A show about how doing the right thing pays off is now playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ. The show is called “The Other Josh Cohen. It will continue through March 16, 2014.
Here is a look at some of the scenes from the show:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cocGS9zM24E&w=560&h=315]
Visit the Paper Mill’s website at www.papermill.org for more information.
Can-Can
October 1 through October 26, 2014
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by Abe Burrows
Revised by Joel Fields and David Lee
Pistache, a Parisian café owner, decides to feature the scandalous dance, the Can-Can, but will her defiance of the law end her business and her love life? This fresh new production features direction and a re-crafted script by the legendary David Lee (Frasier, Cheers) and showstopping choreography by Patti Colombo (Peter Pan, On the Town, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers).
This brand-new production of Cole Porter’s classic musical is planning to go to Broadway from Paper Mill Playhouse.
Elf
November 26, 2014, through January 4, 2015
Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
It’s the fantastical holiday musical for the entire family in its New Jersey premiere! This is the hilarious and joyous tale of Buddy, an orphan who is mistakenly transported to the North Pole and raised by Santa’s elves. Now, as a grownup, he embarks on a journey to discover his true identity. Based on the 2003 film that starred Will Farrell, Elf was a smash hit on Broadway. This is a holiday treat for the whole family.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
January 21 through February 15, 2015
By Christopher Durang
Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play! Outrageously funny! The master of comedy, Christopher Durang, mixes four distinct characters and dishes up a hilarious stew. “Will Vanya and Sonia ever find happiness? Will Masha sell the Bucks County farmhouse out from under them? And will Spike ever put his pants on?” ―USA Today. Touching and wickedly, hysterically funny.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (US Premiere)
March 4 through April 5, 2015
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Peter Parnell
Directed by Scott Schwartz
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo
PRODUCED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS
Inspired by the classic Victor Hugo novel, this is the only stage collaboration between two giants of the American musical theater―composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Pocahontas) and lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin). An intimate retelling of the famous love story featuring a lush, emotionally rich score, Hunchback of Notre Dame will leave you inspired.
Ever After (World Premiere)
May 21 through June 21, 2015
Book and Lyrics by Marcy Heisler
Music by Zina Goldrich
Directed by Kathleen Marshall
The world premiere of a sparkling new musical! Adapted from the film that starred Drew Barrymore, directed and choreographed by three-time Tony winner Kathleen Marshall, Ever After is a wondrous tale that sets the Cinderella legend straight with the “true” story of Danielle de Barbarac, beautiful and independent, friend of da Vinci, a renaissance woman for all time. Fantastically funny, hopelessly romantic, it’s the must-see musical you’ve been waiting for!
What’s so funny about a missing dead body? Loot, the first offering of 2014 from Red Bull Theater answers that question with a parade of less than ethical characters who will get you laughing as they attempt to recover that body and themselves in the process. Not to spoil the suspense, but the body does get recovered. However, as to the characters recovering, well that’s another story.
Loot was written by Joe Orton in a time period where attitudes towards certain institutions of society were considered sacred. So, when Loot first played in London’s West End theater district in 1966, it was regarded as one of the 20th Century’s most subversive comic masterpieces. Orton took aim at some of the most highly regarded institutions of the day namely the police and Catholic piety. He also makes humorous use of a dead corpse, murder, and robbery.
The setting for the play is June 1965 in a living room of a home in the UK. The plot centers around the McLeavy family who are in mourning due to the death of the matriarch, Mrs. McLeavy. The son, Hal, has been in cahoots with another young man, Dennis, robbing a bank. It turns out that Dennis works for the undertaker who is handling Mrs. McLeavy’s funeral services. This gives him access to the casket with Mrs. McLeavy’s body which he and Hal remove in order to store their stolen cash. Nurse Fay is already romancing Mr. McLeavy as her next husband after a long string of former ones who have already passed on. All of this is going on as Scotland Yard Inspector Truscott enters the picture and begins the investigation. He passes himself off as a water department inspector so he can gain information without arousing suspicion. And so it goes on until all is revealed with surprising but amusing outcomes.
The fine casting for the show includes Rebecca Brooksher (Fay), Eric Martin Brown (Meadows), Jarlath Conroy (McLeavy), Ryan Garbayo (Dennis), Rocco Sisto (Truscott), and Nick Westrate (Hal). Some of the characters are so despicable that one can hardly believe they have not been locked up in a prison and had the key thrown away. But then again, they would likely have found the key after it was thrown and made it out again to continue to ravage those in their path.
Direction for the Red Bull’s production is by its Artistic Director Jesse Berger. Berger has provided a play that has lots of irreverent humor, action that is well paced, and characters that appear lovely but are scoundrels underneath. Loot keeps its audience laughing for the entire 90 + minutes of the show. Much has changed in the world since this play premiered back in 1965. Yet, today’s audiences should be able to acknowledge that corruption and deception are as alive today as back then.
Performances run until February 9th only at the Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets. Visit www.RedBullTheater.com for more information and to purchase tickets online.
