Wonder of the World

By David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Rich Greywolf

October 17-20; 24-27

A Barrel of Laughs

Nothing will prepare you for the dirty little secret Cass discovers in her husband’s sweater drawer. It is so shocking that our heroine has no choice but to flee to the honeymoon capital of the world in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on.  It’s a wild ride over Niagara Falls as Cass embarks on a journey of self-discovery that has her crossing paths with an alcoholic, a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of bickering private detectives, and a strange caper involving a gargantuan jar of peanut butter, all of which pushes her perilously close to the water’s edge.

Tickets are $20 (+fees) online or $25 at the door if still available. Buy tickets here.

Vanities

By Jack Heifner

Directed by Christina Neubrand

August 15-18; 22-25

Comedy

Jack Heifner’s "Vanities" premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 1976 and chronicles the lives of three young women, Joanne, Kathy, and Mary from high school to college, to adulthood. At its core, the story is about friendship.  Marriage, children, careers, choice, religion, culture, parent expectations verses personal dreams... Sometimes when you get exactly what you wanted and find out it is not what you needed at all.  With a combination of humor, realism, and nostalgia "Vanities" highlights how we can choose to learn, expand, and grow to connect to our authentic selves or allow stereotypes, outside voices, and fear of judgement to trap us in a glass house of our own creation.  What will Joanne, Kathy, and Mary choose? Buy tickets here.

VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE by Christopher Durang, Directed by Rich Greywolf

Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play.  Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia share a home in Bucks County, PA, where they bicker and complain about the circumstances of their lives.  Suddenly, their movie-star sister, Masha, swoops in with her new boy toy, Spike.  Old resentments flare up eventually leading to threats to sell the house.  Also on the scene are sassy maid Cassandra, who can predict the future, and a lovely young aspiring actress named Nina, whose prettiness somewhat worries the imperious Masha.

ANNA IN THE TROPICS by Nilo Cruz, Directed by Lynn Hamrick

Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Set in Florida in 1929 in a Cuban-American cigar factory, where cigars are still rolled by hand and “lectors” are employed to educate and entertain workers. The arrival of a new lector is a cause for celebration, but when he begins to read aloud from Anna Karenina, he unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics, and the American dream prove a volatile combination. 

–A POIGNANT AND POETIC PLAY–

THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER: A Holiday Radio Play, based on the play by Moss Hart and George S.  Kauffman, Directed by Charlotte Keefe

Shortly before Christmas, on a lecture tour in Ohio,  Sheridan Whiteside, a famous radio host with a venomous tongue, slips on the ice and is confined to the home of the Stanley’s. He proceeds to plunge the household into chaos, ruling the place like a czar and meddling in everyone’s love life. The lives of the inhabitants of the town are so dull that they willingly endure insults just for the privilege of being in the same room with Whiteside. Despite all of the shenanigans, the spirit of the season wins out and all of the characters get what they deserve in the end.

3 Performances-Wednesday December 13, Thursday December 14 and Friday December 15 at 7:00 p.m.  Friday evening only-limited tickets available to purchase for dinner and the show $40 or purchase for show only $20.

–A HOLIDAY FARCE–

MONSTER IN A BOX by Spalding Gray, Performed by Jeff Spicer

Spalding Gray was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and performance artist. MONSTER IN A BOX is a detailed description of his attempt to write his first novel. “It’s a story about a man who can’t write a book about a man who can’t take a vacation” A one-man show filled with curious characters, celebrities and great advice for pouring your own drinks.

–THEATRICAL STORYTELLING– 

ARMS & THE MAN by George Bernard Shaw, Directed by Eleanor Russell

Shaw satirizes romantic ideas concerning war, heroism and upward mobility while taking a swing at class and gender politics. The play unfolds in Bulgaria in 1885, towards the end of the very brief  Serbo-Bulgarian War. There are soldiers, love triangles, family drama, enemies to lovers, pining, banter, forbidden romance, and chocolate. The plot follows a cast of characters that are trying to live up to their own romantic expectations of who they think they should be.

