The Catskill Community Players’ next production, The Savannah Sipping Society, will be staged at the historic Wieting Theater in Worcester, November 3rd & 4th at 8:00 p.m., and November 5th at 2:00 p.m. This hilarious and heart-warming comedy by Jones, Hope, and Wooten is directed by Lissa Sidoli.
Four unique women with a strong desire to escape their day-to-day routines are brought together by Fate at a yoga class, leading to an impromptu happy hour. Each is confronting her own unexpected and challenging life event, leaving each lost and uncertain. Over the course of six months, filled with laughter, hilarious misadventures, and occasional liquid refreshment, these middle-aged women successfully bond and find the confidence to restart their lives.
Come join us at either of the evening shows, or at the matinee!
This event is made possible with public funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and administered by The Earlville Opera House.
What might our Stage look like at the Wieting after renovation?
The Catskill Community Players and The Wieting Theatre Board Invite YOU to a…
Fabulous Fundraising Dinner Celebration!
The Catskill Community Players and The Wieting Theatre invite YOU…
To a Fabulous Fundraising Dinner Celebration…
At the Historic Wieting Theatre SECRET Ballroom
LIVE MUSIC! BUFFET DINNER! A WONDERFUL CAUSE AND A GREAT TIME FOR ALL!!
NO ADMISSION FEE!
WHERE: the Historic Wieting Theatre’s SECRET Banquet Room, 168 Main St., Worcester, NY
LIVE MUSIC! BUFFET DINNER! A WONDERFUL CAUSE AND A GREAT TIME FOR ALL!!
On Friday September 15, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. and on through the evening, come join us at the historic Wieting Theatre at 168 Main Street in Worcester New York, to have fun, to eat delicious food, and to enjoy the great live music of TP and The Hunt Club. Admire the beautiful theatre and learn about the ongoing efforts to restore it to performance glory, and support that effort with a donation that will go to both the Wieting Theater and to the Catskill Community Players– the wonderful local theater group that has been entertaining us for forty five years with lively, high quality plays and performances right here in Otsego and Delaware Counties, often live on stage right at the Wieting Theater!
There is NO ADMISSION PRICE! Just come and have a good time. Bring your families, bring your friends. You’ll be invited to make a donation right there at the theater, which will be split between these two great community organizations to help them continue to bring excellent live theater and worthwhile community activities for the whole area to enjoy for years to come. No donation is too small! and no donation is too large! There will be a silent auction too, all the proceeds of which will go to the same good cause, so you might find a wonderful souvenir of the evening to bid on and take home with you! Please register at this EventBrite link to help us with the planning. It’ll be so much fun to have you with us.
LIVE MUSIC will be provided for your listening and dancing pleasure! We’re delighted to have performing live at the theater the fabulous local combo TP and The Hunt Club. TP & The Hunt Club brings pianist Rob Hunt to the jazz trio Triple Play. Featuring Joe Siracusa on guitar, Joe Tokarowski on drums and bassist Angus Mackie, The quartet plays their take on the Great American Song Book with a blend of Latin, swing and pop standards, sure to make your evening charmed and memorable.
This is your chance to see the fabulous little gem of a theater that’s been a fixture of downtown Worcester since the days of vaudeville; to meet many of the wonderful actors who have performed on the Wieting stage; to listen as the theater restoration project is described and to enjoy the friendly conversation, great live music and delicious food. Stroll through this historic building! It’s just a twenty minute drive on I-88 from downtown Oneonta! Be there or be square!!
BUFFET DINNER. . .
Bring your appetite! Members of the Catskill Community Players and the Wieting Theatre Board are going to prepare and bring delicious potluck dishes, and we’re also lucky to be having the wonderful support of a longtime local booster of the Wieting Theatre — Jack’s Pub and Restaurant — who will be providing a real spread of hearty casseroles and yummy lasagnas. Thanks, Jack’s!!
RSVP at the EventBrite Event Page!
If you’d like to attend the event please register at the Ticket Link so we count you in for planning purposes.There will also be an opportunity to donate at the event, so bring your checkbook!
The Cast of “Office Hours”, a comedy by Norm Foster, May 21, 2023.
Catskill Community Players productions are made possible with public funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and administered by The Earlville Opera House.
The Catskill Community Players’ next production, Office Hours, will be staged at the Worcester Theater May 19, 20, & 21. This fast-paced comedy by Norm Foster is directed by Nancy Bondurant-Couch.
