READING — the ladies take center stage for Reading Civic Theatre latest production, “Jerry’s Girls,” a musical revue that celebrates the music and lyrics of award-winning Broadway composer Jerry Herman. Some of the best songs he wrote for his major shows (“Hello, Dolly!,” “Mame,” “Mack and Mabel,” “Milk and Honey,” and “La Cage aux Folles”) were written for and about women, so it is only fitting that the cast be all female. The show is directed and music directed by Ray Rhoads and stars a cast of seven Berks County women: Elizabeth Frederick, Linda Kauffman, Karen Levesque, Shirley Pisano, Debbi Silas, Laura Stewart, and Danelle Wagner.  The concept is a cabaret/nightclub style with lots of glitz and glamour —  and 35 fantastic arrangements of well-known and loved Broadway hits for the all-women ensemble. 

Songs and numbers include: “Put on your Sunday Clothes” and “Before the Parade Passes By” from “Hello, Dolly!,” a medley of songs from “Mame,” “Tap Your Troubles Away” and “I Won’t Send Roses” from Mack and Mabel, a movie medley and a grand finale of songs from “La Cage Aux Folles.”

“Jerry’s Girls” will be presented at Alvernia University’s St, Francis Hall auditorium on May 24, 25, 26 and June 1 at 8 p.m. and May 31 and June 2 at 3 p.m.  Tickets go on sale March 25, and are $25 per person or a group of 10 for $22 each.

Tickets can be ordered by calling 610-375-7482 or online at http://readingcivic.org/

Theater fans rejoice — area actors will be bringing new comedies and classic favorites to regional stages starting next week. Here’s sampling of what’s coming up in the tri-county area: 

Max, played by Mike Shoeman, and Becky Shaw,
played by Kate Nice in "Becky Shaw."

BECKY SHAW
POTTSTOWN — Steel River Playhouse is serving up a fast-paced and funny comedy, “Becky Shaw,” with its contemporary look at dating, marriage and relationships by Obie Award-winning playwright Gina Gionfriddo.

The play focuses on quirly, but familiar, characters and their complex interaction. A newly married couple, Susanna and Andrew, set up a blind date for Becky Shaw, one of Andrew’s coworkers with Max, Susanna’s brother. Add Suzanna’s mother to the mix and you have the makings of a comedy with lots of twists and turns.

“Becky Shaw” will be playing in the Newberry Loft at Steel River Playhouse. The intimate theater setting, with actors just a few feet from the audience, is a great match for this intimate comedy of manners. There will be a talkback with the cast and crew on Sunday April 21 when audience members can ask questions and discuss the play. The show runs April 19-28 at Steel River Playhouse, 245 E. High St. in Pottstown

Performances will be Fridays, April 19 and 26, and Saturdays, April 20 and 27, at 8 p.m. and Sundays April 21 and 28 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are Adults -$19; seniors (65+) - $17; and students/children - $15. For more information or to order tickets, visit www.steelriver.org or call 610-970-1199. 

ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD

PHOENIXVILLE — Acclaimed as a modern dramatic masterpiece, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” is the fabulously inventive tale of Hamlet, as told from the worm’s-eye view of two of the minor characters, the bewildered Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. As this Shakespearean Laurel and Hardy finally get a chance to take the lead role in the story of their own lives, they do so in a world where reality and illusion intermix, and where fate leads them to the tragic but inevitable conclusion.

Show dates are April 19, 20, 26, 27 and May 2, 3, 4 at 8 p.m. There will also be a performance on April 28 at 2 p.m.

“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” is directed by Diana Gagliardi and produced by Renee Schulz. The cast features Meghan Schulz as Rosencrantz, Jason Gagliardi as Guildenstern, Steve Schulz as The Lead Player, Jay Reilly as Hamlet/Tragedian: Melissa Cox as Ophelia/Tragedian, Jim Broyles as Claudius/Tragedian, Catherine Callahan as Gertrude/Tragedian, Leon Oboler as Polonius/Tragedian and Ryan Burgess as Horatio/Tragedian.

Advance reservations are strongly recommended. Reservations can be made online at www.forgetheatre.org or by calling 610-935-1920. 

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
READING — Reading Community Players brings Joseph Kesserling’s classic farcical black comedy to life with its cast of unforgettable characters, portrayed by some of the area’s best character actors. The two spinster aunts who have perfected their homemade elderberry wine, laced with arsenic, strychnine and “just a pinch” of cyanide have been favorites with audiences sinc the paly was writtten in 1939. The show will play at the Reading Community Players Theatre, 403 N. 11th St, near Buttonwood in Reading. Show dates are April 19, 20, 21 and 26, 27 & 28. Fridays and Saturdays curtain is at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Free shuttle service is available from the Citadel parking lot on 12th Street between Walnut and Elm streets. Ticket prices are $8 for students, $10 for seniors and $15. Tickets are available by credit card on the website, www.readingcommunityplayers.com or call 610-375-9106. 

