Norman and Ethel Thayer have recently returned to spend their forty-eighth summer at their vacation home on Golden Pond in Maine. Norman is doing his best to see that the phone is in working order, while Ethel, who has been gathering firewood, is excited at having met some of the neighbors. Norman, whose memory isn’t what it once was, is about to turn eighty and seems preoccupied, albeit humorously, with the prospect of dying.
A giant pecan stolen, a minister on the make, aliens, a prom queen on the verge of a breakdown, Texas beauty parlor gossip, and a shotgun wedding — just your average day in 1980s Seguin, Texas — otherwise known as, The Home of the Great Pecan!
Provocative and brave, an American play on climate change.
-NY Times
Extreme Whether (“brave and pioneering”, “laced with darkness and humor” Andrew Revkin, NYTimes) had a sold-out premiere at Theater for the New City in October. Each performance was followed by a talk back (Dr. James Hansen, Dr. Jennifer Francis, Dr. Dale Jamieson, Dr. Ana Baptista and many others). Andy Revkin described the play as about the American family in our current debate. Jim Hansen said “the love of nature” the play evokes is its most important part and the “documentaries are boring, but this play really moves people.” Jennifer Francis says “it is just a most impressive play. It was wonderful as a reading. It is even more wonderful now.”
The day in Tuna, the third smallest town in Texas, begins—as usual—with Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie at the microphones of Radio OKKK, broadcasting at a big 275 watts (at least when they remember to turn the transmitter on). Topping the headlines is the winning entry in the American Heritage Essay Contest, entitled “Human Rights, Why Bother?” Then, Arles exits, and in comes Didi Snavely of Didi’s Used Guns; she leaves and gives way to weatherman Harold Dean Lattimer: “We have this swarm of locusts that are headin’ our way from Louisiana, but we figure the dust will kill a lot of ’em, and the rest’ll probably get blown away or drown in this tropical storm that’s headin’ our way from the coast.”And the comedy continues, from Petey Fisk of the Humane Society talking about the duck problem and Yippy, the Pet of the Week to Phineas Blye, perpetual losing candidate for city council announcing he’s running again and revealing his plan to tax prisoners: “It would be easy, ’cause everyone knows where they are.” Of course, a day isn’t complete without the high school football report from Coach Raymond Chassie, who explains why his football team lost 48-0: “We lost mainly because we couldn’t score.”
And so the day continues, as Tuna’s citizens parade across the stage in all their outrageous and irreverent glory, commenting on life, politics, and what makes them (and sometimes us) tick.
Come see Ocoee Theatre Guild’s first ever DEBUT!
i < 3 u is a half-improvised musical comedy about online dating.
Our hapless hero will “meet” three audience members and try to woo them into an onstage “date”. The audience will act as his wingman providing dating tips and strategies.
Don’t miss this unique experience!
Tickets are on sale at OcoeeTheatreGuild.com
Featuring Beth McClary as Florence Foster Jenkins and Jerry M. Draper as Cosme McMoon.
For more than half a century the name Florence Foster Jenkins has been guaranteed to produce explosions of derisive laughter. Not unreasonably so, as this wealthy society eccentric suffered under the delusion that she was a great coloratura soprano when she was in fact incapable of producing two consecutive notes in tune. Nevertheless, her annual recitals in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton hotel, where she resided, brought her extraordinary fame. As news of her terrible singing spread, so did her celebrity. Her growing mob of fans packed her recitals, stuffing handkerchiefs in their mouths to stifle their laughter—which Mrs. Jenkins blissfully mistook for cheers. The climax of her career was a single concert at Carnegie Hall in 1944. Famously, it sold out in two hours.
Circle Theatre – a Romantic Comedy by John Cariana February 10 – 26, 2017
Love / Sick by John Cariani (who wrote Almost, Maine performed at CTC 2008-09) is so new it is not yet published. The work by actor/playwright John Cariani (who is currently playing Nigel Bottom on Broadway in Something Rotten), Love/Sick is ten vignettes about love in the style of the much-loved and oft performed Almost, Maine. Cariani describes it as the darker side of Almost, Maine, but prefers another’s description: “An imperfect romance for imperfect lovers and dreamers.”
CHICAGO, which opened to rave reviews on November 14, 1996, is now in its 20th year on Broadway and is one of the longest running American musicals, showing no sign of ever slowing down! Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards® including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording. Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who maliciously murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.
In this romantic comedy, It was love at first site when Zoe’, a young attractive attorney, laid eyes on the man of her dreams. His name? Kirk! Handsome, charming and so sweet that he sweeps her off her feet…but her new found love is only pretending to be the perfect mate and has started sleeping with her best friend Yonnie. Kirk uses his charismatic powers to get them both under his spell and Zoe’ truly believes Kirk is the best man she ever met, but is fooled by his love and betrayed by her best friend. As the secrets unfold, Zoe’s zany family members take matters into their own hands and the comedy is non-stop, but at the end of the day, Zoe’ realizes that true love is not what it seems!
Luna Gale by Rebecca Gilman runs February 21-25 2016
Caroline, a veteran social worker, thinks she has a typical case on her hands when she meets Peter and Karlie, two teenage drug addicts accused of neglecting their baby. But when she places their infant daughter in the care of Karlie’s mother, Caroline sparks a family conflict that exposes a shadowy, secretive past—and forces her to make a risky decision with potentially disastrous consequences. Powerful and arresting, Luna Gale is a heartbreaking and unforgettable tale of love and betrayal.