The cast includes Michael Breglia, Ben Friedell, Diana Friedell, Maria Johnson, Lee Lattimer, Caitlin Liberati, Rebecca Maeder-Chien, Ben Magill, Andy Puritz, Charlie Reiman, Diane Stammel, and Laurie Wehmeyer.
For more information and tickets, visit the CCP website: http://catskillplayers.org or the Catskill Community Players Facebook page.
Catskill Community Players present a dramatic reading of Phil Olson’s new play “Love or Best Offer”, a comedy about the trials of online dating for the Over 50 generation. Directed by Lissa Sidoli, admission is free, donations are welcome. The L.A. author plans to be in attendance via ZOOM, and welcomes questions & comments. Attend in person (seating is limited) or via zoom. Get link when you register. Desserts, wine & beverages are available by donation. This is a fundraiser for CCP, bringing quality theater to the Otsego County community since 1974!
The show features actors Linda Reese, Kristin Sloth, Mark Murphy, and J Lentner.
Phil Olson has written 18 published plays that have had over 450 productions in seven countries. Twelve of his plays are published by Samuel French/Concord Theatricals. Mr. Olson will join us via Zoom from Los Angeles and welcomes audience feedback.
Lissa Sidoli, plays “Josephine” in “Dating at the Planetarium”
Come one, come all! The Catskill Community Players are proud to be hosting a fundraising event for the historic Wieting Theatre, located in Worcester, NY, to update, enhance, and replace production lighting and stage curtains. Your support is needed!
The event will be held on Wednesday, October 26 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at the B Side Ballroom in Oneonta (1 Clinton Plaza Drive).
Patrons will enjoy dinner, dessert, and coffee, as well as a cash bar.
CCP cast members will be on hand to perform excerpts from the upcoming November production of Exhibit This! The Museum Comedies, directed by Nancy Bondurant-Couch, and premiering at the Wieting Theatre on November 4, 5, and 6.
Diana Friedell, CCP President, and Andy O’Dell, Wieting Theatre board President, will tell the story of the historic Wieting Theatre and its vital role in the community.
Produced by Diana Friedell, Lissa Sidoli, and J Lentner
This delightful, unique comedy was chosen as #1 pick by New York Magazine, featuring 13 comedic short plays and monologues based on exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Mix in artists, security guards, critics, lovers, curators and one very special night of comic hilarity! Even the artwork speaks to the audience!
FOUR PERFORMANCES
TWO MATINEES
Friday November 4, 7:30pm
Saturday November 5, 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Sunday November 6, 2:00pm
FEATURING:
Ben Friedell Diane Stammel Mark Murphy
Diana Friedell Carol Dean Maria Johnson
Gary Koutnik Ben Magill
Rebecca Maeder Chien Charlie Reiman Caitlin Liberati
Christine Juliano Lee Lattimer Abbey Koutnik
Andy Puritz Kath Roth Lissa Sidoli
Rosemary Summers Kathy Varadi
www.catskillplayers.org
The Catskill Community Players is a not-for-profit community theater group founded in 1974. Its purpose is to provide and promote high quality theater to communities everywhere in Upstate NY.
The group has, most recently, been performing at the Wieting Theater in Worcester, NY. They have also performed at Delhi Tech’s Farrell Hall Little Theater, Foothills Performing Arts Center, and at Stamford Central School.
In September 2016, Catskill Community Players merged with Catskill Theatre Works, a beloved Delhi, NY based theater company under the direction of Alan Davino for 16 years.
The Players’ first production was in 1975 with Life with Father and over the years, they have put on 78 productions. Neil Simon’s Rumors in 2022 was CCP’s celebratory return from the pandemic pause.
So many dedicated directors, actors and production staff members have put in countless hours preparing for and presenting each of these productions. We love to make the audience laugh, cry, find joy and forget the world, even for a little while! Thank you for supporting community theater at its best. Your program ad, should you choose to place one, will be viewed by hundreds of your neighbors & clientele. “Exhibit This! The Museum Comedies” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
We’re Baaack! Join the laughter and celebration as the Catskill Community Players bring Neil Simon’s hilarious comedy, Rumors, to the Wieting Theatre.
About this event
UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE: Safety Measures for All Performances: Wearing masks is now required at all times inside the theater building, in order to protect our cast, crew, and audience members.
