This SeasonWelcome to the 2011/2012 Season at the Linkville Playhouse.
Oscar Wilde's sparkling comedy, The Importance Of Being Earnest, is subtitled "A Trivial Comedy For Serious People", which provides some insight into what the author thought of the work that has become his most enduring- ly popular play and his best-known and most frequently revived work. The 2011 Broadway revival received very favorable reviews and has been very popular with audiences. Wilde's fun-filled comedy of manners is a social satire full of high farce and witty dialogue in which the two protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape several otherwise burdensome obligations. Considered scandalous by the standards of 1895, the play is the story of two proper young Englishmen who claim to be "Ernest", but they are not, and two young English women who are in love with two men named "Ernest". While both men are indeed "earnest", neither of them is, in fact, "Ernest". You will delight in Wilde's use of the English language and his clever use of biting humor and sarcasm. Witty and buoyant from beginning to end and full of some of literature's most famous epigrams, The Importance Of Being Earnest is a fitting choice for the first production of the new season. Rehearsals have started for this production. Here is a sneak peak of what you'll be seeing!
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 By: Paula Vogel Directed by: Heather Sha and Nick Hill November 18 - December 10, 2011 Eight Evening Performances and Two Matinees Beautifully crafted by Paula Vogel, a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and university professor, The Baltimore Waltz won off-Broadway's prestigious Obie Award for "Best Play" of 1992. One of the first American plays to address the AIDS epidemic, Vogel's farce is essentially a series of comic vignettes underlined by tragedy that trace the European odyssey of a sister and brother, Anna and Carl, as they search for love and adventure. The siblings are also seeking a cure for her terminal illness, the fictitious ATD ("Acquired Toilet Disease"), which Anna contracted by using the children's bathrooms at the elementary school where she teaches. Knowing that her life is nearing its end, Anna goes through various stages of grief, including denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance while discovering an additional stage as well. Assisting the pair is the mysterious "Third Man", a nod to The Third Man, the 1949 suspense film starring Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles, to which Vogel makes frequent reference in her play. Vogel's award-winning stage work was written in response to the 1988 death of her brother, Carl, who died from complications due to AIDS before they were able to enjoy a long-planned European vacation together. Purchase tickets for The Baltimore Waltz online:(Please not that at this time only Orchestra Seating is available online. Also not that any student, senior or military discount will be refunded at the door and not online.)
Clarissa, the second wife of Henry Hailsham Brown, a British diplomat, is adept at spinning tales of adventure for members of their bored circle of friends. When a gruesome murder takes place in the drawing room of their home in the English countryside, she finds live drama much harder to cope with, especially since she suspects the murderer might be her young stepdaughter, Pippa. Worse still, the victim is the man who broke up Henry's first marriage. Moreover, Henry will be arriving soon with a very important diplomatic guest, who is likely to take a dim view of bodies in the drawing room. Clarissa's fast talking places her and Pippa in some hair-raising experiences but, by the time Henry arrives, the murderer has been unmasked and all is seemingly normal once again...so normal, in fact, that Henry is unable to believe Clarissa when she attempts to explain why there are no refreshments ready to be served to their honored guest. Filled with both laughter and shocking revelations in equal amounts, Spider's Web is somewhat lighter than other Agatha Christie murder mysteries, such as The Mousetrap, And Then There Were None and Witness For The Prosecution. Purchase tickets for Spider's Web online:(Please not that at this time only Orchestra Seating is available online. Also not that any student, senior or military discount will be refunded at the door and not online.)
