Tag Archives: Comedy

Exit Laughing (Sept 27 – Oct 6, 2018)

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The first play of our 42nd season is the hysterically funny Exit Laughing by Paul Elliott. When the highlight of your life for the past 30 years has been a weekly bridge night out with the girls, what do you do when one of your foursome inconveniently dies?  You “borrow” the ashes from the funeral home for one last card game and the wildest, most exciting night of your life.If you like your jokes bold and laugh-out-loud funny, Exit Laughing will be exactly what you’re looking for. You’ll certainly “exit laughing.”

“…uproarious comedy with a message… peels of laughter and a few tears of joy.” ~ Suburban Times, Washington
“This is the funniest play I’ve seen for ages! …witty dialogue, full of innuendos, had the audience rolling in the aisles.” ~ Stage Whispers

The Chalk Garden (Mar 22-31, 2018)

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The Chalk Garden by Enid Bagnold. It is simplistic to describe it as a Comedy Drama – in reality, it is a beautifully-written and thoughtful drama disguised as a drawing room comedy.

Mrs. St. Maugham lives in her substantial but faded manor house by the sea in Sussex, where the garden is composed of lime and chalk. She is taking care of her teenage grandchild, Laurel, who has been setting fires. Miss Madrigal, an expert gardener, is hired as a governess, despite her lack of references. Also in the household is a valet, Maitland, who has just been released from a five-year sentence in prison. Olivia, Laurel’s mother, who has remarried, arrives for a visit. When the Judge comes to the house for lunch, he reveals that he had sentenced Miss Madrigal to jail for murder… Recently revived to acclaim on the West End in 2008, this psychological chamber piece explores the secret world of childhood through the prism of a dyed-in-the-wool British dowager Mrs. St. Maugham and her precocious and equally eccentric granddaughter Laurel. When the enigmatic Miss Madrigal is hired as household companion and manager, the two finally meet their match. Revived several times on Broadway and in the West End, a film version appeared in 1964, starring Edith Evans, Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills and John Mills. Angela Lansbury was due to appear in a Broadway revival in June 2017, but has just backed out because (unsurprisingly!) she feels that can’t cope with the prospect of having to play 8 performances a week at the age of 91.

“Enid Bagnold’s The Chalk Garden opened in London in 1956, just a few weeks before John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger… More than half a century on, it now seems the greater play. Indeed… this half-forgotten, dust-encrusted drama looks like a true 20th-century masterpiece.” ~ Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph, 2008

“A tantalizing, fascinating and stimulating piece of theatre.” ~ New York Daily News

“This endearing play never seems to age, perhaps because its characters are written with such wit and brittle cleverness…It is a fragile, gossamer-winged play…”~ Rex Reed, Chicago Tribune, 1971

“…Enid Bagnold’s splendidly crafted well made play (and this term is used with no pejorative intent) is delightful to the ear. Gems of lines emerge on balance from almost every character at regular intervals, and each scene has its own, delightful, curtain line. This is a thinking man and woman’s drawing room comedy with explorations of mother daughter relations, class distinctions, and marvelous reflections on the law.” ~ ChicagoCritic

“A very fresh and personal kind of play with wit, literacy, and an almost unearthly integrity.” – New York Herald Tribune

“Bagnold’s most audacious trick was to disguise her coruscating study of mother/daughter relationships, lovelessness and the collapse of upper-class control as a laugh-aloud comedy. Her dialogue has a glistening comic surface that Oscar Wilde would have envied.” ~ Variety

“… the late Bagnold (who also penned the better-known National Velvet) is one of the most underestimated of the post-war British playwrights, probably because she was a woman writing mainly about, and for, other women.” ~ Chicago Tribune, 2006

Born Yesterday (Nov 23 – Dec 2, 2017)

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The second play, running between November 17 and December 2, 2017, will be the glorious classic of the American stage which enjoyed one of the longest runs in history, Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin. It has roles for 12 men and 5 women.

A Broadway triumph-turned-1950 Academy Award-nominated film, Born Yesterday is a deliciously witty screwball comedy about a corrupt businessman trying to get ahead. Harry Brock, a vulgar, egotistical junk-dealer millionaire on the rise, hunkers down in a lavishly decorated hotel room in Washington with his brassy chorus girl girlfriend Billie Dawn in tow. Hoping to influence a senator in some personal business dealings, he soon gets advice suggesting that the seemingly dim-witted blonde will need a little polish to get ahead in D.C. society. Brock hires a newspaperman for the task but gets more than he bargained for when, in a deliriously funny and romantic turn of events, he discovers a little bit of learning can be a dangerous thing. “Total comic bliss” said theNew York Times.

Born Yesterday premiered on Broadway in 1946, and seventy years later it still entertains and gently enlightens. Regardless of the time period, the play is far more relevant than you might think. It is about wealth, political corruption, education and opportunity. As the current political situation in the United States demonstrates, there is still plenty to say on these topics, and evidently Kanin felt the same way back in the forties. It has been revived successfully on Broadway several times.

