Challenging times indeed for the Playhouse on the Green. Landlords have shut it down to cut costs, but that’s not stopping affiliated local thespians from producing their latest show Moon Over Buffalo at the United Congregational Church, Pilgrim Hall Theater, 877 Park Avenue. Check out details:
Playhouse on the Green, Bridgeport’s longtime resident theatre formerly known as The Polka Dot (Players), kicks off its 2011-2012 season with Ken Ludwig’s sure to please comedy, “Moon Over Buffalo,” Fridays through Sundays, Nov. 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19, 20 with a special tribute to U.S. veterans and active duty service personnel planned for its opening night performance November 11th. The hilarious comedy, featuring the antics of a chaotic, over-seasoned theatre troupe set in Buffalo, NY in 1953, is the show that brought Carol Burnett back to the Broadway stage with acclaim after a 30-year absence.
Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3:00 pm Sundays, at the Playhouse’s new temporary home at the United Congregational Church (UCC), Pilgrim Hall Theater, 877 Park Avenue, Bridgeport. Ticket Prices are: $20; $18 for students and seniors, with group discounts available for businesses and other groups of 10 or more. Discount tickets at $11 each are offered to all veterans and active duty personnel attending the November 11th opening performance. For ticket reservations call 203-366-4647.
Bridgeport businesses interested in sponsoring the opening performance saluting veterans and active duty personnel, or other upcoming performances in the coming season, are asked to contact the theatre at 203-366-4647.
“The Playhouse has had a difficult few months bereft of a permanent home, so we are particularly grateful to the UCC and its pastor, the Rev. Sara Smith, for allowing us to continue our long history of quality productions in Bridgeport this season at the UCC,” said Playhouse Co-Chairman B.J. Guggenheim. “This is the city we are committed to staying in,” she said.
After a decade in its location at 177 State Street the Playhouse on the Green was forced to relocate this past summer when the landlords of the landmark city theater shut it down to save operating costs pending future redevelopment plans. “While we continue to actively negotiate with the landlords of our longtime space on State Street, we have begun to look at other permanent options. Our partnership with the church has meanwhile made all the difference between being able to offer a season or going dark, and we can’t say enough about their community support and overall generosity,” Guggenheim said.
“Moon Over Buffalo” is directed by Stephen DiRocco and features a top-notch cast of local area actors, including Bob Filipowich as George Hay, the grandiose leader of a small but merry and well worn troupe of traveling actors; Kitty Robertson in the Carol Burnett role as Charlotte Hay, George’s long-suffering leading lady in life and on stage; Lisa Dahlstrom as the couple’s daughter Rosalind, struggling to create a “normal life” outside of the chaos of the theater realm; Andrea Garmun as Ethel, Charlotte’s acid-tongued, slightly deaf mother; Craig Harlow as Paul, the troupe manager and an old boyfriend of Roz; with Melinda Costello appearing as the troupe’s signature “ingénue,” who also happens to be in love with George. The zany antics of everyday life in the troupe are exacerbated by a visit from Rosalind’s current fiancé Howard, a TV weatherman played by Roger Dykeman, and Charlotte’s lawyer and lovesick suitor, played by Steve Benko.