The Catskill Community Players, celebrating their 48th year, are proud to present Neil Simon’s fast-paced, side-splitting comedy RUMORS at the Wieting Theatre, 168 Main St. in Worcester, NY, April 29th, 30th, at 7:30 pm, and a 2pm Matinee on May 1st, 2022.
The Wieting Theatre is a historic gem-, built in 1910, the theatre was host to many vaudeville troupes, touring across the U.S. by train and stopping to perform at the Wieting. We often hear the phrase “ If only walls could talk, the stories we would hear”- and yet in this theater, the walls DO talk: Signatures of cast members from past shows from as far back as 1920 adorn the backstage walls.
Rumors Plot Summary: On a lovely night in June, at a large, tastefully-appointed townhouse, the Deputy Mayor of New York has just shot himself. Though only a flesh wound, four couples are about to experience a severe attack of farce! Gathering for their tenth wedding anniversary, the host lies bleeding in the other room, and his wife is nowhere in sight. His lawyer, Ken, and wife, Chris, must get “the story” straight before the other guests arrive. As the confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spins off into classic farcical hilarity.
A cast of local favorites await you in this hilarious telling of a celebration gone wrong. Maria Johnson and Ben Friedell are Ken and Chris Gorman, the first on the scene at the anniversary bash; J Lentner and Diane Stammel are the next to arrive, as Lenny and Claire Ganz; soon after that, Diana Friedell and Mark Murphy appear as Cookie and Ernie Cusack; rounding out the couples are Michael Tamburrino and Rhiannon LaCross as the young and ambitious Glenn and Cassie Cooper. Also joining the cast are Charlie Reiman and Abbey Koutnik as the officers Welch and Pudney, who show up wondering what’s true, and what’s not.
RUMORS is under the direction of Lissa Sidoli, with Diana Friedell producing, stage management by Deb Bruce, Diane Stammel in charge of costumes, and a set designed by Andy O’Dell and Charlie Reiman, with set painting & decoration by Abbey Koutnik.
UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE: Safety Measures for All Performances: Wearing masks is now required at all times inside the theater building, in order to protect our cast, crew, and audience members.
Please note that in order to protect our cast, crew, and audience members, these safety measures can change at any time.
Ken Gorman, played by Dr. Ben Friedell, plotting with his wife Chris, played by Maria Johnson, what to do when they arrive for a fancy anniversary party and the hosts are not there!“Ernie” played by Mark Murphy, helps his wife “Cookie” (Diana Friedell) with her back spasm.Senator Glen Cooper (played by Michael Tamburrino) is having a little spat with his wife Cassie (played by Rhiannon LaCross).Lenny (played by J Lentner) arrives at the dinner party a little worse for wear after someone hit his BMW. Claire (Diane Stammel) tends to her swollen lip.
Otsego and Delaware County-based Catskill Community Players presents a Halloween weekend production of Noël Coward’s 1941 ghost story farce “Blithe Spirit,” with performances Oct. 25, 26, and 27 at the Wieting Theatre in Worcester.
Otsego and Delaware County-based Catskill Community Players presents a Halloween weekend production of Noël Coward’s 1941 ghost story farce “Blithe Spirit,” with performances Oct. 25, 26, and 27 at the Wieting Theatre in Worcester.
The classic supernatural comedy centers on irascible socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites eccentric medium and clairvoyant Madame Arcati to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his scheming first wife Elvira after the séance, much to the chagrin of his current spouse Ruth. The notion of ”til death do us part” is further turned on its head when Ruth is accidentally killed and joins Elvira as a duo of blithe spirits who haunt their hapless husband with hilarious consequences in this dark comedy.
Catskill Community Players’ production is directed by Nancy Bondurant-Couch and produced by CCP President Diana Friedell. The show features Carol Dean as Ruth, Ben Friedell as Charles, Caitlin Liberati as Edith, Becky Maeder Chien as Madame Arcati, Cassandra Miller as Elvira, Mark Murphy as Dr. Bradman, and Diane Stammel as Mrs. Bradman. The production team includes stage manager Kyra Wehmeyer, costumes by Diane Geerken, and set design by Andy O’Dell and Abby Koutnik.
Famous for his wit and flamboyance, the award-winning British playwright and actor Noël Coward wrote ”Blithe Spirit” after his London apartment had been destroyed in the German’s Blitz bombing campaign as an escapist comedy for British audiences. Produced more than 2,000 times since its premiere, the 78-year-old ”Blithe Spirit” is still entertaining audiences with its witty script and mystical premise.
