September is a month where one thinks about going back to school, the upcoming football season, and cooler weather arriving. It’s not a month that one may think as being a month for live theatre. It is if one is in Kent and Northern Queen Anne’s Counties. Due to an oddity in scheduling both Church Hill Theatre and the Garfield Center for the Arts in Chestertown will be opening shows.
Church Hill Theatre will open their fall production “Sisters Rosensweig” this Friday September 7, 2018. Garfield Center’s “Animal Crackers” opens a week later on Friday September 14th. Both shows will run for three weekends.
“Sisters Rosensweig”, directed by Shelagh Grasso, is Wendy Wasserstein play about the lives of contemporary women—smart, ambitious, creative and often frustrated by societal expectations. The sisters are Sara Goode, an international banker living in London; Gorgeous Teitelbaum, a radio talk show host; and Pfeni Rosensweig, a world traveler. The three come together for Sara’s birthday at Sara’s home in London.
Colleen Minahan plays Sara, Jen Friedman plays Gorgeous, and Melissa McGlynn plays Pfeni. John Shratwieser portays Geoffrey, a theater director and John Haas takes the role of his friend Merv, a furrier. Shannon Whitaker is Tess, Sara’s revolutionary daughter and Nic Carter plays Tom, her equally political boyfriend. Bob Chauncey portrays Nicholas, an influential Englishman.
The production team includes Stage Manager, Michelle Christopher; Producer, Sally Borghart; Choreographer, Lucia Calloway, and Costumers, Tina Johnson, Sally Borghart and Emerson Borghart. Carmelo Grasso and Tom Rhodes built the set from a design by Carmelo and Shelagh Grasso.
The “Sisters Rosensweig” opens at Church Hill Theatre on September 7, 2018, and runs through September 23, with performances on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm and Sunday afternoons at 2 pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, with special prices for groups of ten or more. CHT offers 2 for the price of 1 tickets on opening night, Friday, September 7, to those who reserve by phone. Reservations can be made by calling the box office at 410-556-6003 or online at www.churchhilltheatre.org
On September 14th The Marx Brother’s classic comedy musical “Animal Crackers” opens at the Garfield Center for the Arts in Chestertown. The second musical production this year at the Garfield Center, earlier this year the center produced Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd”, is directed by Jennifer Kafka Smith and was ritten by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind with music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby. Following the formula of The Marx Brothers it’s an hilarious throw-back to the vaudeville stage of the 1920’s. “Animal Crackers” was first produced in 1928, the same year that the theatre opened.
The cast has a number of local favorites as well as relative newcomers. The Marx Brother’s characters are play by Jim Landskroener, Zac Ryan, Kirby Powell and Ian Ellison. Diane Landskroener plays Mrs Rittenhouse, the host of the party, and Natalie Lane as her daughter. Julie Lawrence, Mike Heffron, Dan Guidice, Bee Betley, Gretchen Sachse, Mallory Westlund, Brianna Johnson and Brooke Ezzo guests, each bringing surprises to the party. Hives, the Head Butler, is played by Brad Chaires with Robin Wood and MG Brosius as his staff.
The show runs for three weekends, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm, September 14-30. Animal Crackers is sponsored in part by Germaine’s Carry Out and PNC Bank. The Garfield Center for the Arts is located at 210 High Street in Chestertown and can be reached by calling the box office at 410-810-2060 or by email at boxoffice@garfieldcenter.org.
A week after the closing of “Sisters Rosensweig” Church Hill Theatre will hosting the book-in show “Hitched” written and directed by local playwright Earl Lewin for two weekends beginning September 28th for 2 weekends. Fridays and Saturdays performances at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. Reservations can be made by calling the box office at 410-556-6003 or online at www.churchhilltheatre.org
