2009 - 2010 SEASON


Roebling: The Story of the Brooklyn Bridge
Sep 25 - Oct 11, 20109

The world premiere of local playwright Mark L. Violi's epic drama about Trenton's Roebling family, who - against all odds - designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge. Cheryl Doyle directs.

Bell, Book and Candle
Oct 30 - Nov 15, 2009

John Van Druten's classic comedy about a 20th century Manhattan witch who falls in love with a mere mortal, while her warlock brother and witch aunt try to scuttle the love boat. This popular "old chestnut" will be served in time for Halloween. A show brimming with tricks and treats!

A Christmas Carol - in repertory with The Christmas Carol Conspiracy: Scrooge's Revenge
Dec 4 - 20, 2009

On alternating nights, we present two shows: First, a faithful rendition of Charles Dickens' immortal heart-touching tale of Scrooge, adapted by Joe and Cheryl Doyle. No gaudy special effects; the magic is in the script. Second, Joe Doyle's silly 1996 send-up of the original - lampooning that it was all a trick in the first place. Scrooge learns he'd been duped and plots revenge! Sparks fly, laughs abound! Directed by Joe Doyle.

On Borrowed Time
Jan 15 - 31, 2010

Paul Osborn's stage adaptation of the L.E. Watkins novel. An old man traps death itself up a tree and refuses to let it down. While up there, no one dies. This disturbance of the natural order makes for a thoughtful and heart-warming fantasy.

The Play's the Thing
Feb 26 - Mar 14, 2010

P.G. Wodehouse adapted Ferenc Molnar's comic farce. A playwright and his collaborator bring a young composer in love with the leading lady of an upcoming musical to a weekend retreat. The trio overhear the leading lady having a dalliance with another man. The jilted composer vows to kill the production. Overnight, the playwright invents a new story line to save the show by convincing the playwright what they overheard was not an actual romantic overture, but a rehearsal of new dialogue for their play. This witty romp has it all.

A Moon for the Misbegotten
Apr 16 - May 2, 2010

Eugene O'Neill's masterwork. In 1920s Connecticut, sly Irishman Phil Hogan and his daughter, Josie, live on a farm owned by poetic lost soul James Tyrone Jr., who loves to visit the farm to drink with the old man and flirt with the daughter. When an enemy tries to buy the farm out from under them, Hogan and his daughter scheme to trick Tyrone into bedding Josie, catching him in the act and forcing a marriage. On a moonlit night the seduction begins. By dawn the pretending gives way to much more as sorrows are revealed, passions are exposed and souls are cleansed. Directed by Cheryl Doyle.

Much Ado About Nothing
May 21 - Jun 6, 2010

Shakespeare's timeless comedy. Young lovers Hero and Claudio are to be wed in one week. For a lark, they conspire with Don Pedro to set a "lover's trap" for arrogant confirmed bachelor Benedick and his favorite sparring partner, Beatrice . Meanwhile, the evil Don Jon conspires to break up the wedding by accusing Hero of infidelity, which leads to denunciation, tears, and a faked death. In the end, though, it all turns out to be "much ado about nothing." Amidst the two love stories, the members of the local constabulary provide some hilarious slapstick.

Into the Woods
Jul 9 - 25, 2011

James Lapine wrote the book and the incomparable Stephen Sondheim the words and music for this fractured fairytale - the story of a childless baker and his wife, who attempt to reverse a curse in order to have a child. Act I ends with all ready to live "happily ever after." Then Act II - and reality - strikes. The lively irreverent fantasy becomes a moving lesson about community responsibility and the tales we tell our children. Directed by Cheryl Doyle..