2016-17 season
The Mystery of Irma Vep – a Penny Dreadful, by Charles Ludlam
Directed by Matthew Michael Schiel
Aug. 12-28, 2016
At Mandacrest Estate, Lord Edgar, an Egyptologist, is still mourning the loss of his first wife, Irma Vep, when his second wife, Lady Enid, is attacked by a vampire. Edgar seeks answers in an Egyptian tomb, briefly resurrecting the mummy of an Egyptian princess and leading to a hunt for the alleged perpetrator – a werewolf! Come see how this hilarious spoof of Gothic melodramas ends.
“Lunatic fun that keeps you in stitches.” –The New York Daily News
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The Beauty Queen of Leenane, by Martin McDonagh
Directed by Jeremy Moranski
Sep. 23 to Oct. 9, 2016
Winner of four Tony Awards and the Outer Critics Circle award for outstanding play, this darkly comic tale introduces Maureen Folan, a plain and lonely spinster in her early forties, and Mag, her devilishly manipulative, aging mother. Mag’s interference in Maureen’s first and potentially last loving relationship sets in motion a train of events that is as gothically funny as it is horrific.
“… clearly the product of a major writer … destined to be one of the theatrical luminaries of the twenty-first century.” –New Republic
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A Nice Family Gathering, by Phil Olson
Directed by Mary Kay Cyrus
Nov. 4-20, 2016
It’s Thanksgiving Day and the first family gathering at the Lundeen household since Dad died. Mom brings a date for dinner, causing Dad’s ghost to pay a visit. But this ghost has a mission: to tell his wife he loved her, something he neglected to tell her while he was alive. The problem is, she can’t see or hear him. Winner of the Rochester Playwright Festival, this comedy seeks to answer the question: “Can love really conquer all, including death?”
“Garrison Keillor meets “Topper” by way of “Fargo”!” -NPR
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Doublewide, Texas, by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten
Directed by Susan Demers
Jan. 13 to Fe. 5, 2017
The Crumpler family – Jooveta, Caprice and Baby – and their wacky neighbors inhabit one of the smallest trailer parks in Texas. When the nearby town of Tugaloo is determined to annex them, rollicking mayhem escalates as the residents attempt to secede from Texas, discover a traitor in their midst, and turn the tables in a surprising and side-splitting finale. From the authors of The Red Velvet Cake War, this show is double the fun, double the joy, and has audiences doubled over with laughter!
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The Lyons, by Nicky Silver
Directed by Ron Zietz
Mar. 3-19, 2017
As Ben Lyons lies dying, his wife of forty years, Rita, flips through decorating magazines, planning a living room make-over. Ben and Rita have been at war for many years, and when they’re joined by their children, Lisa and Curtis, all efforts at a pleasant visit or a sentimental goodbye to the dying patriarch are soon abandoned. Terrible secrets and vicious accusations replace sentimental memories. Can the family take the first tentative steps toward new human connection?
“Black comedy perfection.” –Hollywood Reporter, “Smart and funny and moving.” –NY Observer
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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, by Christopher Durang
Directed by Donna Donnelly
Apr. 21 to May 7, 2017
Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia live in the family home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Named after Chekhov’s characters by their theater-enthusiast professor parents, Vanya and Sonia have yet to grow up. After spending their adulthood looking after their now-dead parents, neither has a job, and money is provided by their movie star sister, Masha. Their stolid lives are shaken when Masha announces she plans to sell the house. Mix in a clairvoyant cleaning lady, a gorgeous but dimwitted younger lover, and a sweet and determined neighbor and this Tony Award-winning play will have you wondering if having a Chekhov name destines you to a Chekhov life.
“Hugely entertaining … few have proven as deft as Durang at mining both the absurdity and the dangers of human folly.” –USA Today
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Psycho Beach Party, by Charles Busch
Directed by Keven Renken
Jun. 2-18, 2017
The award-winning author of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife gives “Gidget” beach party epics and Hitchcock psychological suspense thrillers a shotgun marriage! Chicklet Forrest, a teenage tomboy, desperately wants to be part of the surf crowd on Malibu Beach in 1962. One thing getting in her way is her unfortunate tendency towards split personalities. Among these are: a check out girl, a radio talk show hostess, a male model, and the accounting firm of Edelman and Edelman. Her most dangerous alter ego is a sexually voracious vixen with nothing less than world domination on her mind.
“A comic trash compactor of a play that takes an already silly genre – early 1960’s surf and beach blanket movies – and sends it to camp heaven.” –The New York Times
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The Mystery of Irma Vep and A Nice Family Gathering are presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Doublewide, Texas, The Lyons, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Psycho Beach Party are presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.