Happy Memorial Day!

Everything Coming up Noses?

This is pure fun and I will dedicate to my daughter who loves Noses ... and Sesame Street!



Hat tip to Steve on Broadway

Lie of the Mind

Sam Shepard's a Lie of the Mind will be presented by the Star Mountainville Group in Woodstock this June.

The play will run Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm for two weeks June 12th through June 22nd. Tickets are $15, seniors and students $12.

The show will be at the Byrdcliffe Theater on Upper Byrdcliffe Road in Woodstock. Reservations can be made at 679-4561.

This full length drama with much comedy, wit and grit concerns the aftermath of spousal abuse between a married couple and their immediate families. Shepard themes of tortured love, family dysfunction and great humor born out of pain are featured throughout this complex play.

Star Mountainville Group has produced 27 plays in the last 5 years throughout the Hudson Valley including FULLY COMMITTED, TAPE, GOLDA'S BALCONY, TALES OF A JEWISH AMERICAN PRINCE and CLAZZ. This production marks the 20th production of a Sam Shepard play directed by Glenn Laszlo Weiss.

Actors Needed for August Musical

Up In One productions is in the process of casting male and female actors/singers for the August production of the popular musical, I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE to be presented at Quimby Theater, Ulster Community College in Stone Ridge New York. Please call producer, Diana di Grandi at (845) 876-5348

Who's On First

Who's on First, Jack Sharkey's hysterical nightmare comedy is being presented by The Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural & Sports Centre with Durham Irish Repertory Theater (D.I.R.T.) at the Pavilion Stage on the grounds of the Irish Cultural Centre, 2119 Route 145, East Durham, NY.

Performances will be on Friday 6/6, Saturday 6/7, Friday 6/13, Saturday 6/14 & Saturday 6/21 at 7:00 pm, Sunday 6/22 at 2:00 pm.

$15.00 admission benefits the non-profit Centre, call 518-634-2286 or see webpage.

Synopsis: The hijinks start with the basic premise of a husband attending a party early in an attempt to catch his wife in what he thinks is an affair. Then, thanks to a magic lamp and a playwright's twisted imagination the scene is recreated over and over, moving seamlessly from 20's gangsters to upper-crust British to Japanese shoguns and more. The only ingredients that stay consistent from scene to scene are the unlikely presence of a rubber chicken--and the constant laughs! Mary Ellen Petti of East Durham will direct D.I.R.T.'s staging of this comedy with a local cast of stage veterans from Dutchess and Greene Counties.

Jack Sharkey's play kicks off D.I.R.T.'s summer season, which will include the Peanuts-inspired musical "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" in July and Neil Simon's beloved comedy "The Odd Couple" in August. "Who's On First?" marks the fledgling theater company's third local production, following the cabaret "It's a Great Day for the Irish!" in March and the world premier of "On the Expectation of White Christmases" in December. The latter was called "a magnificent work (that) deserves a great success on the national scene" by Hudson-Catskill Newspapers' John Paul Keeler.

On Stage in the Hudson Valley - May 9

On Stage in the Mid Hudson Valley this weekend, we have a wonderful blend of musicals, murder and plays. Guaranteed to be a delightful spring weekend at the theater. Friday and Sunday look like rain, so plan on going to a show to lift your spirits!

The theater is also a wonderful place to take your Mom for mother's day or any Mother in your life - Especially if she loves the theater.

Sweeney Todd

May 9, 10, 16, 17 at 8:00 PM
May 11, 17 at 2:00 PM

County Players Falls Theatre
2681 W. Main St
Wappingers Falls, NY
Call: (845) 298-1491

Dinner With Friends
May 9, 10, 16, 17 at 8:00 PM
May 11 at 2:00 PM

The Pound Ridge Theatre Company
Conant Hall
Pound Ridge, NY

Moon Over Buffalo
May 9, 10 at 8:00 PM
May 11 at 2:00 PM

Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop
Rivoli Theatre
437 Route 42
South Fallsburg, NY

Murder Among Friends
May 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 at 8:00 PM
May 18 at 3:00 PM

Creative Theatre-Muddy Water Players
The Playhouse at Museum Village
Route 17M
Monroe, NY

The Time of Your Life
May 9, 10, 16, 17 at 8:00 PM
May 18 at 3:00 PM

CENTERstage Productions
The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck
Rhinebeck, NY
Call: (845) 876-3080

Local Theater Developments

Some exciting things happening locally for theater. Two theaters are now offering on line ticketing. The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival recently announced online ticketing, and then also the CENTER for performing arts in Rhnebeck.

I think a very good move, because people are busy and it's a real pain to try to call during certain hours and keep redialing when the number is busy.

Although I think it's a bad idea to change MORE for an online ticket, then one where you have to pay someone to answer the phone. Bad call on that one.

Ideally an organization should want to make the process of buying a ticket easier for people, especially with the arts - with so many other competing activities. Don't give your customers a reason to "forget" to order tickets. You have them right there poised to buy, and then there's a $3 online ticket buying fee. So they decide to call, because they are sick of all these added on "fees" but it's late at night. Perhaps they will remember tomorrow, but then life is full and busy.

If you have a half-filled house, you'll know why. You put barriers up and made it hard for your customers to get what they want, when they want it.