Written by Joe DiPietro

Directed by Collette Clavadetscher - Director's Notes here

Stage Manager Debra Bowers

Assistant Stage Manager Sheron Brackenbury

September 14 - 23, 2018

A light-hearted, laugh-filled story of long-term love and marriage, for better ... and for worse. Well-crafted - comfort food for theatre-goers!


A mother always knows when something is wrong. When Alice notices her beloved husband, Bill, has returned home on edge after a tennis match with their son, she grows suspicious and springs into action. Determined to piece together the puzzle, she invites her son, Billy, and daughter-in-law, Jane, over for drinks and dessert. Sidesplitting chaos ensues as Alice digs for the truth, resulting in even more honesty than anyone expected. 


Cast: Zane Pumiglia (Bill), Barbara Pruitt (Alice), M.A. Bruneau (Jane) and Donny Bryant (Billy). 


Selected Reviews:

 “…good old-fashioned comfort food for theatergoers…that offer[s] a blend of comedy and sentiment, with maybe just a hint of a sting.” — New York Times


 “DiPietro is so clean—except for the occasional F-bomb—that it’s refreshing…he’s at his best when keeping us in the dark about whether the tale being told is real or one big ballsy lie…the fun is who knows what first, the audience or the people onstage.” —The Wrap


Clever Little Lies was generously underwritten by Georgette Richmond, in memory of Pat Carroll.

Written by David Auburn

Directed by Randy Warren - Director's Notes here

Assistant Directors: Johan Dirkes, Suki O'Brien

Stage Manager JeanMarie Harmon

October 19 - 28, 2018

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play!
 
A compassionate drama about Robert, a recently deceased math genius, his daughter Catherine who has cared for him through many years of mental illness, and the family genetics that bind them.

Cast: Collette Clavadetscher (Claire), Tony Wilshere (Robert), Devin Van Domelin (Catherine), Wayne Willis Waterman (Hal)

"…combines elements of mystery and surprise with old-fashioned storytelling to provide a compelling evening of theatre…[PROOF is a] smart and compassionate play of ideas." — NY Daily News. 

{proof} was generously underwritten by Jeanine Borgert & William Cash, in celebration of their retirement and Lakeside Little Theatre.

Written by Michael Frayn

Directed by Dave McIntosh - Director's Notes here

Assisted, coached and guided by Ann Swiston

Stage Manager Win McIntosh

November 30 - December 9, 2019

A classic farce, and a fiendishly clever homage to the form. An ingenious look at a dilapidated but still hanging-in-there touring theater troupe, as they struggle to present a lame comedy called Nothing On to aging audiences in a parade of provincial towns.

Cast: Pamela Johnson (Brooke/Vicki), Taylor Shouldice (Poppy, Assistant Stage Manager),  Donna Burroughs (Sam, Stage Manager), Wayne Willis Waterman (Lloyd, Director); Keith Donner (Frederick/Philip), Linda Freeman (Belinda/Flavia), Fred Koesling (Selsdon/Burglar), Mark Donaldson (Garry/Roger), Suki O'Brien (Dotty/Mrs. Clacket)

"The most dexterously realized comedy ever about putting on a comedy. A spectacularly funny, peerless backstage farce. This dizzy, well-known romp is festival of delirium." -The New York Times

Noises OFF was generously underwritten by Jessie & Larry Wynant, Sheila & George Margellos, Donnamarie & Paul McGovern, Tom & Lorna Gladney, Bill & Kathy Dingwall, Jane Howell & Cam Spooner, Luc & France Lavadiere, Merelyn Shore, and 2 donors wishing to remain anonymous.

Written by Henrik Ibsen, Adapted by Richard Eyre

Directed by Peter King - Director's Notes here

Assistant Director Susan Quiriconi

Stage Manager Margo Eberly

January 11 – 20, 2019

The shocking Ibsen classic openly tackles issues seen as controversial, even to this day. Eyre's adaptation doesn't lose any of Ghosts' power to disturb.

Considering it was written in 1881, it's amazing how Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts can still shock. Dealing with such issues as free love, euthanasia, sibling incest, religious hypocrisy and venereal disease, it's no wonder that the drama was greeted in its early years of production with such damning descriptions as "a dirty deed done in public." 

Ghosts is the story of Helen Alving, a widow who is haunted by the many mistresses of her deceased husband and by her son who has inherited syphilis from his philandering father. Ghosts is a scathing indictment of Victorian society in which Ibsen refutes the notion that if one simply fulfills one's duty rather than following one's desires then a good and noble life will be achieved. Scandalous in its day for its frank discussion of venereal disease and marriage infidelity, Ghosts remains to this day an intense psychological drama and sharp social criticism.