CLOSER
READING — Genesius Theatre presents “Closer” for one weekend only at the theater at 153 N. 10th St. (10th and Walnut streets) in Reading. Patrick Marber’s “Closer” is story of love, sex, betrayal, trust, and telling the truth ... no matter the cost. You may remember it from the 2004 movie of the same name starring Clive Oven, Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Natalie Portman. Performances are Friday April 19 and2 Satirday April 20 AT 8 p.m.. and Sunday April 21 at 2 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 610-371-8151 go to genesiustheatre.org 

THE CEMETERY CLUB
SKIPPACK — Playcrafters of Skippack IS bringing Ivan Menchell’s “The Cemetery Club” to the stage at The Barn, 2011 Store Road,Skippack. The play centers around three recently widowed Jewish women in their mid-to-late 50s who gather once a month for tea before

setting out to visit their husbands’ graves.

Show dates are April 18, 19, 20, 26, 27 at 8 p.m. and April 28 at 3 p.m.; and May 2, 3, 4 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more inforamiotn, call 610-584-4005 or visit www.playcrafters.org.

The cast of  "The Fox on the Fairway"

By Cheryl Thornburg

Community theater is a labor of love and there’s plenty of it in Fleetwood Community Theatre’s current production of Ken Luwdig’s “The Fox On The Fairway.”

A talented cast with actors from all over Berks County bring Ludwig’s zany farce to a new location, the stage at St. John’s Lutheran church in downtown Kutztown.

There’s plenty of chicanery and plotting in this tale of a rivalry between two country clubs battling it out in an annual golf tournament and the subplots of who loves whom add another dimension to this action-packed comedy.

Brian Miller plays Henry Bingham, the uptight director of Quail Valley Country Club, whose job is on the line if the club loses for the sixth year in a row.  He thinks his newest member, an excellent golfer, is just the ticket to a sure win and he bets his arch rival $100,000 and his wife’s antique shop. What he doesn’t know is the new member has jumped ship and joined the other side with Crouching Squirrel Golf and Racquet Club.  Brian Miller is appropriately stiff and condescending in this role in perfect contrast to his longtime rival Dickie Bell, played to weasely perfection by Stan Durlak.

Bingham seems to find a solution to his dilemma when he discovers that his newest employee, a naïve young man named Justin Hicks, is a great golfer. Bingham manages to make him a member so he can compete in the tournament.

Steve Miller plays Hicks with such a likable sincerity that the audience is rooting for him in both the tournament and his love life.

The latter comes in the form of Melissa Kopicz as Louise Heindbedder, a waitress at the club.  The two play off each other well and Kopicz demonstrates a real flair for comedy.

Elizabeth Limper has one of the most fun roles to play as Pamela Peabody a flirty Quail Valley board member and ex-wife of Dickie Bell. Limper makes the most of this sexy, vindictive ex.

Bingham’s wife,  Muriel,  played by Cheryl Bleiler, is only heard as a garbled voice over the phone in the first act, but makes her presence known when she takes the stage full steam ahead in the second act. Her interaction with Brian Miller as her husband is just plain fun to watch.

Unseen, but often heard, Bob Barskey adds his own special brand of comedy to his voice-overs as the club’s announcer.

“The Fox On The Fairway’ may not be as well known as Ludwig’s other plays such as  “Lend me a Tenor” and  “Leading Ladies,” but it is every bit as funny and outrageous with lots of twists and turns that take the audience to a satisfying and hilarious conclusion.

 “The Fox On The Fairway” continues this weekend at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 201 E. Main St., Kutztown, Friday at 7:30 p.m  Saturday’s show also offers a Dinner & Show performance with dinner at 6:30 p.m., and the show at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday matinee is at 3 p.m. March 17. The church is easy to find and there is ample parking in a lot behind the church on South Maple Street.

Tickets are $15 for the show only and $30 for the dinner and show can be purchased at  http://fctspringshow.bpt.me or by calling 1-800-838-3006. Dinner & Show tickets must be made in advance. Show only tickets can be purchased at the door as cash only sales.