General Admission Tickets Performances of CCP’s production of ”Blithe Spirit” are at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27. The show is about 2 hours, 30 minutes, with one intermission. General admission tickets are $18, and student/senior tickets are $15 with ID. Tickets are available at www.catskillplayers.org or at the door starting one hour before performances at the Wieting Theatre, at 168 Main St. in Worcester. Tickets are also available at the Green Toad Bookstore in Oneonta and the Worcester Inn in Worcester.
Dinner and Theater Combination Tickets In conjunction with CCP’s production, The Historic Worcester Inn, across the street from the Wieting Theatre at 151 Main St. in Worcester, is offering a combination dinner and ticket package, as well as a discount on overnight stays at the Inn. The combination tickets are $42 ($39 for seniors) and include a ticket to the show and a buffet dinner. Pre-show dinners are offered before Friday and Saturday’s 8 p.m. performances, and a post-show dinner is offered after Sunday’s 2 p.m. matinee. For reservations, call the Worcester Inn at 607-397-8500.
About Catskill Community Players Catskill Community Players is a community theater group founded in 1974 with the purpose of ”promoting and presenting theater in the community.” Based in upstate New York’s Delaware and Otsego counties, its membership is drawn from the communities of South Kortright, Hobart, Stamford, Jefferson, Delhi, Franklin, Oneonta, and surrounding areas. The group typically produces two shows per year: one musical and one straight play. Most performances are currently presented at The Wieting Theatre in Worcester. Past performances have been presented in South Kortright Central School’s Harbaugh Hall, Stamford Central School, and the Farrell Hall Little Theatre on the campus of SUNY Delhi.
The Catskill Community Players, a Community Theater Company in their 44th season, will present “The Great Kooshog Lake Hollis McCauley Fishing Derby”, a heartwarming comedy, on April 5, 6, and 7 at the Worcester Wieting Theater, in conjunction with a dinner at the Worcester Inn. The production will be directed by Nancy Bondurant-Couch, and is produced by Diana Friedell and Raphael Sason with sets by Raphael Sason and Abbey Koutnik.
The Great Kooshog Lake Hollis McCauley Fishing Derby is a beautifully written story about one small town, five big-hearted people, and a big fish. Written by award-winning Canadian playwright Norm Foster, this quirky, funny, and heartwarming comedy comes complete with romance, broken hearts, and the hunt for the elusive catfish named Hollis McCauley.
Uptight investment banker James Bell (played by Scott West) is on his way to present a very important speech when his car breaks down in the wilderness town of Kooshog Lake. Finding himself stranded with little to do, he is lured into participating in the annual fishing derby, which offers a prize of $92,000 to the angler who can catch Hollis McCauley, the legendary catfish named for its resemblance to the local high school shop teacher! Soon James realizes that he is the fish out of water, and we follow this city boy as he is bewildered and beguiled by the people he meets. Lissa Sidoli plays Sienna, the owner of the town’s only store; Dr. Ben Friedell plays Kirk Douglas, the owner of the town’s garage and bait & tackle shop; Abbey Koutnik plays Rhonda, the flirty hotel owner; and Caitlin Liberati plays Melanie Morningside. James gets a crash course in fishing, but the real lessons he learns are about life. There’s laughter all through this charming and funny fish story, a story that’s filled with real people and real heart.
Performances are at 8pm on Friday & Saturday, April 5 & 6, 2019; and on Sunday, April 7th there is a 2pm matinee. Tickets are $18, and $15 for Students & Seniors.There is a special Dinner Theater rate when you reserve Dinner & Play Tickets at the Worcester Inn, (across the street from the Wieting Theater) of $42 and $39 for Seniors. Reserve Dinner and Show by calling the Worcester Inn at (607)397-8500.
Sunday’s dinner is served AFTER the matinee. Coming from out of town? The Worcester Inn is discounting an overnight stay for theatergoers! For those not attending the dinner, tickets may be obtained online at www.catskillplayers.org (see the “buy tickets” link above), or at the door of the Wieting Theater starting one hour before performance time.
Please join us for the January 12th at 6:00 pm annual winter CCP Party & meeting at the Home of Diana and Ben Friedell, 400 County Highway 58, Oneonta, NY. Bring a dish to pass for the potluck- and let the Friedells know what you are bringing- Main Dish, Side Dish, bread, Salad, veggie side dish, or dessert, hors d’hoerves, etc. Its cold outside, but we will be toasty and comfortable and have some fun!
For more info, get in touch with Diana.
