Upcoming: The Boarding House, Hasty Retreat Productions at Playhouse Smithville, March 9 - 17

Hasty Retreat Productions

presents

The Boarding House

by Vern Harden
directed by A.J. Fuex

Playhouse Smithville, 110 Main St., Smithville (click for map)
Tickets $11 available here on-line


Welcome to the Sweet Home Boardinghouse, where life is anything but normal. Miss Harriet runs a clean, cozy home with the help of the none-too-bright and perpetually terrified Tweenie, and accompanied by as zany a cast of boarders as you are likely to meet.

There's Mr. Richards, the poet who practices dying to spark his inspiration. Gladys Klotz is a taxidermist who has a direct line to the spirit world and prefers her men stuffed, while Martha Willis has every imaginable illness, from leprosy to pneumonia to heart palpitations... and loves every minute of it. Poor Hortense tries her best to keep up with Ivy, a free spirited "artist" who enjoys painting people's faces, whether they want to be painted or not.

Finally, the suave and mysterious Dirk Shadow and his sister Veronica have just arrived on the scene to hunt for Captain Schnook's pirate treasure buried in the basement... or is it really just something left over from dinner? Leave it to the clever and ever-vigilant Dr. Snifell to unravel the mystery that will have audiences laughing from beginning to end.

Click to view portraits of the charming but slightly askew residents and guests of the boarding house

Assistant Directors: Danne Absher, Alana Adams
Stage Management/Set Design: Richard and Cindy Thompson
Sound and Light Design: AJ Fuex
Cast: Michele Maher, Jamie Damon, Sam Damon, Alana Adams, Danne Absher, Monica Miller, Cindy Thompson, Lisa Holcomb, Susan Keyes, Alicia Gust

By Special Arrangement With Pioneer Drama, Englewood, Colorado

Upcoming: Return Engagement of Pruning the Family Tree, Easy Theatre, February 11 -13

Found on-line:

Back in Austin!

Pruning the Family Tree
A Play by Daniel Gordon

Friday, Feb. 11 and Saturday Feb. 12, 2011 at 8 p.m.
Sunday Matinee Feb. 13, 2011 at 2 p.m.
Dougherty Arts Theater 1110 Barton Springs Rd.(click for map)
$20 general admission; $25 VIP seating.

Pruning the Family Tree is a crazy comedy with a twist. In this quirky, clever, and humorous story, three generations of southern women gather for the weekend. Pruning the Family Tree treads the boards between dark comedy and bright wit. It is sometimes poignant, sometimes silly, often surprising, and not to be missed. These amusing characters are expertly and honestly portrayed by four wonderfully-talented, quick-witted, and sharp-tongued actors.

An award-winning play, award-winning actors, a really cute dog, in two intimate 150-seat playhouses, all combine to create a well-anticipated and delightful theater experience. Pruning the Family Tree was a finalist in the Eugene O' Neil Centers National Playwrights Conference and the 2010 Texas Nonprofit Theatres' POPS, and won the Heller Theatre's new play competition.

Lots more info about our Pruning the Family Tree production here.

Upcoming: Pruning The Family Tree by Dan Gordon, Bastrop Opera House, October 29 - November 14 and Dougherty Arts Center, November 19-20

Found on-line:

Easy Theatre presents

Pruning the Family Tree

A play by Daniel Gordon
Directed by Engela Edwards
Texas première production

IN BASTROP: Fridays & Saturdays Oct. 29, 30, Nov. 5, 6, 12, 13 7:30 p.m.
and Sunday Nov. 14 2:30 p.m. Click for Tickets

IN AUSTIN: November 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m., Dougherty Arts Center,

Barton Springs Rd. Click for Tickets

Tickets: $12 Adults; $10 Seniors 60+; $8 Students, Active Military, and Veterans
Produced by special arrangements with the author.
PG-13 Some adult language.

Purchase Tickets online
http://www.bastropoperahouse.com/tickets.html#pruning

Pruning the Family Tree is a crazy comedy with a twist. In this quirky, clever, and humorous story, three generations of southern women gather after the unexpected death of the family patriarch. Pruning the Family Tree treads the boards between dark comedy and bright wit. It is sometimes poignant, sometimes silly, often surprising, and not to be missed. These amusing characters are expertly and honestly portrayed by four wonderfully-talented, quick-witted, and sharp-tongued actors.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Sunday in the Park, Musicale, Bastrop Opera House, April 17 - May 9

Bastrop's serenely strolling musicale Sunday in the Park recalled that quaint Victorian device, the cardboard puppet theatre -- an elaborate dollhouse stage in which children could push forward stylized cardboard cutouts, imagining dialogue and story. In this production, Engela Edwards of Easy Theatre, Bastrop Opera's long-serving general director Chester Eitze and choreographer Laura Goff create for us a never-land version of an America small town, circa 1915.

They draw on songbooks of the era, lightly and whimsically staging almost 50 songs with fetching melodies, most of them familiar. These are the agreeable melodies you might find on player piano rolls or, once upon a time, in the yellowing music sheets inside Grandma's piano stool. The large cast performs them with affection, in a succesion of tableaus and skits without spoken dialogue (except for "Delaney's Donkey," a mock-epic comic tale about a village race, done by Nick Collier in his character as the village policeman).

Click to read more on AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .