A look at what’s happening on the local theater circuit.
About strangers
The Stranger Play Festival, featuring four short plays about strangeness and strangers, will continue its Vermont debut at the Grange Hall Cultural Center, 317 Howard Ave. in Waterbury Center, on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 29 at 2 p.m.
A talk-back with playwrights and directors follows the Sept. 28 performance. Tickets are $20.
Vermont playwright Jeanne Beckwith says, “We wanted our festival to address current gender issues as well as provide an opportunity to introduce female characters and perspectives and hope the impact will be well-received and far-reaching.”
Jeanne Beckwith is from Vermont, Elizabeth Flanagan from San Francisco, Hortense Gerardo from Boston, and Alex Karolyi from Toronto.
The shows are directed by Monica Callan, Tess Holbrook, Kim Ward and Sarah Venooker.
Actors include Susan Bauchner, Louis Bronson, Bob Carmody, Robert Graham Jr., Linda Iannuzzi, Clarke Jordon, Sarah Venooker, and Dvora Zipkin.
Addressing the under-representation of women in the theater industry, the festival is highlighting stories of women by women, using the idea of “stranger” as a point of inspiration and unifying American and Canadian artists.
Statistics still reflect a huge disparity of female voices in the theater industry, despite research indicating the majority of postsecondary theater students and audiences are women.
Tickets: bit.ly/strangerplayfestival.
‘Oliver!’ in the valley
The Valley Players will present “Oliver!” — Lionel Bart’s musical based on the Charles Dickens’ novel “Oliver Twist,” — from Oct. 4 to 20 (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.) at the Valley Players Theater on Main Street in Waitsfield.
There’s a specially priced matinee on Sunday, Oct. 6.
Ten children and 20 teenagers and adults from around central Vermont will bring the classic story to life. Ruth Ann Pattee is the director; music direction is by Michael Halloran. Mikki Nucci is the set designer and Irene Halibosek is the lighting designer. The stage manager is Joanne Puente.
The Tony and Olivier Award-winning show is one of the few musicals to win an Academy Award for best picture and is widely hailed as a theatrical masterpiece.
“Oliver!” is about an orphan (played on rotating nights by Christopher Cummisky and Tarin Askew, both of Warren) in London who finds acceptance in a group of petty thieves and pickpockets led by the rogue Fagin (Matthew Grant Winston, Williamstown). When Oliver is captured for a theft he did not commit, the benevolent victim, Mr. Brownlow (Tom Badowski, Moretown) takes him in. The sinister Bill Sikes is played by Andrew Roy of Montpelier and his girlfriend Nancy by Marie Schmukal of Warren.
Parents bringing children are cautioned that the story contains violence and bullying, a part of everyday street life in 1850s London.
Proceeds from intermission refreshment sales go to CIRCLE, a Washington County-based organization to providing shelter, support and education for anyone experiencing domestic abuse.
The box office opens one hour before each show. Seats are general admission only. Advance ticket sales: valleyplayers.com, 802-583-1674 or valleyplayers@madriver.com.
Send theatrical news, notes and photographs by Friday at 5 p.m. to community@stowereporter.com or mail to P.O. Box 489, Stowe 05672.
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