[this page last updated: 04-22-08]
The North Shore Players spring production will be the comical play:
Ken Ludwig's
"Moon Over Buffalo"
The show will be presented on:
Fri. & Sat., April 25th & 26th at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 2 PM
at the Hogan Regional Center Auditorium in Danvers, MA
(1/4 mile west of Rt. 1 off of Rt. 62)
Directions to Hogan Regional Center Auditorium ~ (See newly added large area map)
Rehearsal Photos form 4-20-08:
Charlotte Hay
Ethel, Charlotte & Richard
Howard, George Hay & Eileen (center group)
Opening scene: An segment from Cyrano de Bergerac (The play within a play)
***Streaming video of mock fencing match between Charlotte & George Hay, with Howard caught in the middle.
Fencing scene ~ Taken from 4-20 rehearsal
Rehearsal Photos form 4-16-08:
Has George been messing around?
Play flyer
Right click this link to download and save to your docs. folder prior to printing. MOB flyer-jpeg
Moon Over Buffalo Character breakdown:
George Hay - male - 60's, central character, physical comedy involved. (played by Dan M.)
Charlotte Hay - female - George's wife, late 50's to 60's, larger than life. (played by Diana B.)
Ethel - female - Charlotte's mother - Must play old enough to be believable, grumpy old lady, causes lots of problems, sort of a trouble maker, comedic skills are really important for this role. (played by Barbara M.)
Rosalind Hay - female - the daughter, 20's or early 30's, actress turned advertising executive. (played by Stephanie M. )
Paul - male- resident actor- late 20's or 30's, leading man type. (played by Ben L.)
Howard - male- late 20's or 30's - Rosalind's fiance, nerdy, preferably small in stature. (played by Justin S.)
Richard - male- The family attorney - 50's or 60's - stiff, uppity lawyer type. (played by Bill G.)
Eileen - female- Resident actress - 20's or 30's - Bombshell type. (played by Nicole L.)
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Seated: Dan, Barbara, & Justin
Rear: Diana, Nicole, Annemarie (director), Ben, & Stephanie
Not present: Bill (seen below)
Brief synopsis of comical play
Moon over Buffalo - George and Charlotte Hay, traveling actors, are performing Cyrano de Bergerac and Private Lives in a repertory theatre in Buffalo. Charlotte has grandiose dreams of becoming a Hollywood film star; George, on the other hand, is quite satisfied as a stage actor, and sees live theatre as being superior to film.
George receives a phone call from Frank Capra, who says that he needs replacements for the two stars of his current film, and he plans to see one of George's shows to consider George and Charlotte for the parts. He tries to tell Charlotte, but she doesn't listen to him because she has just learned that he has had an affair with one of their actresses, who is now pregnant with George's child, and Charlotte stalks off.
When Charlotte hears the news elsewhere about Capra losing his actors, she returns to the theatre, only to find that George has left to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Charlotte and her daughter (Roz) contact all the bars in the city, looking for him. They can't find him, but Charlotte does meet Howard, Roz's new fiancé, whom Charlotte's hard-of-hearing mother mistakenly introduces as Frank Capra. Thinking that Howard is the famous director, Charlotte gives him the "red carpet" treatment, but when George returns, he believes that Howard is Eileen's brother, seeking revenge for George's affair with Eileen. In what he thinks is self-defense, George ties up the Howard and locks him in a closet.
Charlotte and Roz try to get George prepared for the afternoon's showing of Private Lives, which Capra had said he intended to see. George, in his drunken stupor, thinks that they are doing Cyrano de Bergerac, and dresses appropriately. The resulting show is a disaster, since George is several minutes late to arrive onstage and then in the wrong costume and character. In the end, Howard, still bound in ropes, hops onstage and calls out for help; then George falls into the orchestra pit, twisting his leg and presumably breaking a few instruments.
After the show, a sober George offers his apology to Howard. Howard however has been frightened away from staying engaged to Roz. Instead, he announces that he and Eileen have decided to get engaged and eagerly plan to start a family right away. Charlotte forgives — or at least forgets — George's infidelity and decides to stay with him. Finally, Capra himself calls to say that he missed the afternoon performance and will instead see the show in the evening, thus allowing George and Charlotte another chance at Hollywood stardom. Excerpted and adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Over_Buffalo.
A Note on Ken Ludwig, the Playwright
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His latest plays include Leading Ladies (which he also directed); Be My Baby with Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter; an adaptation of The Three Musketeers which was commissioned by Bristol Old Vic; an adaptation of Treasure Island; and The Beaux' Stratagem, which is an adaptation of a Restoration comedy begun by Thornton Wilder, which he completed at the request of the Wilder Estate. He is an Associate Artist of the Alley Theatre. He studied music at Harvard with Leonard Bernstein and theatre history at Cambridge University in England.
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General Production Staff
Director: Annemarie LaTulip
Producer: North Shore Players Board of Directors
Costumes: Nicole Lally
House: Eda Nichols
Lighting: Rich Guzofski
Props: Deb Moreau
Stage Manager: Martin Fucio
Sound Techs: Martin Fucio & Bill Gaylardo
Stage Crew: Hal Morse, Deb Moreau & others
Set Design: Dan McDuffie
Set Building: Hal Morse
Spotlight:
Playbook: Wendy Carlson, Hal Morse
Website & Publicity: Hal Morse
Still looking for sound and helpers and more!
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Ken Ludwig has had a number of hits on Broadway, in London and throughout
the world. His best known play is