Anything to Declare? (May 18-27, 2017)

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STAGE CENTRE PRODUCTIONS

proudly present the fifth and final play of their milestone 40th season

  

Anything to Declare? 

A chaotic and wacky farce by Maurice Hennequin and Pierre Veber

Translated and adapted by Greg Leaming

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“Side-splittingly funny… The utterly ridiculous is also utterly hilarious. From start to finish Anything to Declare? had me giggling.” ~ The Mancunian, 2014

*8are c y, a boulevard comedy that is This is a funny,

Directed by Tony Rein 

Producer: Michael James Burgess

Stage Manager: Lorraine Kimsa

Set Design: J. B. Pierre Rajotte

Lighting by Clay Warner

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With Tommy Boston, Katherine Cappellacci, Michael Chodos, Kate Coursey, Robert Glen, Jennie Garde,

Jen Hashimoto, Catherine Linehan, Kalen Malan, James Marshall, Pierre Rivard, Lindsay Woodford and Michael Yaneff

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“Panic is the chief ingredient…. as the emergencies mount for a bashful bridegroom, his hypocritical father-in-law, a frustrated former suitor and a de-pantsed camel dealer.” ~ San Francisco Chronicle

The Dupont family is thrilled that their naïve young daughter has married Count Robert de Trivelin. However, upon returning from their honeymoon, it is made clear that the young bridegroom has yet to consummate the marriage, and indeed seems to be suffering from a psychological block brought on by a border crossing guard yelling out “Have you anything to declare?” at a particularly inopportune moment. The hapless count’s in-laws give him a three-day deadline by which to do his duty. If he fails, his bride will be handed over to a rival suitor!

With such a short time left to meet his mother-in-law’s demands for a grandson, or at least the promise of one, the count seeks the assistance of Zeze, a courtesan who is passing herself off to her clientele as a prominent artist and nicknames her clients after famous painters.  The entire Dupont family manages to parade through Zeze’s salon and back to the Dupont home, along with a sobbing ex-suitor of the bride, a camel dealer of unknown origin, and a maid desperate to break ties with Zeze and start a career of her own. As the clock continues to tick away, a chaotic race to consummate the marriage results in everyone learning just a little bit more than they might have wanted to!

Yes, the play is all about sex — but sex in a world of old-fashioned innocence where young women remain chaste until their wedding night and husbands would do anything — including a visit to a ‘working girl’ — to prove how much they love their wives. But it’s a French farce, of course, which means that innocence is wrapped in a wacky story of misplaced pants, mistaken identities, and a whirlwind of zany characters running in and out of lots of doors.

Anything to Declare?, with its bawdy innuendo, utterly absurd situations, and sparkling characterizations, will have Stage Centre audiences laughing until the final curtain!

“Improbable situations, mistaken identity, stylized performances and verbal dexterity on themes of various levels of sophistication.” ~ Stage Magazine, 2012

 May 18 – 20 & May 24 – 27, 2017: 8:00 p.m.

May 21 & 27, 2017:  2:00 pm Matinee

 “Great fun!” ~ Michael Billington, The Guardian, 2007

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For further information please contact 416-299-5557

Stepping Out (March 16-25, 2017)

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STAGE CENTRE PRODUCTIONS

proudly present the fourth play of their 40th season

“A surefire winner.” ~ New York Daily News

Stepping-Out-Banner

 

A delightful and heart-warming comedy

*

“You’ll stand up and cheer.” ~ WABC-TV

**

Directed by Lorraine Kimsa 

Producer, Stage Manager and Set Designer: Todd Davies

Lighting by Jaime Farley   

*

With Astrid Atherly, Cathy Condie, Brad Emes,

Willene Falconer, Judy Gans, Jennie Garde, Heather Goodall, Nikki Hogan, Isabel Hornstein and Cindy Platten

*

“… a character driven plot… mixed with comic and dramatic moments… an excellent show with laughs and poignancy along the way.” ~ The Theater Mirror

 

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This well-loved comedy charts the lives of seven women and one man attempting to tap their troubles away at a weekly dancing class. Initially all thumbs and left feet, the group is just getting to grips with the basics when they are asked to take part in a charity gala.

Over the course of several months we meet the group, and all of them have a story to tell. There’s haughty Vera, mouthy Maxine and uptight Andy; bubbly Sylvia and shy Dorothy; eager Lynne and cheerful Rose, and, of course, Geoffrey. At the piano is the dour Mrs. Fraser and spurring them all on, the ever-patient Mavis, a former professional chorus girl, who tries her hardest to teach the bumbling amateurs some terpsichorean skills.

