and roll music of the 60’s and 70’s is wrapped around the original talent contest where the goal of the girls was to get on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and fast forward to their gathering when they meet to save the Sandy Shores Mobile Home Beach Resort, a favorite landmark on the Jersey beach that is being threatened by a land developer who wants to take over and build condos.

 Back in 2007, at the Briny Breezes Trailer Park in Florida, the owners were each offered a million dollars to move and “The Bikinis” is loosely based on that true story. In addition, it touches on the innocent fun of that era as well as the Vietnam War, the Woodstock event, flower children and the rise of women’s voices. “The Bikinis” is “a coming of age story that views the world through their eyes.”

 

For tickets ($30), call Seven Angels Theatre, One Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online atwww.sevenangelstheatre.org. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. 

Come rediscover the great songs of the 60’s and 70’s as this one hit wonder girls’ group reunites as women. Come hear them roar.

 

 

 

 

HOLIDAY FOLLY OF BEING “FULLY COMMITTED” IGNITES HTW

JAMISON STERN AS SAM IN "FULLY COMMITTED"  PHOTO BY LANNY NAGLER

If a one man show can be described as a tour de force for the one man playing one part, what would you term a one man show when the amazing actor awesomely portrays thirty three roles? You have the unique and pleasurable opportunity to witness this event first hand until Sunday, September 1 when TheaterWorks of Hartford proudly presents Jamison Stern in Becky Mode's challenging comedy “Fully Committed.” Jamison Stern plays an out of work actor forced to pay his rent by taking a job as the reservation taker at a trendy and much sought after restaurant in New York City, where everyone who is anyone wants to be seen.

Of course, the smaller the portions the bigger the price tag and the more unusual the offerings created daily by the Chef, who is temperamental to the extreme. Stern as Sam has to be a master juggler to answer the phones and confess the eatery is booked at least three months in advance, hence the comment about being “fully committed.”

Playwright Becky Mode has nailed with pinpoint accuracy the craziness and caginess of the customers who seek a reserved table at the current hot place. Stern plays them all, insiders like the egotistical chef and snide maitre ‘d and outsiders like Gwyneth Paltrow's fawning assistant and demanding Mafia men who are willing to pay extravagantly to get a table. Stern assumes all the mannerisms and accents as he juggles family, friends, acting competitors and wannabe customers of the chichi global fusion cuisine his restaurant specializes in serving.

Sam fields phone calls like a pro, handles messy emergencies without breaking too much of a sweat and ends up satisfying most of his contacts as the jolly Christmas spirit adds a little more urgency to his multi-tasking. Bill Fennelly directs this behind the scenes romp into restaurant ramekins and rigors, on a detailed restaurant basement set designed by Brian Prather.

For tickets ($25-70), call TheaterWorks at 860-527-7838 or online at theaterworkshartford.org. Performances are Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, and Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 p.m. All shows will be at the Wadsworth, 29 Atheneum Square North, Hartford while their 233 Pearl Street location is under renovations.

Reserve a V. I. P. seat for this hectic holiday hilarity as Sam the man tries to fill requests from the sublime to the ridiculous.

MUSIC THEATRE OF CT OFFERS COOL WAYS TO RESOLVE HOT SUMMER NIGHTS

        NATALIE DOUGLAS AT MUSIC THEATRE OF CT ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 17

In honor of our 90 degree heat wave, Norwalk’s intimate Music Theatre of Connecticut will provide sizzle and sparkle every Saturday night in August at 8 p.m. in fine cabaret style. 

 Jeff Harnar who was born in 1959 inaugurated the series on August 3^rd with The 1959 Broadway Songbook in beautiful and lyrical style.  He created a patchwork quilt of the more than twenty musicals that lite up Broadway that year.  With the musical talents of Alex Rybeck on the piano, Harnar wove together selections from such favorites as “My Fair Lady,” “The Sound of Music, “Gypsy,” “West Side Story,” “The Music Man” and “Bells Are Ringing” to showcase a few.  A highlight of the show was the “Marriage Medley” that cautioned “Get Me to the Church on Time” and “Don’t Marry Me.”  He also dropped clues to the news events of the year, like stars Ethel Merman and Carol Burnett, new states Alaska and Hawaii and man’s adventure to the moon.

On August 10^th, Willy Falk will entertain with a musical tribute entitled “Mostly Love” while revealing stories and anecdotes about his 35 year career on the Great White Way.  Falk has known triumphs and tragedies on stage and he will frankly and sincerely and humbly confess all in an entertaining fashion.

With Mark Hartman on the piano on August 17, cabaret legend Natalie Douglas will offer up a silver platter salute of songs brought to fame by none other than “Sammy – The Songs of Sammy Davis Jr” for your listening pleasure.  With exquisite detail and impeccable research, Mrs. Douglas will use her talents to showcase this famous member of Rat Pack acclaim. Be prepared to be wowed by stories about the man as such identifiable tunes like “Mr. Bojangles,” “Too Close for Comfort,” “What Kind of Fool Am I?,” and “Gonna Build a Mountain”  ring to the rafters.

The supper club atmosphere continues on August 24^th with the smooth and suave talents of Mark Nadler who will present “Cole Porter After Dark.” Utilizing his immense skills as singer, pianist, tap dancer and comedian, Nadler will conjure up Cole in all his sophisticated elegance.  With stories galore, he will also offer such classic tunes as “You’re the Top, “In the Still of the Night,” “Night and Day,” “Let’s Do It” and ”Begin the Beguine.”

