Photo courtesy of Wayne State University Studio Theatre
Carl Ghigliazza (left) of Southgate as James and Sydney Machesky of Shelby Township as Sarah perform in Donald Margulies’ Tony Award-nominated play “Time Stands Still” for two weekends, March 28 to April 6 at Wayne State University’s Studio Theatre. Call 313-577-2972 or go to www.wsustudio.com for more information.
By SUE SUCHYTA
The Players Guild of Dearborn will launch its 86th season with three musicals, a comedy and a drama. The theater will undergo renovations this summer, and board members of the non-profit group hope new seating will be in place this fall.
The musical “The Fantasticks,” with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt opens the Guild’s 2013-14 season.
Two neighboring fathers pretend to feud to try to get their children to fall in love, even hiring traveling actors to stage a mock abduction so one’s son can rescue the other’s daughter. However, the young couple uncover the scheme, and angrily go their separate ways until life itself opens their eyes to what they really seek.
Paul Bruce will direct and choreograph the show, the world’s longest running musical, with Paul Abbott as musical director. “Try to Remember” is one of the show’s well-known songs.
July 22 and 23 are the tentative audition dates, and the show will run for three weekends, Sept. 13 to 29, with Friday and Saturday shows at 8 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinees.
“The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” a play within a play, is the second musical of the season. With book, music and lyrics by Rupert Holmes, it is the first Broadway musical with multiple endings, which are determined at each performance by an audience vote.
Based on a novel left unfinished at Charles Dickens’ death, it received Tony Awards for Best Book, Best Score and Best Musical.
Michael Falzon will direct the show, with Janeen Bodary choreographing and Julie Malloy as the musical director.
Auditions are Sept. 16 and 17, with the show running Nov. 8 to Dec. 1 for four weekends.
The classic farce “Boeing, Boeing” is the third show in the Guild’s season. Written by Marc Camoletti and translated by Beverly Cross, the comedy has become the most performed French play in the world.
An American journalist living in Paris juggles three flight attendants, all on different schedules, whose visits never overlap. However, when Boeing speeds up its flight service and a buddy tries to get his share of the action with the ladies, chaos ensues. The housekeeper, who helps facilitate the charade, has some of the funniest lines.
Brian Townsend will direct the show, with auditions scheduled for Nov. 11 and 12 for the Jan. 10 to 26 three-weekend run.
“Rabbit Hole,” a drama by David Lindsay-Abaire, deals with the way a family survives a tragic loss. The play received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Lindel Salow will direct the show, with auditions Jan. 13 and 14, and performances March 7 to 23 for a three-weekend run.
The musical “Kiss Me Kate,” with book by Bella and Sam Spewack and music and lyrics by Cole Porter, is about the conflicts between characters in a production of a musical version of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.”
The show focuses on two pairs and their conflicts. The director, producer and male star runs into conflicts on- and off-stage with his ex-wife, while the actress who plays Bianca (Kate’s sister), has a gambling boyfriend who gets in hot water with gangsters.
Porter wrote “Kiss Me, Kate” to counter Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” It was the first show Porter wrote in which the music and lyrics were integral to the script, and it proved to be his biggest hit. It also won the first Tony Award in 1949 for a Best Musical.
Valerie Haas will direct the show, with choreography by Janeen Bodary and music direction by Paul Abbott.
Auditions are March 10 and 11, with the show running May 2 to 25 for four weekends.
For more information, call 313-561-TKTS or go to www.playersguildofdearborn.org.
SOUTHGATE STUDENT IN STUDIO’S ‘TIME STANDS STILL’
Carl Ghigliazza of Southgate will plays James in Donald Margulies’ Tony Award-nominated play “Time Stands Still” with Sydney Machesky of Shelby Township as Sarah for two weekends, 8 p.m. March 28 to April 6 at Wayne State University’s Studio Theatre.
For tickets or more information, call the box office at 313-577-2972 or go to www.wsustudio.com.
When a roadside bomb injures photojournalist Sarah, she and her boyfriend James must confront the reality of covering wartime tragedy, and decide to what extent reporters should try to relieve the human suffering they observe. Both have war zone experience, and their viewpoint and perspectives differ from their friends Richard and Mandy.
The show also explores what happens when people who have been in war zones return home wondering what, if anything, they should do to try to enact positive change and relieve suffering on the other side of the world.
The show, directed by Katherine Skortz, also features Michael Fisher of Livonia as Richard and Maria Radu of Westland as Mandy.