–A 19TH CENTURY ROM-COM–

THE BOOK OF WILL by Lauren Gunderson, Directed by Rich Greywolf

THE STORY: Without William Shakespeare, we wouldn’t have literary masterpieces like Romeo and Juliet. But without Henry Condell and John Heminges, we would have lost half of Shakespeare’s plays forever. After the death of their friend and mentor, the two actors are determined to compile the First Folio and preserve the words that shaped their lives. They’ll just have to borrow, beg, and band together to get it done. Amidst the noise and color of Elizabethan London, THE BOOK OF WILL finds an unforgettable true story of love, loss, and laughter, and sheds new light on a man you may think you know. Performances: August 17-20; 24-27, 2023

August 15 and 16 at 6pm at the Wildflower Playhouse

3 females, 5 males, Ages 20-60; all ethnicities

 To schedule a different time, more information or questions call Eleanor at 312-914-5417

 A romantic comedy, set in the Petkoff household in Bulgaria and satirizes romantic ideas concerning war and heroism.

Performances: October 19-22; 26-29.

PLAYWRITING CONTEST

Taos Onstage is thrilled to announce the 2023-2024 Don Keefe Memorial Playwriting Contest. 

The contest will award one or more playwrights with a full production of their play, produced by Taos Onstage. The contest is open to all residents of New Mexico. Contestants may submit full length plays, short plays, or works in progress to taosonstagecontest@gmail.com. 

Submissions are now open and will be accepted through June 1. Additional attention will be paid to submissions that have been performed at the Taos Onstage New Works Showcase.

Directed by Karen Paull

FUNNY AND POIGNANT

Four women meet once a year for a ritual photo shoot, chronicling their changing (and aging) selves as they navigate love, careers, children, and the complications of history.  But when these private photographs could  become part of a public exhibition, relationships are tested, forcing the women to confront who they are and how they will deal with whatever lies ahead.  20th Century Blues is a sharply funny and poignant play that questions our place in the world and with one another.

April 20-23; 27-30; Thurs- Sat. 7:30 pm; Sun 2 pm

Directed by Jane Ayles

ENTERTAINING AND LOVABLE

Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after 22 years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg’s career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate’s career, as a public-school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park—or that has found him—bearing only the name “Sylvia” on her name tag.  She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of his job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. And Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn't understand the relationship between man and dog. The marriage is put in serious jeopardy until, after a series of hilarious and touching complications, Greg and Kate learn to compromise, and Sylvia becomes a valued part of their lives.

February 16-19; 23-26; Thurs- Sat. 7:30 pm; Sun 2 pm

Directed by Rich Greywolf

HEARTFELT AND HILARIOUS

Miracle on South Division St. is the story of the Nowak family. It is Christmas Eve. A meeting of the Nowak family has been called by daughter Ruth, whose designs upon a theatrical career are now centered upon an old family legend—the supposed visitation of the Virgin Mary to Grandpa at his East Side barber shop. Since the death of Grandpa, daughter Clara has been the keeper of the flame for some 50 years, tending to this decidedly non-official religious site, banking donations and doling out free soup there twice a week.  The “miracle” has defined Clara and her three children to a considerable extent, so when daughter Ruth decides to at last divulge the true story of the seminal events, and how she has come by it, it’s as though a volcano has erupted right in the house. The results are heartfelt and hilarious. 

December 13, 14, 15; Tues., Wed. Thurs. 7:30 pm

Directed by André Callot

RICHLY SPARE AND EXTRAORDINARY - With help from an intriguingly innovative technology in a future not far from our present, Marjorie examines her past, sometimes replacing her realities with idealized memories. Through deeply drawn characters—both real and in the form of artificial intelligence companions, or “Primes,” Harrison burrows into troubling questions of the digital age: What would we remember, and what would we forget, given the power of authorship? Will we be any less human once computers know us better than ourselves? This richly wondrous play explores the mysteries of human identity and limits -if  any- of what technology can replace.

October 20-23; 27-30; Thurs- Sat. 7:30 pm; Sun 2 pm

“Marjorie Prime” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.co