For tickets ($30-40), call Music Theatre of CT, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk (behind Nine West Shoes) at 203-454-2883 or online at www.musictheatreofct.com.

Make your hot summer nights even more on fire by attending one or all of these show scorchers.

COME MEET THE NEWEST DOG POWER WINN DIXIE HOLDING COURT AT GOODSPEED

Audiences have long held great affection for dogs on stage.   But not since a red headed girl named Annie had a companion pup Sandy, a Kansas girl called Dorothy ended up in the land of Oz with her beloved Toto, a law student Elle took her puppy Bruiser to classes at Harvard has a girl named Opal captured hearts with her fuzzy furry mutt Winn Dixie.

Goodspeed Musicals will be letting Winn Dixie out of the dog house until Thursday, September 5 to capture your heart with this book turned into a movie and now a new musical, based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo, with book by Nell Benjamin and music by Duncan Sheik.  Animal trainer Bill Berloni who found the stray to play Sandy for Annie has worked his wonders again with Bowdie who “stars” as Winn Dixie.

Josie Todd’s Opal is full of spunk and ready to conquer her new home that she has just encountered with her preacher dad J. Robert Spencer.  Since Opal’s mom has run off, Opal has felt lost and abandoned but still hopeful that sunshine is surely over the horizon.  When a huge stray dog, that resembles a small pony, finds himself in trouble in the local grocery store it is Opal who comes to his rescue and “adopts” him.  He is named for the store in which he is found:  Winn Dixie. He is lucky because he could have invaded the Piggly Wiggly.

While her father is less than anxious to squeeze a dog into their small living space, he is wise enough to recognize Opal’s need for companionship.  Being a stranger in a new town is made a little easier with Winn Dixie by her side. 

 Their adventures begin when Opal tries to buy her pup a collar and she encounters the “strange and dangerous” pet store proprietor Otis, a guitar playing David Poe,  who allows her to “work” off the cost of the collar.  The fearless Opal also makes friends with another local outcast, the town witch, Gloria Dump, played by Roz Ryan.  As an “outcast’ herself, Opal has special properties that attract the less fortunate to her side.  When Winn Dixie gets lost in a thunder storm, the town’s people rally as a community to find this newest member and bring him safely home.

Set in Naomi, Florida, this sweet story features songs like “Strays,” “Offer It Up,” “Raise Your Voice,” “Bottle Tree Blues,” “Searchin’ “ and “What I Got is You.”  John Rando directs this endearing family classic with choreography by Chris Bailey.

For tickets ($29 and up), call Goodspeed Musicals, on the Connecticut River in East Haddam, at 860-873-8668 and online at goodspeed.org.  Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (select 2 p.m.), Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. (select 6:30 p.m.).

For a solid dose of heartwarming joy, and maybe a dog biscuit or three, let Opal and Winn Dixie “rescue” you and become life long friends…at least for a few delightful hours.

CT FREE SHAKESPEARE HOPSCOTCHES THROUGH SHAKESPEARE!!

Until Sunday, August 4 outdoors at the Bernhard Arts and Humanities Center, 84 Iranistan Avenue on the campus of the University of Bridgeport, CT Free Shakespeare  at 7 p.m. is offering up a tongue-in-cheek speedy survey of the Bard's collective works.   With song, dance, improvisation, slapstick, horseplay, puppets and even a little mime, a talented  trio of actors -  Uma Incrocci, Ian Eaton and Eric Brian Nyquist - skip at warp speed through all of Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies and histories in "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (revised)" created by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield.

 In the fair environs of Verona, we meet Romeo and
 Juliet, the most famous star-crossed lovers who
 are doomed by the long standing feuding  by their families.  Before
the bottles of poison are even drained, we are quickly swept into 
a television cooking show led by Dr Phil reminiscent of "Sweeney Todd" 
as Titus Andronicus, chief chef, seeks revenge by concocting 
tasty human treats.

 The tale of the dark and brooding Othello who becomes jealouswhen
 his best pal Iago deceives him about
Othello's wife Desdemona and her faithfulness is spotlighted next.
 The green-eyed witch is revealed .If one of the Bard's comedies is good,
 then all  sixteen of them must be better. Watch  the three  go off and 
running when they tackle this mix and match mash up with identical
 twins, tempests and tons of mistaken identifies. Dukes, donkeys and 
fairies have  a no holds barred free for all in this delightful tangle of tales.
 Be careful or you might find yourself shipwrecked on Gilligan’s Island.


 Golfers play through as we go all Scottish on the heath as Macbeth takes
 center stage in this glorious blood and death story that quickly morphs
 into the Ides of March and Julius Caesar and football and Troilus and
 Cressida and ends with the Prince of Denmark himself, Hamlet.  The 
audience gets to jump into the fray and shout out a few appropriate
 phrases . Ellen Lieberman directs this out of control madness and
 frivolity, all designed for pleasure.

  Bring the family, a picnic, a lawn chair or take advantage of the
 200 chairs already on site.  Donations are most welcome.  Even 
the intermission is stuffed with fun and song. Watch for their future 
performances in Stratford.

Come have fun and enjoy the theatrical antics as all of Shakespeare's 
works are dusted off and hung on the line for exploration, 
examination and evisceration, all in the name of enjoyment.