In Good Spirits, a musical comedy
February 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24
Book, Lyrics and Music by: Howard R. Odentz
Doomed to haunt an old abandoned performance hall, the only way out for the five ghosts who haunt the building is through the “Stage Door”, which unfortunately goes in only one direction – down….unless they can “do something good for someone else” in order to redeem their past lives. Enter the Quabbin Memorial Community Players (QMCP) who have recently been displaced from their home and are looking to inhabit the old performance hall. When the QMCP’s original idea for a fundraiser is a bust, the theatre group is at a loss for how to afford their next production. Meanwhile, the spirits (with the help of a little girl who talks to dead actors) realize that helping the QMCP might be their ticket out of the confines of the theatre and through the “Stage Door”….. going up this time. It’s opening night, and everyone pulls together to present a stellar performance. The QMCP is quite pleased and proud with a newfound sense of confidence, and the ghosts finally get their chance to make it through the Stage Door…..next stop, Heaven.
First Baptist of Ivy Gap, a dramedy
April 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20
Written by: Ron Osborne
Directed by: Jimmy O. Burdette
During WWII, six women gather at the church to roll bandages for the Red Cross and plan the church’s 75th anniversary. There’s Edith, the pastor’s wise-cracking wife; Luby, whose son is fighting in the Pacific; Mae Ellen, the church’s rebellious organist; Olene, who dreams of a career in Hollywood; Sammy, a shy newcomer with a secret; and Vera, an influential Baptist with a secret of her own. In Act 2, twenty-five years later, these women reunite again at the church with revelations that shake relationships formed over a quarter of a century. With humor and pathos, these six very different women find comfort, forgiveness and redemption in each other. “This play will be compared to Steel Magnolias, but forget steel; these mountain magnolias are pure gold with humor, drama, warmth and six of the most wonderful characters you’ll ever see” says the Bristol Herald-Courier.
Murder Plot, a murder mystery
June 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29
Written by: William Link
Directed by: Jonathan Houston
Best-selling mystery author, David Forrester, is suffering writer’s block. His publisher, Felix, suggests hiring a talented, beautiful young ghostwriter, Kristyn. This is the beginning of David’s nightmare. The woman’s suspicious behavior causes them to send a private investigator to dig up her past. In the midst of all this, David’s wife, Sylvia leaves him to sue for divorce. After some investigating, it seems that the young ghostwriter may indeed be the sister that David never knew he had. Next, David learns that Sylvia has been murdered. Things reach a boiling point when the private investigator is also found murdered….. in David’s apartment. The ending reveals the murderer and the last 90 seconds of the play has a final surprise that turns everything that has happened before delightfully upside down.
Nunsense A Men!, a musical comedy
August 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24
Written by: Dan Goggin
Directed by: Pat Shull
Winner of four Outer Critics Circle Awards including Best Off Broadway Musical in its original New York production, this hilarious international hit was revived in New York with a male cast of Nunsense A Men! The show is a fund raiser put on by the Little Sisters of Hoboken to raise money to bury sisters accidentally poisoned by the convent cook, Sister Julia (Child of God). Updated with new jokes, additional lyrics, two new arrangements and a brand new song, this musical is “a hail of fun and frolic! Wacky and outrageous with a hysterical anything goes sense of fun!” says the New York Times.
Dracula, a theatrical thriller
October 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19
Written by: Hamilton Dean and John L. Balderston
Directed by: Jimmy O. Burdette
An enormously successful revival of this classic opened on Broadway in 1977 fifty years after the original production. This is one of the great mystery thrillers and is generally considered among the best of its kind. Lucy Seward, whose father is the doctor in charge of an English sanitorium, has been attacked by some mysterious illness. Dr. Van Helsing, a specialist, believes that the girl is the victim of a vampire, a sort of ghost that goes about at night sucking blood from its victims. The vampire is at last found to be a certain Count Dracula, whose ghost is at last laid to rest in a striking and novel manner. The play is intended for all who love thrills in the theater.
You Better Watch Out, a heartwarming holiday show
November 28, 29, 30, Dec 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14
Written by: Don Hodgins
It’s Christmas Eve at the Willow Inn. The hosts Jenny and Tom are having Art, (Jenny’s father who’s still mourning the passing of this wife) visit their bed and breakfast for the first time. There’s a snowstorm raging outside and three travelers are forced to lodge at the inn and wait it out. Rudy and Marsha, who run a costume business together, and a mysterious but cheerful man who claims to be in the delivery business named Mr. Smith. Only the Inn’s handyperson, Andy, sees who Mr. Smith really is, the spirit of Christmas. Andy must help him make Art, who’s been in a dark place for a very long time, see the joy of Christmas and who Mr. Smith really is! A delightful Christmas show that will warm your heart.