Category: Productions

The Catskill Community Players present “Danger in the Dark,” by internationally acclaimed singer/song writer, and local musician, Skip West, on October 18th and 19th, 2014 on the Stage at the Worcester Central School.

“Danger in the Dark” is an original Musical based on 1940’s Film Noir and featuring a live Swing Era Jazz Ensemble.  It tells the story of a down and out private investigator, Trevor Wallace, played by Scott West, and follows him and the colorful characters he meets through his latest mysterious case. Skip West, who is best known for his award winning children’s music launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to help offset the expenses of producing the play.  The Kickstarter Video was produced by Rich West, and West Brothers Music and can be viewed at

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/364313109/danger-in-the-dark.

Diana Friedell, Director, who also plays the role of “Bette” in the play, states, “Skip & I are just in awe of the number of people who backed this project — there were about 80 contributors!” The project is a cooperative venture between Catskill Community Players, WCS Students & Staff, Skip West’s jazz ensemble, “the Brazztet” & members & organizations from the Worcester Community. A Robinson-Broadhurst Grant was also received which will pay for the musicians.

Other Cast Members include Rebecca Maeder Chien, a Vocal Music teacher from South Kortright Central School who plays “Goldie”, the romantic interest, Dr. Ben Friedell, a Family Doctor & Vice-President at Fox Hospital plays Al, his old pal on the Police Force, Vito D’Erasmo, a Theater Professor at SUNY Delhi,  plays the suave, yet deadly Mob Boss, Lou Capelli, and Gary Koutnik (who is also a County Representative) plays “Froggy”.  Adding intrigue to the plot are the characters Duane, the janitor, played by Worcester Student, Michael Fredette, George Loft, an informant, played by Alex Riba, Lucille, a star at the Cavern NightClub, played by Abbey Koutnik, two cops, played by Alex Riba & Kyle Finch, as well as various Swing Era characters who fill out the ensemble, played by Kathy Lewis, Sabrina Young, Carey Larrabee, Sophia Dimopoulos, and Bianca Fernandez.

Song, Dance, Romance & Mystery — Great fun for everyone ages 8 and up!

Diana Friedell is  assisted by Gary Koutnik, and by Stage Manager, Kim Christman, with musical direction by Dan Chien and Skip West, and Costumes designed by Diane Geerken. The show will take place at the newly renovated auditorium at the Worcester Central School, and offers a special pre-show Theater Dinner at the Worcester Inn on Saturday, October 18th,  and a post show dinner after Sunday’s 2:00 pm Matinee.

Tickets for Show Only are $15 for Adults; $12 for Seniors; $10 for Students.  For a complete Theater Dinner + Show tickets are $40 for Adults; $37 for Seniors; $25 for Students.  To Buy Tickets or make Reservations (required for dinner option) call the Worcester Inn at 607-397-8500.  For further details and menu options, go to www.catskillplayers.org, or find Danger in the Dark on Facebook, or call 607-433-2089.

Catskill Community Players is seeking actors, singers of all ages to play the roles for the original musical, “Danger in the Dark”, written by nationally acclaimed Singer/Songwriter, Skip West. Diana Friedell will direct this premiere performance, which is a collaborative effort by Worcester New York educators, community members, school parents, musician/ composer Skip West, contributors through Kickstarter, video producer/ director Rich West and the Catskill Community Players.

Auditions will be held Sunday, July 20th from 1:00-3:00 pm, and Monday July 21st from 6-8:00 pm, at the Worcester Central School’s new stage in their auditorium. To get to the auditorium- from the main entrance (under the canopy at the back of the building) walk straight down the hallway all the way until it ends, take the stairs (on the right) up one level and the auditorium is adjacent to the water fountain as you round from the stairs into the hallway. We will not start officially rehearsing until August 25th. Performances are October 17, 18, 19, in the WCS Auditorium.

Danger In The Dark is an original stage musical written by Skip West, based on film noir and containing twelve original songs in the styles of 1940’s jazz and swing. Although it begins on a dark and mysterious note it is actually a very upbeat story of mystery, love and redemption with a joyful ending. Full of great songs, swing era style music, dance and witty “noir” dialogue it tells the story of down and out private investigator Trevor Wallace, femme fatales Bette and Goldie, and the mob. In addition to the main characters, Danger In The Dark has several secondary characters such as Froggy the informant, Al the police lieutenant [and Trev’s former partner], the “Unstripper” and Lou the mob boss. Rounding out the cast are the singing and dancing “secretarial pool”, the “cop squad” and “the mob”. Songs include titles such as “Danger In The Dark” and eight others. Danger In The Dark is great entertainment for teen through adult audiences.

Contact Diana Friedell, (dfriedell@stny.rr.com, 607-433-2089) if you would like a copy of the script sent to you, or copy of songs, etc. There will be solos as well as a back-up chorus, and easy dance movement for some numbers, so some singing will be needed for the audition. More Info about Catskill Community Players go to www.catskillplayers.org.

Come on Down to the Spa Dee Dah!

The Catskill Community Players present the rollicking Southern Comedy, “The Hallelujah Girls,” by Jones, Hope and Wooten, June 6^th and 7^th at 8pm, and June 9^th at 2pm, at the Worcester Wieting Theatre, in conjunction with a Theatre Dinner at the Worcester Inn. There is an additional 3:00 pm matinee Dinner Theater on Sunday, June 15^th at the Foothills Performing Arts Center.  Gary Koutnik is directing this comedy with Kyra Wehmeyer as Stage Manager.

Hilarity abounds when the feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia decide to shake up their lives.  After the loss of a dear friend, the women realize time is precious, and if they’re going to change their lives and achieve their dreams, they have to “get on it now!” The vivacious Sugar Lee, played by Linda Reese, impulsively decides to buy an abandoned church and turn it into a Day Spa, the SPA-DEE-DAH.  The hilarity begins around this group of friends, played by local actors Kristin Sloth (as Carlene the “Black Widow” of Eden Falls), Diane Stammel (as Nita, a repressed housewife hooked on Romance novels), Laurie Wehmeyer (as Mavis, the sardonic woman who finds her inner Goddess), Diane Geerkin (as Crystal, the wacky singing receptionist), Abbey Koutnik (as Bunny Sutherland and Sugar Lee’s arch rival), and Dr. Ben Friedell (playing Porter Padgett, the too-energetic would-be-suitor).

Will Sugar Lee resolve her differences with her ex-boyfriend, Bobby Dwayne (played by Tom Schimmerling) and get back together with him after 30 years of misunderstandings? Most anything and everything surely happens in this fast-paced show with 36 costume changes, 110 props and a whole lot of L-O-V-E.  Parental Guidance is recommended for Children under 12.

Purchase Advance tickets and Dinner Reservations ($42, $39 for Sr. Cit, $18 for Show Only) for the Worcester Show June 6-8 by calling the Worcester Inn at 607-397-8500.  For reservations for the June 15^th Dinner Theater at the Foothills Performing Arts Center call 607-431-2080. For more information see our website www.catskillplayers.com, or find Catskill Community Players on Facebook.

 

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Open Auditions are being held on April 22^nd & 24^th from 7:00-8:30 pm  at the Worcester Inn, 151 Main St. in Worcester, NY for the Catskill Players production of “The Hallelujah Girls,” a comedy with rave reviews by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten.   The production will be directed by Gary Koutnik.  The play will be presented on June 6-8 at the Worcester Wieting Theater, in conjunction with a dinner at the Worcester Inn.  There will also be a 2nd matinee performance at Foothills Performing Arts Center on the following Sunday, June 15th.

“Hallelujah Girls” Plot Description:
“Hilarity abounds when the feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia decide to shake up their lives.  The action in this rollicking Southern comedy takes place in SPA-DEE-DAH, the abandoned church-turned-day-spa where a group of friends gathers every Friday afternoon.  After the loss of a dear friend, the women realize time is precious, and if they’re going to change their lives and achieve their dreams, they have to get on it now!”