The original production opened at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, in 1984 and ran for almost three years. It was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy. Stepping Out played on Broadway in 1987 and has been staged successfully world-wide by both professional and amateur companies. A new production plays at London’s Vaudeville Theatre between March and June this year.

Stepping Out was produced as a film in 1991, directed by Lewis Gilbert, and starring Liza Minnelli, with Julie Walters who was nominated for a BAFTA Award.

Stage Centre Productions are offering a highly entertaining version of this well-loved favourite, one not to be missed.

“A funny, slick show which leaves you with a warm glow.” ~ The British Theatre Guide

 

March 16 – 18 & March 22 – 25, 2017: 8:00 p.m.

March 19 & 25, 2017:  2:00 pm Matinee

 

“Constantly simmers with laughter.” ~ Sunday Express

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Stage Centre Productions’ fourth play of the 40th season at the Fairview Library Theatre, Stepping Out opens on Thursday, March 16, 2017 and runs until Saturday, March 25, 2017. Please call the Box Office at 416-299-5557 to reserve tickets or book on line through http://www.stagecentreproductions.com.

DATES:  March 16 to 19 (Thursday to Sunday) and March 22 to 25 (Wednesday to Saturday)

MEDIA/VIP OPENING:  Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.

TIMES:   Performances begin at 8:00 p.m., except the matinees on March 19 and 25, which begin at 2:00 p.m.

 

TICKETS:  Adults $30 Seniors/Students $25   To order tickets call 416-299-5557 or click http://www.stagecentreproductions.com.

LOCATION: Fairview Public Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall Drive, North York, steps away from the Don Mills Subway Station on the Sheppard Line. There is plenty of free parking in the Fairview Mall parking lot. Both wheelchair access and hearing devices are available.

Stage Centre Productions, a full repertory theatre company founded in 1977 and dedicated to presenting a wide cross-section of plays, usually offers five productions each season. We are now celebrating our 40th season with Entertaining Angels (September 29 to October 8, 2016), The Best Man (November 24 to December 3, 2016), Strictly Murder (January 26 to February 4, 2017),Stepping Out (March 16 to 25, 2017) and Anything to Declare? (May 18 to 27, 2017). This season is the sixth under Artistic Director Michael James Burgess, who brings many years of experience to the company.

 

The company constructs all the sets, costumes, wigs and properties required for each production at its rehearsal workshop in Scarborough.

 

For more information about Stage Centre Productions check out our website at http://www.stagecentreproductions.com.

For further information please contact 416-299-5557

Entertaining Angels (Sept 29 – Oct 8, 2016)

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Entertaining Angels by Richard Everett
From September 29 to October 8, 2016

A North American premiere!

As a vicar’s wife in an English country parish, Grace has spent a lifetime on her best behaviour. Now, after the death of her husband Bardolph, she can enjoy the new-found freedom of being able to say and do exactly what she wants. But the return of her eccentric missionary sister, Ruth, together with some disturbing revelations, forces Grace to confront the truth of her marriage. Set in a lush vicarage garden, the play is filled with sharp-edged comedy and probing wit. “A very English comedy with some real emotion… scratch the surface and you’ll find interesting undercurrents rippling the water… Adultery, miscarriage, divorce and deception interestingly handled all, are just some of the problems that writer Richard Everett beds down among well-received jokes… This is a sure-fire hit…” ~ London Evening Standard

You Never Can Tell (May 19-28, 2016)

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An Irish Comedy by George Bernard Shaw.

The comedy You Never Can Tell was George Bernard Shaw’s 1896 answer to The Importance of Being Earnest. As the play opens, Mrs. Clandon and her children, Dolly, Phillip and Gloria, have just returned to England 18 years after their departure. The children have no idea who their father is and, through a comedy of errors, end up inviting him to a family lunch. At the same time, a dentist named Valentine has fallen in love with the eldest daughter, Gloria, who considers herself a modern woman and claims to have no interest in love or marriage. Will Valentine succeed in changing her mind? Throughout the play, the wise and friendly waiter, Walter (most commonly referred to by the characters as “William,” because Dolly thinks he resembles Shakespeare), dispenses his wisdom with the titular phrase “You Never Can Tell.” The New York Dramatic Mirror thought the comedy “So full of whimsical turns . . . It is brainy champagne.” We hope you will think so too!

Leading Ladies (March 17-26, 2016)

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By Ken Ludwig.

In this uproarious comedy two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that a local old lady plans to leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, Jack and Leo resolve to pass themselves off as her relatives and get the cash. Complications ensue when they find out that the relatives aren’t nephews but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady’s vivacious niece, Meg, who’s engaged to the local minister, who is anything but vivacious! Meg knows that there’s a wide world out there, but it’s not until she meets “Maxine and Stephanie” that she finally gets a taste of it. “Leading Ladies is consistently funny − indeed, increasingly hilarious as it progresses.” ~ Houston Chronicle.