SEASON 2007

Saturday Evenings
 March 17,  July 21, September 29
Staged/concert readings of new
plays fresh from the writers!
Meet the playwrights and discuss the plays at the talkback following each reading.
         (New Plays to be announced shortly)

                                    SYNOPSIS
                                         Wow! What A Century
“Wow! What A Century” is a whirlwind tour of the twists and turns in history – from 1900 to the present.  Filled with drama and discovery, heartbreak and hope, this dazzling new musical offers a view of the century past, as it launched new frontiers at breakneck speed. The production is personalized through portraits of people and events that moved us into the wonders of the 21st Century.    Appropriate for K-8 and the whole family. 
                          Call 973-875-2950 for tickets or go ONLINE.

THE PUSHCART PLAYERS

Pushcart Players is currently celebrating its 32nd season of stirring up serious fun.  The dynamic company is the recipient of an Emmy nomination for two prime time specials on WCBS-TV; and numerous awards for excellence and innovation in the development of theatre for young audiences.

March 17
TRI-STATE'S NEW PLAYS READING SERIES

by James McLindon
in the Black Box Theatre
The Crescent Theater, 8PM
                  SYNOPSIS    CAST                          (Admission by Donation)                           THE PLAYWRIGHT  

SYNOPSIS
Fifty years ago, Jack took to heart his second grade nun’s teaching that, no matter how evil a life he led, he could still go to heaven provided only that he make a perfect Confession just before his death.  Indeed, he has spent the last 50 years living as debauched and crime-filled a life as he could imagine just to get his money's worth.  And Jack has an impressive imagination.  But now, mortally stricken with cancer, his theory is about to be put to the ultimate test.   Jack has decided that his only chance is to take a fatal dose of his Percocet just before the priest arrives, leaving just enough time to confess before he dies.   He is  reluctantly aided by his son, Bartholomew, a would-be artist, would-be Buddhist, and unwilling criminal.   Enter Fr. Gallagher, a soul-weary, disillusioned, aging priest, about to encounter the most bizarre Confession of his career.

             The Cast of THE BALLAD OF FATHER GALLAGHER

*JOHN LITTLE as "Jack"

*BILL EDWARDS as "Bartholemew"

BRIAN MADIGAN as "Father Gallagher"

*PAUL MEACHAM the Director

                        "Wild 'n' rollicking!"  --THE STAR-LEDGER
     "Rousing...humor in high gear!" --THE TIMES HERALD-RECORD
                                 APRIL 18 - MAY 6


          by William Shakespeare

                          MORE INFO   CAST   PHOTOS  REVIEW

                                                              SYNOPSIS

Twelfth Night is bursting with rollicking laughter, and off-kilter mad, mad love! Shakespeare's funniest comedy has all the elements that make for great  humor, including  mistaken identity, separated twins, and cross-dressing disguise, with its plot revolving around the obstacles to "true" love.  Peopled with a wild and weird cast of comic characters-- Duke Orsino in love with love (and himself;)  a sensual Olivia in love with mourning; the drunken prankster,  Sir Toby; Feste, the sad clown; Viola, a cross-dressing beauty; a loyal pirate, and many more, Twelfth Night abounds with laughter. In an intricate pattern of 'concealment' and 'reveal-ment' the play spins dizzily toward its happy resolution with all the deceptions  that had been concealed,  revealed!  After you see Twelfth Night, you'll know why Shakespeare is still the world's number 1 playwright!

