A Seussified Dickens play… That could be sweet!

A whimsical reinvention of Dickens’ most beloved Christmas story in wacky rhymed couplets. With zoot fruited juices and binka bird geese, from Bed-Headed Fred to Timmy Loo Hoo, this tale of glorious holiday cheer is similar to something Dr. Seuss might have come up with — if he ever had his way with the story…

In this suite… No relationship is safe

Hilarity abounds in this portrait of three couples successively occupying a suite at the Plaza. A suburban couple take the suite while their house is being painted and it turns out to be the one in which they honeymooned 23 (or was it 24?) years before and was yesterday the anniversary, or is it today?

This wry tale of marriage in tatters is followed by the exploits of a Hollywood producer who, after three marriages, is looking for fresh fields. He calls a childhood sweetheart, now a suburban housewife, for a little sexual diversion. Over the years she has idolized him from afar and is now more than the match he bargained for.

The last couple is a mother and father fighting about the best way to get their daughter out of the bathroom and down to the ballroom where guests await her or as Mother yells, “I want you to come out of that bathroom and get married!”

The 2015 season opened with End Game, our only production at Community Hall!

End Game was a night out, complete with cash bar, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, and table seating for a live dinner-theater experience. There was even a cheesecake fundraiser between acts. This play focused on the complications of modern relationships and was a comedic drama in four acts.

Oscar Wilde’s classic is a delight from the first cucumber sandwich on as Jack’s double life catches up with him. The problems are resolved in an extremely charming and quite unexpected way as Jack and Algernon discover the importance of being earnest, while answering to the name of Ernest.

The play, celebrated for its wit and repartee, parodies contemporary dramatic norms, gently satirises late Victorian manners, and introduces – in addition to the two pairs of young lovers – the formidable Lady Bracknell, the fussy governess Miss Prism and the benign and scholarly Canon Chasuble.

A timeless tale of “whodunnit,” Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap strands seven strangers at Monkswell Manor during a blizzard. A police sergeant unexpectedly arrives, worried that a murderer-at-large is among the guests of the Manor. Before he can investigate, one of the guests is killed, starting an investigation into the lives and histories of everyone there. One of them is the killer, and another one of them may be next. Will the police be able to solve the case before another “mouse” falls? The world’s longest continuously running play for over 60 years, The Mousetrap continues to delight and intrigue mystery lovers of all ages.

A trio of inept burglars go on a journey full of emotion and ironic humor, delving into the darker side of the American Dream, and the price of friendship.

On the original production of American Buffalo

Critic Frank Rich, in reviewing the 1983 production for The New York Times, called it “one of the best American plays of the last decade.” Rich had previously reviewed the 1981 Off-Broadway production, calling the play “brilliant”, and noting: “The play, though, is the thing. Working with the tiniest imaginable vocabulary – words like nothing, great, and no, as well as those of four letters – Mr. Mamet creates a subterranean world with its own nonliterate comic beat, life-and death struggles, pathos and even affection… In American Buffalo, he has created a deceptively small-scale tragedy that is packed with the power to explode the largest of American myths.”

In the middle of a howling snowstorm, a bus out of Kansas City pulls up at a cheerful roadside diner. All roads are blocked, and four or five weary travelers are going to have to hole up until morning. Cherie, a nightclub chanteuse in a sparkling gown and a seedy fur-trimmed jacket, is the passenger with most to worry about. She’s been pursued, made love to and finally kidnapped by a 21-year-old cowboy with a ranch of his own and the romantic methods of an unusually headstrong bull. The belligerent cowhand is right behind her, ready to sling her over his shoulder and carry her, alive and kicking, all the way to Montana. Even as she’s ducking out from under his clumsy but confident embraces, and screeching at him fiercely to shut him up, she is inexplicably drawn to him. As a counterpoint to the main romance, the proprietor of the cafe and the bus driver find time to develop a friendship of their own; a middle-age scholar comes to terms with himself; and a young girl who works in the cafe gets her first taste of romance.

The Original Production

Bus Stop is a 1955 play by American playwright William Inge. Produced on Broadway, it was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1956. Bus Stop was adapted as a 1956 film of the same name, directed by Joshua Logan and starring Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray; none of the original Broadway cast repeated their roles for the film. The play was also adapted as a 26-episode TV series which aired on ABC from 1961–1962.

Based on slapstick comedies from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, the play included a Texas oil baron and his trophy wife, a famous female author, grieving sisters, railroad porters, a femme fatale, and rail henchmen intent on derailing the train. Honeymoon on the Rusted Rail was our first, original farce! It was a tale of murder, hidden identities, grifters, writers, and possible train derailments.

In 2011 BFCT put on a night of one-acts that was based around 1950’s “B” sci-fi movies. It was so much fun that the following year we thought about what could we do that could be equally fun but a totally different genre, so of course horror is where our minds went.

The Terror Double Feature: A Night of One-Acts consisted of two original one-acts written by the directors of each show, Curse of the Vampyre Host by Monte Amende and The Curious Case of Spring-Heeled Jack by Derek Olson. Each one-act was around 45 minutes long and utilized the same set, just dressed uniquely. Each show shared a giant 8 foot tall grand staircase that moved locations to help give both shows a different layout.

The casts were able to sink their “fangs” into each production, pardon the pun. It was a great time had by all, cast, crew and patrons. From the very first years of community theater, offering up different types of shows was always a priority.

M*A*S*H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and joining it are two of the best chest surgeons in South Korea, Hawkeye and Duke. They, along with their fellow doctors and nurses, attempt to maintain some fragment of sanity through the war while saving lives and working to send their young Korean friend, Ho-Jon, to America. The thread of this effort helps tie together the pileup of comic adventures involving other beloved characters while Colonel Blake tries to instill some kind of control. Hawkeye has a scene with a woman psychiatrist who believes he’s been trying to lobster-trap mermaids in a rice paddy! Three female USO performers arrive drawing starstruck attention from the men of the unit, but the annoyed nurses plot to get rid of the dancers. A sergeant is selling susceptible GIs fishing rights in the Bay of Phum. The supernaturally perceptive Radar O’Reilly, a soldier with incredible hearing, anticipates things before they happen. The pain-avoiding dentist is cured of dark moods by a Frankenstein-esque operation – frightening him from the depths of despair! Hotlips and Frank Burns up to their same old antics while Father Mulcahy is there to keep everyone grounded. It’s all here, including a little romance mixed in with dramatic moments and a genuine love of life. Oh, yes, Ho-Jon does get his education in the United States!