Agnes of God
Written by John Pielmeier
Directed by Beth Behner | Produced by Jim Russell
Sunday, July 9th & 16th, Friday, July 28th, Saturday, July 29th, and Sunday, July 30th
Summoned to a convent, Dr. Martha Livingstone, a court-appointed psychiatrist, is charged with assessing the sanity of a novice accused of murdering her newborn. Miriam Ruth, the Mother Superior, determinedly keeps young Agnes from the doctor, arousing Livingstone’s suspicions further. Who killed the infant and who fathered the tiny victim?
SOME ADULT LANGUAGE AND SUBJECT MATTER
Cast:
Hannah Rosenberg as Dr. Martha Livingstone
Tana Gundry as Mother Miriam Ruth
Nina Rametta as Sister Agnes
A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking
Written by John Ford Noonan
Directed by Cinda Goeken| Produced by Jim Russell
Sundays – June 4th & June 11th
This two-character comedy takes place in suburban Westchester County, New York kitchen of Maude Mix, who is having a tough day: her husband is off on a weekend spree with his secretary and she can’t get rid of the pesky neighbor who has just moved up from Texas. Hannah Mae Bindler badgers Maude into friendship and the two eventually join forces against their errant and erring husbands.
Cast:
Angel Borths as Hannah Mae Bindler
Hannah Rosenberg as Maude Mix
A Thousand Clowns Staged Reading
Written by Herb Gardner
Directed by Joshua Sussman | Produced by Jim Russell
Friday, May 26th & Saturday, May 27th
This benchmark of Broadway comedy produced one of the theatre’s most beloved roles: unconventional Murray, uncle to precocious nephew, Nick. Tired of writing cheap comedy gags for “Chipper the Chipmunk”, a children’s television star, Murray finds himself unemployed with plenty of free time with which to pursue his…pursuits. Lectured by his conventional brother Arnold and hounded by “the system”, Murray is paid a visit by bickering, uptight social workers, Sandra and Albert, and finds himself solving their problems as well as most of his own. Filled with laughter, warmth and inspired daffiness. A quintessential New York comedy.
Jason Hoolihan will play Murray Burns
Seth Black-Diamond will play Nick Burns
Sam Burke will play Albert Amundson
Gemma Davimes will play Sandra Berkowitz
Dave Snider will play Arnold Burns
Dale Noss will play Leo Herman
Burn This by Landford Wilson
Directed by Sam Burke | Produced by Jim Russell
The place is a Manhattan loft shared by Anna, a lithe young dancer-choreographer, and her two gay roommates—her collaborator, Robby, who has just been killed in a freak boating accident, and Larry, a world-weary, caustically funny young advertising executive. As the play begins Anna is recovering from attending Robby’s funeral, comforted by her wealthy, well-meaning boyfriend, Burton, a sci-fi screenwriter whose persistent proposals of marriage Anna finds herself unable to accept. Then, with sudden, unexpected explosiveness, Robby’s older brother, Pale, bursts on the scene. He has come to collect his brother’s belongings—but stays on to transform the action of the play and the lives of those in it. Menacing, profane, dangerous and yet oddly sensitive, Pale is both terrifying and fascinating and, in the end, the one who brings to Anna the unsettling but compelling love that, despite her fears and doubts, she cannot turn away.
Cast:
Kate Frances- Anna
Robert Pelaia – Burton
Travis Byington – Larry
Jacob Mohr – Pale
KIDSPEAK 2.0 Staged Readings
Directed by Leo Salerno | Youth Director Maggie Gamson
Produced by Deb Kelley and Jim Russell
April 29 & 30
Judges: Luana Mitten, Matthew Belopavlovich, Shaun Rice, and youth judge Nicole Lauren
Carrollwood Players Theatre invited budding young playwrights to submit new, original short plays for our second annual youth playwriting challenge. KIDSPEAK brings the imagination of children to life as eight short plays receive their world premiere with a cast of adult actors in the CWP Black Box.
CAST:
Travis Byington
Heather Clark
Larry Corwin
Gemma Davimes
Kenneth Grace
Cinda Goeken
Casper Hignite
Jacob Mohr
Jim Moss
Dale Noss
Alexa Sheppard
Carlee Soto
Petra Sussman
The Divine Sister
By Charles Busch
A Staged Reading Directed by Susan Belliveau and Produced by Jim Russell
March 12th & 26th
An outrageous comic homage to nearly every Hollywood film involving nuns, The Divine Sister tells the story of an indomitable Mother Superior (played by a man) who is determined to build a new school for her convent. Along the way, she has to deal with a young postulant who is experiencing “visions,” sexual hysteria among her nuns, a sensitive schoolboy in need of mentoring, a mysterious visitor, and a former suitor intent on luring her away from her vows. This madcap trip through Hollywood religiosity evokes a wild and unforgettable comic theatrical style that is not to be missed!
Cast:
Jeff Lukas as The Mother Superior
Mary F. Jordan as Sister Acacius
Trish Farber as Sister Walburga and Mrs. MacDuffie
Gemma Davimes as Agnes
Val Sanford as Mrs. Levinson and Timothy
TBA as Brother Venerius and Jeremy
Raunchy Little Musical – Belle Barth is Back!
SPECIAL ENGAGEMENT BEFORE HEADING TO NEW YORK
Directed and Produced by Jimmy Ferraro
February 19th & February 26th
By Ilya Levinson, Owen Kalt and Joanne Koch, Featuring Sara DelBeato as Belle Barth and Ryan Bintz as the men in her life.
Belle Barth burst onto the 1950s Miami Beach scene as the “female Lenny Bruce,” with dirty jokes and an attitude that made her off-limits for Ed Sullivan. Her nightclub act and records were the forbidden fruit of the 1950s. This is an evening with this bold pioneer of edgy comedy, offering non-stop hilarity mixed with poignant moments from her private life and loves. Featuring original songs by Grammy-nominated composer Ilya Levinson and lyricist Owen Kalt, with a masterful script by Joanne Koch.
The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman
Directed and Produced by Jim Russell
February 19th & February 26th
Written by Moisés Kaufman, The Laramie Project is a critical play that addresses the brutal murder of openly gay teenager Matthew Shepard in the small town of Laramie, Wyoming, an incident that sparked national debate back in 1998. The murder was denounced as a hate crime and brought attention to the lack of hate crime laws in various states, including Wyoming. Divided into three acts, the play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the theatre company with inhabitants of the town, company members’ own journal entries, and published news reports.
Cast:
Jim Russell
Sam Burke
Deb Kelley
Tana Gundry
Beth Behner
Cinda Goeken
David Fraga
Dale Noss
Monique J. Brown
The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
Directed by Beth Behner | Produced by Jim Russell
February 3-5, 2017
The Vagina Monologues introduces a wildly divergent gathering of female voices, including a six-year-old girl, a septuagenarian New Yorker, a vagina workshop participant, a woman who witnesses the birth of her granddaughter, a Bosnian survivor of rape, and a feminist happy to have found a man who “liked to look at it.” Funny, outrageous, emotionally affecting, and occasionally angry, The Vagina Monologues confront words to demystify and disarm them – and the audience witnessing them.
Cast:
Tana Gundry
Patricia Coyle
Alexa Sheppard
Leanne Germann
Deb Kelley
Pamela Slagg
Jen Martin
Petra Sussman
Trish Farber
Gemma Davimes
Kym Welch
Val Sanford
Taylor Hendershot
Isabel Bertram
Samantha Janek
Almost, Maine by John Cariani
Directed by Mike Cote | Produced by Jim Russell
January 15th & January 22nd, 2017
On a cold, clear, moonless night in the middle of winter, all is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.
Cast:
Isabel Bertram
Patricia Coyle
Samantha Janek
Robert Pelaia
Jim Moss
Brian McCreight
American Buffalo by David Mamet
Directed by Stephan Bielawski
Winner, 1977 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Best American Play. This volatile drama starred Robert Duvall in the original Broadway production and has seen revivals with Al Pacino and most recently on Broadway with John Leguizamo in 2008.
In a Chicago junk shop three small time crooks plot to rob a man of his coin collection, the showpiece of which is a valuable “Buffalo nickel”. These high-minded grifters fancy themselves businessmen pursuing legitimate free enterprise. But the reality of the three- Donny, the oafish junk shop owner; Bobby, a young junkie Donny has taken under his wing and “Teach”, a violently paranoid braggart- is that they are merely pawns caught up in their own game of last-chance, dead-end, empty pipe dreams.
Cast:
Thomas Pahl, Sam Burke, Constantine Kyriakou
The Curse of Frankenstein’s Castle By Joe Pauly
Just in time for Halloween, join us in the CWP Black Box for an evening of horrifically funny antics featuring ghouls, goons and goofs galore! This staged reading spoof of the classic monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s is sure to bring you back to life! Some adult language.
This is one of our very unique and popular CWP-style staged readings – with action, a set, costumes, props, sound and special effects! It’s NOT just a bunch of people sitting in chairs reading the script.
Cast:
Joe Pauly, Graham Morris, Eric Misener, Mary F. Jordan, Ray Zacek, Sharon Nolan Cimini, Joe Kirane, Stephan Bielawski and a loopy and hilarious cast of thousands!