"Rousing rendition of the Bard's work...As Viola/Cesario, Celia Montgomery plays the perfect protagonist....Katie Tame is a beautiful and bold...Olivia....Craig Dudley as Sir Toby Belch, Bill Edwards as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Clark Gookin as Feste, are worth the price of admission...Jenelle Sosa as Maria...is smart and sassy...humor in high gear!"     
                                                                           --THE TIMES HERALD-RECORD  [Full Review]

"The good times indeed roll...in one of the Bard's rowdiest comedies....wild 'n' rollicking...Craig Dudley [as Toby Belch] does the part proud... W.C. Fields with a...British accent...Bill Edwards, an expert at physical comedy, playfully plays Aguecheek...Clark Gookin shows Feste the jester chooses to get high on life. He's very winning...Malvolio [is] delightfully portrayed by Kevin Shinnick...."
                                                                           --THE STAR-LEDGER   [Full Review]

June 7- June 24
Red neck America at its best!
     A Laugh Out Loud Comedy
         by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, & Ed Howard
   The Story   REVIEWS   CAST   PHOTOS

THE STORY--
"Greater Tuna" is the hilarious comedy about Texas' third smallest town, where the Lion's Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies. Tuna is redneck America, and it's as clever as it is entertaining.  Two Actors play each and every one of the characters - a total of 20 in Greater Tuna . . . jumping in and out of dresses or overalls in as little as nine seconds.

The play is set in Tuna, a mythical small town in West Texas, where everyone listens to Radio OKKK, all 275 watts of it. Topping the headlines is the winning entry in the American Heritage Essay Contest, entitled: "Human Rights, Why Bother?" Tuna's residents include a variety of eccentrics, bigots,  and oddballs . There's Aunt Pearl, who poisons the town's stray dogs; Vera Carp, the richest woman in town and vice president of the Smut Snatchers club, and Didi Snavely, a gun shop owner, who decorates her Christmas tree with hand grenades. Don't miss this explosion of fun and laughter!

THE REVIEWS--

" Howlingly funny . . .clever...entertaining...kind of a small-scale Peyton Place with a bigoted accent ...hilarious...sort of a a SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY with a Texas drawl."
                                                                                             --Variety
"...make a thousand people erupt in laughter..."
                                                                                             --Austin Chronicle
 "...paints a wickedly amusing panorama of conservative mores...it's a great show."                                                                                     
                                                                                             --Washington Post
"The audience ... all but exploded the theatre with laughter."
                                                                                             --N.Y. Post
"The jokes are...broad, but...quite sharp, too, there is real satire...comedy... enjoyable."
                                                                                             --The New Yorker

20th CENTURY GUITAR Magazine compares Glenn's playing to that of Leo Kottke and Steve Howe, and states that  his music "uplifts the spirit..." and is "harmonious and reflective...superbly executed... ...tasteful [and] rewarding."

Don't miss this rare personal appearance by one of the finest Guitarists in America at Tri-State Actors Theater Saturday, July 14 at 8PM. The concert is a benefit for the Zervas family, who lost their home to fire in recent months.

JULY 21
NEW PLAYS READING SERIES

by Andrew Shafer
(About the Playwright)
8pm in the Black Box Theater,
Historic Crescent Theater
Sussex, NJ  More Info  

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln has spawned many unsolved mysteries, including the questions surrounding the involvement of Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor who treated the injured John Wilkes Booth.  Playwright Andrew Shafer uses the mystery of Dr. Mudd's involvement in this terrible moment in history as the core of his spell-binding drama  exploring the profound question of how conspiracy entwines the innocent and guilty alike. Don't miss the reading of this brand new play.  Take part in the talk-back with the author at our after-performance reception!

                                                 CAST of COLOSSUS of RHODES                 

                       
                                Douglas Taurel            Ruth Darcy              David Fine                Eric Henry          Freddie Maas

STUART LITTLE, the Musical,
Adapted by Joseph Robinette, Music by Ronna Frank,
Lyrics by Both

This musical version of E.B. White's classic tale about a little mouse born into a normal New York family further enhances the charming story of a determined "underdog" trying to survive in a "real people's world." The many adventures—both big and small—of Stuart Little are brought vividly to life in this story theatre presentation. The acting ensemble plays many human and animal roles in a series of delightful scenes that make up the marvelous maneuverings of a mild-mannered mouse trying to survive in a "real people's world." From melodic ballads to exciting chorus numbers, the score by England's Ronna Frank features such delightful songs as "Paddle Your Own Canoe," "Feed Him Up," "Size," "Stuart Little," "I'm Headed in the Right Direction" and "Nighttime in New York" (sung by a quartet of cats!).