Cast: Ken Yakiwchuk (Oswald Alving); Monnie King  (Helen Alving); Roger Larson (Pastor Manders); Johanna Labadie (Regina Engstrand); Peter King (Jacob Engstrand, also Director)

GHOSTS was generously underwritten by Dennis & Lisa McCary.

Written by Nick Payne

Directed by Neal Checkoway - Director's Notes here

Stage Manager Debra Bowers; Producer Shellie Checkoway

February 15 - 24, 2019

A sharply observant social comedy about small-time lawyers, fraudulent claims, and the lure of easy money.

Andrew, a lawyer with a dubious past, is one half of Scorpion Claims, a small-time, personal injury firm run by benign Barry. When Andrew’s former schoolmate Kevin turns up with a claim about a minor car accident, Barry dismisses him on the grounds that he appears untrustworthy. But Andrew succumbs to the pressures of past ties and the possibility of easy money.

Cast: Mark Donaldson (Andrew Eagleman), Russell Mack (Barry Peterson), John Ward (Kevin Needleman), Jill Flyer (Anne Gunn), Todd Pifer (Guy Haines), Judy Long (Terri), Emily Crocker (Jennifer Needleman), Gloria Bryen (Cleaning Woman), Patricia Guy (Georgina Burns), Kelly Mills (Isabella Reynolds), Rob Stupple (Judge Jessup), David Dennis (Court Attendant)

Voices: Johan Dirkes (Gilly Whitworth), Bruce Stanley (Steve Beers)

The Same Deep Water as Me was generously underwritten by Niels & Wendy Petersen.

Book by Neil Simon, Music by Cy Coleman

Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

Directed by Barbara Clippinger - Director's Notes here

Music Direction by Patteye Simpson

Choreography by Alexis Hoff, Val Jones, Cortlandt Jones, Barbara Clippinger

Stage Manager Sandy Topazio, Producer Michael McGrath

March 22 – April 2, 2019

Created by Bob Fosse for Gwen Verdon, this award-winning musical is a tender, poignant & always funny look at the adventures, or rather, misadventures in the ways of love.

Through song, dance and laughter, Sweet Charity explores the turbulent love life of Charity Hope Valentine, a hopelessly romantic but comically unfortunate dance hall hostess in New York City.

One of the most famous shows by legendary director/choreographer Bob Fosse and with a laugh-a-minute script by the incomparable Neil Simon, every audience is destined to fall in love with Charity’s limitless spirit, as she lives life “hopefully ever after.”

A musical in every sense of the word. Cy Coleman has captured the rhythms and sounds, and Dorothy Fields the vernacular of fun, of 60s New York. It's a dancing show, too, with … one of the all-time great show-stopping numbers "Hey, Big Spender!"

Cast: Kristine Moily (Charity), Jeff Kingsbury (Charlie), Ann Grab (Trixie), Chet Beeswanger (Waiter), Heather Hunter (Bambi), Pamela Johnson (Carmen), Russ Huber (Doorman), Graham Miller (Manifred), James Viers (Daddy's Assistant), Barry Michael Neal (Oscar), Russell Mack (Cop), Frances Farmer - Paula McTavish (Ticket Seller), Leigh Christiansen (Nickie), Patteye Simpson (Helene), Patricia Reason (Sugar), Maritza Freslinger (Venus), Val Jones (Dolly), Allyson deJong (Ruby), Kate Hartup (Rosie), Ninine Testa (Scottie), Peter Luciano (Herman), Florette Schnelle (Ursula), Douglas Voet (Vittorio), Sharon Lowry (YMCA Clerk), Cortlandt Jones (Daddy Brubeck), Ricardo Reyes (Daddy's Assistant)  (Also, Chenso, the dog in the Park)

Charity Hope Valentine always tries to look on the bright side of life, despite working in a rundown dance hall and contending with a seemingly endless run of bad dates. Determined to find love, Charity falls for suave actor Vittorio Vidal, but their romance is all too brief. However, when Charity finds herself stuck in an elevator with the reserved Oscar Lindquist, it turns out that she may have finally met her match. 

Sweet Charity was generously underwritten by Rob Colangelo.
First Cast Picture, before rehearsals started:
Seated: Barry Michael Neal, Barbara Clippinger, Peter Luciano, Katie Hartup

Standing near tree: Ninine Testa, Sandy Topazio, Valerie Jones

Moving up from base of stairs, L to R, Kristine Moily, Ricardo Reyes, Frances Farmer, Sharon Lowry, Cortlandt Jones, Maritza Freyslinger, Ruth Kear, Leigh Christiansen, Allyson DeJong, Heather Hunter, Michael McGrath, Florette Schnelle, Chet Beeswanger, Patteye Simpson, Russell Mack, James Viers, Graham Miller, Douglas Voet, Pamela Johnson, Jeff Kingsbury, Patricia Reason, Russ Huber

Missing: Ann Grab