by Ken Ludwig
11th to 18th December 2004
BILL BRAY invites you to shuffle off to Buffalo as Crayford goes to upstate New York with a zany backstage farce.
In last month's Whitwords, Barbara Wooding wanted more farce. With our next production she gets her wish. Move over Jane Austen for here comes an hilarious American play by Ken Ludwig, lawyer turned playwright, with Moon Over Buffalo.
Back-stage drama has a fascination for theatregoers and here we have the lowdown on what really goes on - or does it? Married pair Charlotte and George are on tour in Buffalo in 1953. They are said to be a wacky version of the famous Broadway acting partnership of Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne. Fate has given these thespians one more shot in a two-play tour with starring roles in Cyrano de Bergerac and Private Lives, and The Scarlet Pimpernel is in there somewhere. Film director Frank Capra himself is en route to catch their matinee performance but which play will he see? Will Charlotte appear, or will she run off with their agent, who has always loved her? Will George be sober enough to stand and move straight, let alone to emote in the right places? Hilarious misunderstandings pile on madcap misadventures, all of which are magnified by their daughter, who is trying to escape the theatre life, but tries to keep the show together, and aggravated by Charlotte's mother, Ethel, who manages the theatre and supervises the costumes. Ethel says, "This place is like living in an asylum on the guard's day off." That's what it feels like, and this reckless and insane comedy, stuffed with comic invention, running gags and a superb sense of absurdity, is truly a love-letter to live theatre.
Ken Ludwig was responsible for the book of the hit musical Crazy for You for which he won a Tony award in New York. Michael Frayn gave us a British example of back-stage farce with his acclaimed Noises Off. Now you can catch this US version.
You can also welcome the return to the GWT stage of Mavis Dunphy, playing Ethel, after her triumph at the Arts Council of Bexley 2004 Awards where she won the Festival Trophy for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Bexley Borough. Come and enjoy! |
Claire Lewis-McClean , Mavis Dunphy
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Claire Lewis-McClean, Ian Pring, Richard Tame , Jackie Vander Gucht
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mavis Dunphy , Jackie Vander Gucht
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Members of the cast
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Jackie Vander Gucht , Ian Pring
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Richard Tame, Jackie Vander Gucht , Claire Lewis-McClean
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Toby Masson , Claire Lewis-McClean
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Natalie Smith , Ian Pring
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Claire Lewis-McClean
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mike Weaver , Jackie Vander Gucht
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated