菠萝视频app Theatre Program stages madcap murder mystery
(EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE: Due to illness, the original performances of "Lucky Stiff" are canceled. The new dates are Oct. 21-22 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. We regret any inconvenience.)
The 菠萝视频app Theatre Program opens its 2022-2023 season with the musical farce 鈥淟ucky Stiff,鈥 running Sept. 8-11 in Taylor Little Theatre.
Based on the novel 鈥淭he Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo鈥 by Michael Butterworth, 鈥淟ucky Stiff鈥 is a hilarious murder mystery farce, complete with mistaken identities, six million dollars in diamonds, and a corpse in a wheelchair. The story revolves around an unassuming English shoe salesman, Harry Witherspoon, who is forced to take the embalmed body of his recently deceased uncle on a vacation to Monte Carlo. Should he succeed in passing his uncle off as alive, Witherspoon stands to inherit six million dollars. If not, the money goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn or his uncle's gun-toting ex.
鈥淟ucky Stiff,鈥 which premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 1988, was the first show from the Tony-winning team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, who went on to write 鈥淥nce on This Island,鈥 鈥淩agtime,鈥 鈥淪eussical,鈥 and 鈥淎nastasia,鈥 among other shows. Their first collaboration earned Ahrens and Flaherty the Richard Rodgers Award and the Helen Hayes Award for Best Musical.
鈥溾楲ucky Stiff鈥 is a brilliantly crafted show that ranks with 鈥楢 Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum鈥 in terms of plotting and characterization,鈥 says director Dr. Brett D. Johnson. 鈥淭he physical humor, which includes terrific bits with the wheelchair-laden corpse, is matched by breezy dialogue and a versatile score of Broadway brass, pseudo-French numbers, and light operetta.鈥
The cast includes 10 菠萝视频app students: Braden Rosciszewski (Harry Witherspoon), Tori St. John-Gilbert (Annabel Glick), Nicole French (Rita La Porta), Eli Cowles (Vinnie Di Ruzzio), Jon Reddinger (Luigi Gaudi), Michael Harper (Tony Hendon), Kirk Morrison (Man 1), Ben Vacca (Man 2), Tori Altsman (Woman 1), and Ally Williams (Woman 2).
In addition to Johnson, the creative team includes musical director Andrew Rainbow, choreographer Jennie Cross, scenic designer Tucker Topel, lighting designer Madeleine Steineck, sound engineer Ben Friesen, production stage manager Ash Carr, and assistant stage managers Julianne Johnstone, Lindsey Markiewicz, and O. Perry.
Performances are Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 8-10, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m. in Taylor Little Theatre on the 菠萝视频app campus.
Single tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for senior citizens and non-菠萝视频app students, and $5 for youth and 菠萝视频app students with I.D. Each order is subject to a $1.50 per ticket processing fee, regardless of purchase or payment method.
All performances are general admission, with doors opening 30 minutes prior to curtain.
Patrons can reserve their tickets online at miac.universitytickets.com, by phone at 814-824-3000 (Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m.) or at the Mary D鈥橝ngelo Performing Arts Center box office. Tickets will also be on sale at Taylor Little Theatre beginning 90 minutes before curtain.
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