Category Archives: All Years

The Seagull (March 12-28, 2009)

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A Comedy by Anton Chekhov adapted by Jean-Claude van Itallie

“It is sublimely understood Chekov…an event and a thrilling one.” – New York Post

“[Your] theatre troupe is always better than professional.” (D.M. —Toronto, ON)

The Seagull, a work that the author himself claimed contained “five tons of love”, is a play about a very human tendency to reject love that is freely given and seek it where it is withheld. Many of its characters are caught in a destructive, triangular relationship that evokes both pathos and humor. What the characters cannot successfully parry is the destructive force of time, the passage of which robs some, like famous actress Madame Arkadina, of beauty, and others, like her sensitive would-be-writer son Konstantine, of hope.

The School For Wives (January 15-31, 2009)

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A Comedy by Molière translated by Richard Wilbur

“…the perfect antidote to a dreary and cold winter’s night!” (P.L. —Whitby, ON)

“…a thing of joy…a carefree, happy and sparkling romp to be seen and enjoyed by young and old alike.” – New York Newsday

Arnolphe has trained Agnes since childhood to be his wife, teaching her only to sew, pray, and serve him. But as their wedding approaches his plan goes ridiculously awry; Agnes is so innocent she doesn’t know better than to fall in love—with someone else. A frothy, hilarious take on love and marriage, this classic farce will tickle every funny bone in your body.

Hedda Gabler (November 13-29, 2008)

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A Drama by Henrik Ibsen adapted by Jon Robin Baitz

“…when else have you seen a Hedda Gabler that moved with such compelling force and fluency…? Baitz’s loosened-up, colloquial translation is perfect…” – New York Times

The aristocratic daughter of the legendary General Gabler returns from her honeymoon as the bride of academic but ineffectual George Tesman to face a precarious social position and a shadowy figure from her checkered past. The danger of her situation and growing dissatisfaction with her marriage leads the headstrong Hedda Gabler to wreak confusion and despair upon all who cross her in her increasingly desperate attempt to escape.

California Suite (September 25 – October 11, 2008)

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A Comedy by Neil Simon

“…Neil Simon in top form…” – New York Times

The laughs are abundant in this play by one of the masters of American comedy. California Suite is a classic Neil Simon comedy which takes place at the Beverly Hills Hotel during the weekend of the Academy Awards celebration and follows the misadventures of four groups of guests, including a divorced couple battling over the custody of their daughter, a husband who gets caught with a hooker in his room by his wife, a British actress nominated for an Oscar and her straying gay husband and two competing doctors and their wives forced to share a hotel room.

An Italian Straw Hat (May 1-17, 2008)

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A Musical Farce by Eugene Labiche and Marc-Michel translated by Lynn and Theodore Hoffmann

“Sight gags, clever word play, screwball comedy … and all embellished with song and dance!”

In this renowned comedy with songs in the French 19th century farcical vaudeville tradition, the hero, M. Fadinard, is about to get married when an attractive lady and her irate lover pop up. They announce that his horse has compromised her by eating her rare Italian straw showFive and that they will not leave the bridal chamber until Fadinard has produced an identical one. The mayhem that ensues – mistaken identities, characters hiding behind closed doors, and all the other devices of French farce – create an evening of unparalleled hilarity. And all embellished with song and dance!

The Little Foxes (March 6-22, 2008)

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A Drama by Lillian Hellman

“What was a man in a wheelchair doing on a staircase?”

Picture a charming home in the American south, but into the scene put the despotic Hubbard family: Ben, possessive and scheming; Oscar, cruel and arrogant; Leo, weak and unprincipled; Regina, wickedly clever. In contrast, meet lonely, intimidated Birdie; wistful Alexandra, Regina’s daughter; and Horace, ailing husband of Regina. The Hubbard men lack a large amount of money to build a cotton mill. This, they hope, will come from Horace who has been in hospital with a heart ailment. Theft ensues, but Regina learns of the plot and after her husband is stricken with a severe attack, blackmails her brothers.

‘Art’ (January 10-26, 2008)

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A Comedy by Yasmina Reza translated by Chrisopher Hampton

“How much would you pay for a white painting?”

One of Marc’s best friends, Serge, has just purchased a white painting. To Marc, the painting is a joke, but Serge insists that Marc doesn’t have the proper standards to judge the work. Another friend, Ivan, although burdened by his own problems, likes the work. Lines are drawn and these old friends square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. Arguments become more personal. Serge gives Marc a felt pen and dares him, “Go on!”. Friendship is finally tested but the aftermath affirms the power of those bonds.

A Streetcar Named Desire (November 15 – December 1, 2007)

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A Drama by Tennessee Williams

“One of the greatest dramas in theatre, adored by audiences since its Broadway opening in 1949”

The play reveals to the very depths, the character of Blanche du Bois, a woman whose life has been undermined by her romantic illusions, which lead her to reject – so far as possible – the realities of life with which she is faced and which she consistently ignores. The pressures brought to bear by her sister Stella with whom she goes to New Orleans to live, intensified by Stella’s very earthy young husband, Stanley, lead to a revelation of her tragic self-delusion and ultimate madness.