Our 1998-1999 Season
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Directed by Marianne Phinney Close Ties is a warm-hearted, eloquently-written family drama that blends humor and compassion as family members come to grips with the problem of how best to provide for an aging parent. Set in the Berkshires, the play focuses on Josephine Whitaker, the matriarch of the Whitaker/Frye family, who bustles about energetically and bosses those around her even though she has long since given the house to her daughter, Bess. Family tensions and good-natured bickering fade into the background as the family faces the problems caused by Josephine's failing memory and debates whether she should be allowed to live alone. |
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Moon
Over Buffalo Directed by Pam McArdle <
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It is June, 1953. While Lunt and Fontanne became legends of Broadway, Charlotte and George Hay have been out on the road, leading their acting troupe in a repertory of dusty classics. The sets and costumes may be limited, but the performances are definitely grand. When Charlotte learns some unexpected news from the ingenue Eileen, she storms out of the theatre, leaving her husband in a rage. Then word arrives that the great Frank Capra himself is flying to Buffalo to see the matinee that very afternoon. There has been a disaster in Hollywood, and Capra is desperate for an actor to replace Ronald Coleman. Will Frank Capra whisk the Hays off to Hollywood? Will George persuade Charlotte to return to the show? Will Paul steal Rosalind back from Howard? Will Charlotte really be happy with Richard? Why Buffalo? These and other fascinating questions answered in two acts of hilarious comedy by the author of Lend Me a Tenor. |
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Music
by Jerry Bock Directed
by Barbara Pettis |
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It is hard to recall now that Fiddler on the Roof, based on the short story "Tevye and His Daughters" by Sholom Aleichem, was criticized at first for its "limited appeal." Over thirty years later, Fiddler on the Roof is one of the most beloved musicals ever performed on Broadway. Set in 1905, Fiddler on the Roof takes place in Anatevka, a small Jewish village in Russia. Dairyman Tevye struggles to preserve his family traditions against the inroads of a changing world. When his eldest daughter, Tzeitel, begs him to let her marry a poor tailor rather than the middle-aged butcher that he has already chosen for her, Tevye must choose between his own daughter's happiness and those beloved traditions that keep the outside world at bay. Meanwhile, there are other forces at work in Anatevka, dangerous forces which threaten to destroy the very life he is trying to preserve. Filled with wonderful songs like "Tradition," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "If I Were a Rich Man," "To Life," and "Sunrise, Sunset," Fiddler on the Roof is a classic for the entire family. |
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