Bella, played by Shawneen Rowe, center with her two nephews, Artie, Sebastian Coates, left, and Jay, Tom Aglio Jr., right. Photos by John Daggett

 By Cheryl Thornburg

 There is no doubt that Neil Simon deserved the Pulitzer Prize for  “Lost in Yonkers.”  With its clever dialogue that moves seamlessly from being humorous to poignant and characters that are unique and a little odd, yet very familiar, it surpasses his earlier works such as “Barefoot in The Park” and “The Odd Couple” and takes his art to a whole new level.

Barbara Hannevig as Grandma Kurnitz

All of his extraordinary words, however, would have little impact without an extraordinarily talented cast to deliver them, and director Brian Drillinger has found just such a cast for Steel River Playhouse’s current production in Pottstown.

Simon’s story of Jay and Artie, two Jewish boys who are left to stay in Yonkers, N.Y., with their stern and cold grandmother while their father is traveling for work in 1942, has lasting and universal appeal. Bringing Jay and Artie to life are two young actors Tom Aglio Jr. as Jay the older brother and 13-year-old Sebastian Coates as Arty.  The brotherly camaraderie between the two is quite believable. Coates manages to say a lot just with facial expressions that are perfectly suited to the somewhat rebellious young Artie. He and Aglio deliver line after line with such sincerity that the audience can’t help but root for them.

This is a coming-of-age story for both boys as they discover a lot about themselves and their family. Although their Aunt Bella is 35, this is sort of a coming-of-age story for her as well.

Shawneen Rowe lights up the stage with a brilliant performance as Bella, the boys’ not-quite-all-there aunt, whose child-like enthusiasm makes her one of Simon’s most loveable characters. Rowe is riveting in the second act as Bella struggles to assert herself and stand up to her intractable mother.

In contrast to Bella’s warm and outgoing personality is the harsh and formidable Grandma Kurnitz, played to perfection by Barbara Hannevig. She strikes fear into every character on stage and triggers memories in audience members of loved ones or teachers who could stop you dead in your tracks with just a look.

Brian Gildea evokes sympathy as Eddie, the boys’ father, who is forced to leave the boys for 10 months to pay off debts he incurred for the care for his wife before she died. The familial chemistry rings true, particularly as he reluctantly explains to the boys why he has to leave them behind.

Jarad Benn plays Eddie’s brother, Uncle Louie, who is a somewhat disreputable guy, a henchman for a local gangster.  And yet he’s family and he takes the boys under his wing and offers tips on how to survive living with grandma. Benn’s Louie is boisterous and likeable and adds another dimension to this dysfunctional family.

Shawneen Rowe, right, as Bella confronting her family.

Rounding out the family circle is Andrea Frassoni as Aunt Gert, a somewhat nervous young woman who no longer lives at home, but has strange breathing reactions when she visits. Frassoni shows a definite flair for comedy and manages to get lots of laughs, even though she is not on stage as much as the other actors.

Drillinger’s direction has forged a memorable production in just a short few weeks. Ripples of laughter could be heard throughout the entire course of the play, punctuated by silence as painfully personal dramatic moments captivated the audience’s attention.

Jarad Been as Uncle Louie., center, with Sebastian Coates,
left, and Tom Aglio Jr., right.

A team of first-rate, set, lighting, sound and costume designers add to the success of this show. Music from the ’40s sets the tone of the era and moves the plot forward through set changes while an impeccably appointed set recreates Grandma’s living room with its huge antique radio and doily-covered furniture. The costumes have a vintage feel that enhances the actors’ performances. Put it all together and you have another Steel River Playhouse total-package production that is worthy of any stage and worth the price of the ticket and a trip to Pottstown.

 “Lost in Yonkers” continues through March 24. Thursday performances are at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets range from $15 to $23.  Steel River is located at 245 E. High St., Pottstown. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit   www.steelriver.org   or call 610-970-1199.

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ALLENTOWN

Allentown Civic Theatre presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning “August: Osage County” in Civic’s Nineteenth Street Theatre March 1-10. For more information,  go to www.civictheatre.com

Pines Dinner Theatre, 448 N. 17th St., Allentown (610-433-2333) presents “Why Do Fools Fall In Love,” through March 10 and Irving Berlin’s “I Love Piano” March 21 through June 2.

AMBLER

Act II Playhouse, Ambler presents “Assassin through March 17 (215-654-0200) or www.act2.org

EPHRATA

Ephrata Performing Arts Center's Sharadin-Bigler Theater, Cocalico Street, Ephrata (717-733-7966) presents Angels in America,” Part I: Millennium Approaches, March 7 – 17, Part II: Perestroika, March 28 - April 6.