AUGUST 24

A FUND-RAISER FOR TRI-STATE ACTORS THEATER
LOTS OF WONDERFUL TRAYS OF GREAT ITEMS,
INCLUDING A SUPER 50-50 and FOOD AND BEVERAGES
at WALLKILL VALLEY REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL,
HARDYSTON, NJ
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30, CALLING BEGINS AT 8:00
FOR DIRECTIONS CALL 973-875-2950

                 October 6-- One Night Only!
                     
           An All American
         Singer/Songwriter
         ********************
     Smoky voice, sultry, and a jazz-sparked blend of folksy blues-rock stories of truth define the music of singer-song-writer, ROB CANNILLO.  His songs of love gone bad, paradise lost and sometimes gained are written from the heart and, one suspects, personal experience.
    
    But Rob Cannillo is not a love song or sappy song writer. 
   
   " I write a lot of stories about life--the good times, the bad times.  Ever since I could pick up a guitar it was never to learn somebody else's song.  it was just to be able to put music to the stories I had in my head."
    
     Growing up in Northern New Jersey, Rob was influenced by Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, BB King, The Beatles. .   His musical style has been compared to John Mellancamp, Bruce Springsteen and The Allman Brothers.

     His two CD's--"THE LONG ROAD HOME" (2002), and "WHAT LIFE CAN BE"(2005) are filled with poignant lyrics and hypnotic melodies. His songs run the gamut from jazz to rock to soulful ballads.

    ONE NIGHT ONLY! SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 8PM.  TICKETS $15.00
                 CALL 973-875-2950 FOR RESERVATIONS TODAY!
 

                  "ENGROSSING, ENTERTAINING"--THE NY  TIMES

   October 25 -November 11                    BY ARTHUR MILLER
             Synopsis    Cast    Photos   Review

             Purchase Tickets Online or Call 973-875-2950

THE PRICE is a brilliant, powerful and deeply moving play that marked Arthur  Miller's  triumphant return to Broadway. The play examines with compassion, humor and rare insight, the relationship of two long-estranged brothers who meet after many years to dispose of their late father's belongings.   The first is a policeman who sacrificed his education and probably a career as a scientist to care for his ruined, invalid father. The other is an eminent surgeon who walked out on the demands of family to concentrate on medicine and personal success. On the surface, it has to do with how much an attic full of furniture, now to be disposed of, will command. And to establish that price, a wonderful 89-year-old character, Gregory Solomon, a furniture dealer and appraiser, takes over, in a vein of warm comic writing not normally associated with Mr. Miller. It is a taut, exciting and superbly theatrical scene, and it reveals the characters--both including strengths and weaknesses--of the brothers to each other and themselves—as well as to the audience.  (from Variety)
REVIEWS--
"One of the most engrossing and entertaining plays that Miller has ever written. It is superbly, even flamboyantly theatrical…a play that will give a great deal of pleasure to many people... THE PRICE is a throwback to strong, well-crafted middle-class plays that hardly come round anymore "
                                                                                —NY Times
"…a challenging, gripping and moving drama."
                                                                                —Variety
"…his finest drama since The Crucible…"
                                                                                —Newsday

DECEMBER 1ST
    THE EVENT OF THE YEAR!

at the Holiday Inn Express Ballroom, Newton
to benefit

ENTERTAINMENT, ARTS AUCTION, DINNER
call 973-875-2950 for information and tickets
 

DECEMBER, 2007
Purchase Tickets Online!

                                              SYNOPSIS
A holiday treat for the whole family! The great Christmas classic by Charles Dickens: the miserly Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, the ghosts of past, present and future, in this wonderful recreation. Make A CHRISTMAS CAROL part of your holiday at Tri-State!

*[Selection of plays subject to change without notice]