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Town Hall, Middlefield St, Chester
The Chester Theatre Company provides an intimate
setting in which audiences may view highly acclaimed professional
artists performing works that include both world premieres
and plays by local talent.
Presenting Our 2007 Season:
The Bully Pulpit
Written and Performed by Michael O. Smith
July 5-15
1918. The country is at war. Teddy Roosevelt is
celebrating his 60th birthday at his beloved Sagamore Hill.
Ten years out of office, he’s trying to get a handle on his
legacy. Surrounded by mementoes of his adventures as a
rancher, Rough Rider, and naturalist, Teddy re-examines
the colorful events of his turbulent life from a fresh
perspective. Acclaimed actor Michael O. Smith, whose uncanny
portrayal of TR was so memorable in the CTC production
of John and Teddy, navigates a vibrant, often funny journey
into the complex persona of a president who shaped the
country’s destiny with wit, wisdom and sheer willpower.
The Interview
by Faye Sholiton
July 18-29
Bracha Weissman has transformed herself into a emotional
recluse – her identity defined by the loss of her family
in the Nazi death camps she miraculously survived. Her attachment
to the past has estranged her daughter Rifka, who wants to
get on with the life of a modern day mom in California. Bracha's
armor begins to crack when Ann Meshenberg appears one day
to take her oral testimony for a video archive. Ann, the
daughter of Holocaust survivors, has her own agenda: the
need to ask a stranger what she could not ask her parents.
The stories the women share are a gift of courage and humanity,
and what begins as a simple history project blossoms into
a story of mothers and daughters forgiving and being forgiven.
"It is one of those moments we who go to the theater
live for."
-- Cleveland Plain Dealer
Mercy of a Storm
by Jeff Hatcher
directed by James Warwick
August 1-12
New Year's Eve, 1945. The pool house of an exclusive country
club – the setting for a romantic tryst, but a tryst
with a twist. The lovers, George and Zanovia are married.
To each other. George is a pillar of the community, Zanovia
a blonde from the wrong side of the tracks. They’ve
come to work out the details of their impending divorce but
it seems passion hasn’t fled altogether. Or hardly
at all. As the storm rages, George and Zanovia find themselves
tempest toss’t on a marital ship that veers between
smooth sailing and foundering on the rocks. A puzzle with
twists, turns and surprises served up in a champagne cocktail
of sexy, comic romance.
Grace
by Craig Wright
directed by Byam Stevens
August 15-26
Steve’s a born-again real estate developer with plans
for a chain of Gospel theme hotels. Sam’s a NASA computer
programmer whose life and face were ruined in a fiery car
crash. They’re neighbors in a Florida condo. Sara,
Sam’s wife is becoming increasingly interested in the
disfigured man next door. Then there’s Karl – the
exterminator for the condo complex, a German born immigrant
with his own horrific tales of sin and forgiveness. Craig
Wright, author of The Pavilion, returns with a play that
confirms his stature as one of the country’s finest
playwrights, a loopy poet with a taste for exploring universal
mysteries.
“Gripping and provocative.” – The Washington
Post
“Profound and dangerous, epic and personal.” – Chicago
Sun-Times
The Gravity of Honey
by Bruce Rodgers
A Founding Director's Production
directed by David Birney
starring Bairbre Dowling and Vincent Dowling
October 5-7 and 10-11
Bruce Rodger's compelling play is the story of a burnt-out
Irish priest and a nightclub singer of easy virtue who shows
every sign of being in close contact with God. Together they
harness an energy that's unlikely for this couple--love,
pure love. Honey, the title role, will be played by Bairbre
Dowling, the Irish priest -- Founding Director Vincent Dowling.
"Astonighing things transpire in Gravity." --
Detroit Free Press
Dear Liar
by Jerome Kilty
A Founding Director's Production
directed by Vincent Dowling
starring David Birney and Bairbre Dowling
October 3-4 and 12-14
This true love story, adapted from the letters of George
Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell by Jerome Kilty, leads
the great Irish playwright/philosopher and famous British
actress along the dangerous ledge of that deep ravine that
tests passion's pledge. Yet, it's glorious Comedy!
To receive a Season Brochure with ticket ordering information,
please call 413-354-7771.
Note: Programs subject to change. Please visit our website
for current information and performaces.
To return to the Chester Theatre Company
main page, click here.
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