FLEETWOOD

Fleetwoof Community Theatre presents “The Fox on the Fairway” at St John's Lutheran Church, 201 E. Main St, Kutztown, March 8 through 17.. There are Dinner & Show opportunities for both of the Saturday performances. Tickets for the dinner MUST be reserved/purchased by 7 p.m. the Monday before. Tickets will still be available at the door as cash only sales. General admission tickets are $15 and dinner show tickets are $30. There is a small processing fee (about $2) added per ticket for online purchases. Call 1-800-838-3006

HATBORO

The Village Players of Hatboro present  “All My Sons” March 8 through March 23. Call the box office at 215-675-6774 to reserve your seats.

MALVERN

People’s Light & Theatre, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern (610-644-3500) presents “The Trip to Bountiful” March 13 – April 7. For tickets, call  610.644.3500. For more information go to http://peopleslight.org/. 

PHILADELPHIA

The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, presents “The Addams Family” March 19-24. The Box Office is open daily from 10 a.m. to  6 p.m. The Call Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call 215-893-1999 to purchase tickets by phone. Visit http://www.kimmelcenter.org for more information.

Walnut Street Theatre presents the classic Good People March 12 – April 28 on the WST main stage.

Walnut Street Theatre production of “Vincent in Brixton” in the Independence Studio through March 10.

Also on the Independence Studio stage will be the world premiere of “ The Prescott Method: Easy Steps to Perfect Bread Baking, Every Time”  March 26 through April 14.

For tickets and information, call 215-574-3550 or 800-982-2787. Tickets are also available online 24/7 by visiting www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org or Ticketmaster.

Lantern Theater Company presents William Shakespeare's “Henry V  March 14 through April 14. Tickets are $20 - $38 and are available online at lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. $10 student rush tickets are available 10 minutes before curtain with valid ID; cash only. Additional discounts are available for seniors, groups of 10 or more, and current/former members of the U.S. military. Lantern Theater Company is located at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th & Ludlow Streets in Center City Philadelphia.

POTTSTOWN

Steel River Playhouse presents “Lost in Yonkers” March 7-24. For more information, call 610-970-1199 or go to www.steelriver.org.

READING

Reading Community Theatre presents “Hats” at the Miller Center march 9-10. Tickets for HATS are not available through the RCP website, please go to http://www.racc.edu/MillerCenter/events/e-hats.aspx to purchase tickets to this show.

Genesius Theatre presents a staged reading  of “Tuesdays With Morrie” March 29 and 30 at the theater at 10th and Walnut Streets in Reading. For information, call 610-371-8151 or go to http://genesiustheatre.org/.

To have your production listed here, email information to Cheryl Thornburg at cthornburg@pottsmerc.com

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Cathy Miller as Norma Desmond

By Cheryl Thornburg

The sun may have set on Norma Desmond’s career, but Cathy Miller’s portrayal of her in “Sunset Boulevard” is brilliant. Miller stars in Genesius Theatre’s current show which is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of the silver screen classic that starred Gloria Swanson and William Holden.

Miller takes Norma from fragility to the edge of madness, evoking the audience’s sympathy for the fallen silent film star.

In contrast to her frailty is the suave confidence of the young screenwriter Joe Gillis, played to perfection by Jonathan Browning. He brings strong acting skills and even stronger vocal talent to the role. His voice fills the theater in his solo, “Sunset Boulevard,” and blends beautifully in duets such as “Too Much in Love to Care” with Katie Ott as Betty Schaeffer, a young studio assistant,

Ott’s Betty is upbeat and enthusiastic, and her exquisite soprano adds eloquence to every number she’s in.

Kevin Cooper plays Max, Norma’s devoted servant, who gingerly guides her through the ups and downs of her life.  Cooper is spot on in this role, as a man who keeps his emotions under control and does whatever he has to to protect and care for Norma. Cooper played the lead in last year’s “Man of La Mancha,” and he again gets to demonstrate his vocal prowess in his solo, “The Greatest Star of All.”

Director Christopher Sperat has put together a strong cast including Ryan Katzenmoyer is totally believable as the likeable Artie Green, Joe’s best friend and Betty;s fiancé and Pete Bourey as Mandrake. Stan Durlak seems to land the big name roles – fresh off his success playing Franklin D. Roosevelt in “Annie,” he takes on Cecil B. DeMille in this production.

The ensemble cast adds energy and some of Berks County’s best voices to numbers like “Let’s Have Lunch” and particularly  “This Time Next Year,’ which was a real crowd-pleaser.

The ensemble includes Erin Aregood, Bob Aregood, Marissa Bubbenmoyer, Jason Denlinger, Marjory Ewaid, Kyle Feltenberger, Elizabeth Frederick, Chad Heim, Nate Matz, Luis Pagan-Anderson, Pat Rehr, Kelly Schmehl, Gerry Thibou, and Megan Tice.

Great visual effects and perfect accompaniment by the unseen 15-piece orchestra directed by Dave Neel add to the total package of this production,

In addition to Christopher Sperat, other behind the scenes talents include L J Fecho, Spencer Moss Fecho, Kyle Feltenberger, Jenny Parker Scott, Kathi Christi and Nicole Krick.. In addition to playing Norma, Cathy Miller was costume designer for the show.

“Sunset Boulevard” is a study in contrasts with Hollywood as its backdrop, where the surface is the glamour and glitz of the movies versus its darker side with everyone trying to make it any way they can. It runs through Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Tenth and Walnut Theater. Remaining performances are Wednesday and Thursday Feb. 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. (discount nights),  Friday and Saturday Feb. 22 and 23 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.,at Genesius Theatre, 153 Walnut St., (10th and Walnut) in Reading. 

To purchase tickets with all major credit cards and get more information visit the website at www.genesiustheatre.org or call 610-373-9500 to purchase tickets with credit cards only. If you need more information, contact the theater at 610-371-8151. Tickets range from $15 to $25 and credit card fees apply. Genesius Theatre is handicap accessible and there is free parking next to the theater (limited space available). This production is rated PG-13 – FOR AGES 13 and up.

Cathy Miller as Norma Desmond

READING — Genesius Theatre kicks off its 42nd Season on Feb. 15 with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical classic, “Sunset Boulevard,” based on the classic Billy Wilder film of the same name.

The Season Theme, “From The Silver Screen to the Stage” will feature six musicals that originally started as films and then were turned into musicals.

When the cameras stop rolling and the lights go out, that’s when the real drama happens, as Genesius brings to its stage “Sunset Boulevard,” the lush and sweeping tale of Hollywood’s darker side. The show opens on Friday, Feb. 15 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Tenth and Walnut Theater. The production stars Cathy Miller, in the classic role of Norma Desmond. 

Three top local talents, also support Ms. Miller, with Kevin Cooper as Max, Katie Ott as Betty and Jon Browning as Joe. The show also features a talented Genesius ensemble of upwards of 25 or more and a 15-piece live orchestra.

It’s Hollywood, 1949, and struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis needs work. At Paramount Studios, all he finds is Betty, a pretty script editor. A near escape from repossession agents finds Joe at the faded, dilapidated mansion of once-great silent screen star Norma Desmond. “You used to be in pictures — you used to be big,” Joe says, to which Norma responds, “I am big ... it’s the pictures that got small!”

Under the watchful eye of her ever-present and devoted manservant, Max, Norma proposes that Joe and she collaborate on the script for her comeback movie to be directed by the one and only Cecil B. DeMille. Each senses an opportunity with the other: room and board for Joe, and a young kept man to make Norma feel young again. Joe soon discovers that Norma is not what she seems to be, and Norma finds Joe may not be the man to bring her back to her “glory days.”

“This production of Sunset Boulevard is truly a great adventure for us,” says L J Fecho, artistic director of Genesius. Christopher Sperat, the director of ‘Sunset…’ said, “It is a musical that captures the Golden Age of Hollywood, when the movies were big and the stars even bigger. But, this is really an intimate account, of two people who want very different things from each other.”

From blockbuster composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber (“Cats,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “The Phantom of the Opera”), “Sunset Boulevard” won seven 1995 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Glenn Close); and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (George Hearn). Lloyd Webber’s gorgeous and unmistakable melodies are showcased in such sweeping musical numbers as “With One Look,” “New Ways to Dream,” “The Perfect Year,” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye.”

“Sunset Boulevard” opens Friday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. and runs Feb. 16, 22 and 23 at 8 p.m., as well. It also performs on Sunday, Feb. 17 and 24 at 2 p.m., and on special mid-week discount nights - Wednesday/Thursday, Feb. 20 and 21 at 7 p.m., at Genesius Theatre, 153 Walnut Street, (10th and Walnut). 

To purchase tickets with all major credit cards and get more information please visit the website at www.genesiustheatre.org or call 610-373-9500 to purchase tickets with credit cards only. If you need more information, contact the theater at 610-371-8151. Tickets range from $15 to $25 and credit card fees apply. Genesius Theatre is handicap accessible and there is free parking aside of the theater (limited space available). This production is rated PG-13 – FOR AGES 13 and up.