Tag Archives: Comedy

The Play’s the Thing (January 12-21, 2012)

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A Comedy by Ferenc Molnar

The Play’s The Thing is one of the funniest comedies ever written about the theatre. In it, playwright Turai and his collaborator bring a young composer, Albert Adam, on a surprise visit to a castle on the Italian Rivera with their prima donna, Ilona, Albert’s fiancee. When Albert overhears his beloved being wooed in her boudoir, Turai tells him it is all a silly mistake, explaining to the besotted young man that the passionate scene was merely a rehearsal for a new play. To support his fabrication, Turai stays up all night to write a play which includes the overheard love talk. The next day, during a public rehearsal, the suggestive dialogue is reborn as an innocent, harmless bit of dialogue from a play, but actually a barbed satire showing just how ridiculous a writer can make an actor appear, especially when the actor is in no position to protest!

Praise for The Play’s the Thing

 

Pygmalion (January 14-30, 2010)

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A Comedy by George Bernard Shaw

One of Shaw’s finest plays, and a source of theatre-audience delight for over a hundred years! It achieved further distinction when adapted into the stunning musical My Fair Lady. Phonetics expert Henry Higgins, wagers he can transform the flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into a lovely lady of high society.

“The most brilliant comedy of the century.” – Times of London

Private Lives (October 1-17, 2009)

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A Comedy by Noël Coward

Amanda and Elyot can’t live together and they can’t live apart. When they discover they are honeymooning in the same hotel with their new spouses, they not only fall in love all over again, they learn to hate each other all over again. A comedy with a dark underside, fireworks fly as each character yearns desperately for love.

“…[Noël] Coward is most seriously good when he is funniest.” – New York Times

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.

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.

‘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.

Come Blow Your Horn (September 27 – October 13, 2007)

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A Comedy by Neil Simon

Vintage Neil Simon at his best!

Harry Baker, owner of the largest artificial fruit business in the east, has two sons. Alan is a thirty-three year old playboy; Buddy, a different twenty-one year old with an urge to assert himself. These two are continually trying their father’s easily abused patience. Alan works only two days a week, and plays for five. Buddy, hitherto an obedient son, has moved into his brother’s bachelor apartment leaving a rebellious letter by way of explanation. The richly comic complications that ensue are unfailingly inventive and arise out of character and are never mere gags