Amy's View is a four-part play that takes place over the course of 16 years and tells the story of the relationship between Esme Allen, an aging but still prominent stage actress, and her daughter, Amy Thomas, the author of a small publication called "Amy's View", which was written when she was a girl. Amy's continuing relationship with Dominic, an aspiring filmmaker, provides the basis for the ongoing conflict between Esme and Dominic based on their differing opinions about technology-based entertainment (including film) versus live theatre. The play also includes strongly-espoused opinions on marriage, love, fame, fidelity, betrayal, personal and artistic integrity along with the sometimes elusive ethics of the corporate world, among various other subjects. The well-known British playwright, David Hare, has often been noted for his critical views of society, politics and popular culture. Amy's View is a softer example of his cultural and political commentary and provides some insight into his views about the negative influence being exerted by the continued growth and evolution of technology-based entertainment on the performing arts, which is even more important today than it was 14 years ago, when Amy's View was presented on Broadway starring Judy Dench as Esme. Purchase tickets for Amy's View online:(Please not that at this time only Orchestra Seating is available online. Also not that any student, senior or military discount will be refunded at the door and not online.)
The infamous tale of Benjamin Barker, an unjustly exiled barber, comes to vivid life in Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. After an absence of 15 years, Benjamin Barker returns to 19th century London to seek revenge against the lecherous judge who framed him, ravaged his young wife and imprisoned Joanna, the Barker's beautiful daughter. Using the assumed name of Sweeney Todd, the barber opens his long-empty shop for business and, after slitting the throat of his first victim, a rival barber, his thirst for blood expands to include one unfortunate customer after another. Soon, Mrs. Lovett, the ever-resourceful proprie- tress of the pie shop downstairs, has the people of London lining up in droves for her new meat pie recipe. Since it first appeared on Broadway more than 30 years ago, Sweeney Todd has become one of Sondheim's most popular works. It is musically sophisticated, delightfully macabre, excitingly visceral and dramatically uncompromising. Nonetheless, it has a great sense of fun by combining intense drama with extraordinarily comic moments of dark humor. Audiences will find themselves laughing uproariously one moment and gasping with shock and surprise the next.
How many times can you murder the same guy? It's Murder Ya Know is a zany spoof (in three short acts) of every murder mystery you've ever seen or read that will be certain to cause gales of laughter among those in the audience who recognize the source of each and every plot development. It's Murder Ya Know was written a local playwright who is incredibly well-known for her contributions to Broadway that have never reached production. This special production is being presented in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Linkville Players in 1961 and as part of the Downtown Association's annual "Scarecrow Row" event. In addition to It's Murder Ya Know, the Linkville is also presenting a series of "Little Linkville" Plays for children on Saturday, October 22 and 29, at 2:00 p.m. There will also be an opportunity to spend the night at the Linkville on October 29th at the invitation of its ghosts. The evening will include movies, snacks and stories appropriate to the occasion. IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This season, the Linkville Players will present a series of matinee performances of "Little Linkville" plays for children, each of which will be approximately 20 minutes long. at $2 per person. October's Y Domingo Siete will be the first in the series. This whimsical story is based upon a Mexican folk tale and tells the story of a hunchbacked brother and sister who are outcasts in their small village. The sister, who is brave and kind, finds adventure and fun in the forest when she meets a band of forgetful fairies and a couple of mischievous ogres. The brother, however, who is not so brave and kind, learns a hard lesson about the price he must pay for being selfish and angry. December's play will be "holiday-appropriate" for children and will emphasize the spirit of Christmas and the joy of giving as well as all the fun to be had during the holidays. March's Peggy The Pint-Sized Pirate tells the story of a little pirate with a lot of heart. Peggy desperately wants to go on a real pirate mission to find treasure and to slay sea monsters. However, the other pirates think that, because she is just a little girl, she shouldn't be allowed to come along. When all the pirates are shipwrecked and captured by an angry sea monster, it's up to Peggy to save the day. . . and, maybe, the entire ocean as well. Please plan to join us for these special presentations. . . and bring the children along as well!
The Miss Firecracker Contest is the first play written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Beth Henley, and is among the group of Southern Gothic comedies for which the Crimes Of The Heart author is best-known. With this strange collection of Southern odd- balls, the general conclusion is that, even if the "real you" is not the fulfillment of your hopes and dreams, you will be more at peace if you learn to define and accept yourself on your own terms. The Miss Firecracker Contest is a warmly human drama that will make you feel more nor- mal than you know you really are. . . and it's a perfect way to enjoy the summertime! |