There are obstacles, of course, and a bad guy (actually, a bad girl) – and romance.  There are six women’s roles (five friends and the villianess) and two men’s roles (one fairly substantial role – he gets the girl – and one short one).

Perusal Scripts & more information can be obtained from the director, Gary Koutnik, (607-435-1783).  More information on this 40 year old theater company can be seen at www.catskillplayers.org, or find Catskill Community Players on Facebook!

THE RED VELVET CAKE WAR Photos

The Red Velvet Cake War, a Southern Comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, & Jamie Wooten, will be presented by the Catskill Community Players at the Wieting Theatre in Worcester NY, in conjunction with a special theatre dinner at the Worcester Inn across the street, on Friday, June 7th, and Saturday, June 8th at 8:00 p.m., with a 2:00 p.m. matinée on Sunday June 9^th followed by dinner.

The Story:

Cousins Peaches, Jimmie, and Gaynelle are planning a Verdeen family reunion, in Sweetgum, Texas. If the eccentric relatives & a family scandal aren’t enough to throw the plans off track, tornado season will surely spin things out of control. The play takes its name from the plot’s high-stakes wager over who bakes the best red velvet cake.

Playing the three cousins are Kristin Sloth as the frazzled Gaynelle, Abbey Koutnik as the saucy Peaches (also a make-up artist for a mortuary!), and Diane Stammel as the “rough around the edges” Jimmie. Also featured are Sue Pearson as the prisspot Aunt LaMerle; Scott West as the love-struck Newt; Linda Reese as the psychologist, Elsa; Dr. Ben Friedell as Aubrey, the patriarch of the family; and Laurie Wehmeyer as the nosy neighbor, Bitsy. In double roles are Diana Friedell playing Cee Cee, a sassy TV hostess, as well as Mama Doll; and Whitsun Koutnik playing both Sheriff Lout and Purvis Verdeen).

Gary Koutnik, actor and retired educator, of Oneonta, is directing the production, with stage management from Kyra Wehmeyer of Jefferson.

Tickets for Dinner plus the Show are $35 for Adults, $30 Seniors, & $20 for students under 10; or for just the show, $15 Adults, $10 Srs. & Students. Reservations & Tickets may be obtained in advance at the Worcester Inn, or by calling the Worcester Inn at 397-8500. Home-baked refreshments will be available by the Worcester Women’s Club.

Catskill Players presents their Spring play, “Bull in a China Shop,” a comedy by C. B. Gilford, directed by Gary Koutnik, on May 18th & 19th at 8:00 pm and a Sunday matinee on May 20th at 2:00pm at the South Kortright Central School Stage.

The play was originally a short story in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and later adapted for an episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” in the 1950’s. Six ladies ‘of a certain age,’ live together and have a crush on a police detective, played by Dr. Ben Friedell, who lives across the street. The ladies, (played by Abbey Koutnik, Diane Stammel, Rebecca Maeder, Sue Pearson, Laurie Wehmeyer and Diana Friedell), plot to draw him in to their clutches by attracting his professional attention; unfortunately, he’s a homicide detective! What lengths will they go to, to get the dashing policeman to pay a visit to their home? His sarcastic sidekick, Kramer, played by Stamford High School student, Adrianna Baughman, sees through the ladies’ ploys & begins to solve the mystery. But when a younger female reporter shows up (played by Christine Juliano), and forces them to share his attention, the ladies need to step up their game…

The cast is rounded out with Howard Hannum, playing the fingerprint specialist. Reggie Brunson is the set designer and builder, with Abbey Koutnik heading up the interior design of the Boarding House, Diane Geerkin designing the Costumes, and Kyra Wehmeyer as the Stage Manager. Lighting Design by Dave Peake, Sound Design by Daniel Chien, & Georgia Protsko, an SKCS Student is Lighting Operator. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for Students/Seniors. For further information go to blog.catskillplayers.org or find Catskill Community Players on Facebook. Advance tickets available at Eighth Note in Oneonta 607) 432-0344, and at Delhi Paint and Paper (746-2293), and at the door. Reservations call: 607-433-2089.