LEWISTON – When tickets start selling even before the shows are announced, it’s a sure sign that The Public Theatre has gained the trust of its audience.
The upcoming season’s lineup won’t disappoint. There’s a spine-chilling ghost story, a heartwarming and humorous story of faith in a small Irish village, and a couple of comedies that take place on the high seas and the hometown Little League field.
It’s the 14th season for Lewiston’s popular professional theater and, for its opener Oct. 1 to Oct. 10, Artistic Director Christopher Schario and Associate Artistic Director Janet Mitchko have chosen a thriller that’s been running even longer. Now in its 16th season on London stages, “The Woman in Black” combines the spirit of Edgar Allen Poe and the suspenseful style of Alfred Hitchcock for the perfect pre-Halloween production.
A young lawyer grows increasingly uneasy as he goes about settling the estate of the lady who owned Eel Marsh House on England’s bleak eastern coast. Who is the young woman with a wasted face, dressed all in black, at the back of the church during Mrs. Drablow’s funeral and at the graveyard? The play’s revelations will set the skin crawling.
Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s book is true to the original. It uses much of Hill’s descriptive writing and dialogue, while transforming the novel into a gripping piece of theater.
Two special Public Theatre productions, which are sold separately from season subscriptions, will come along before winter.
“A Rooster in the Henhouse,” direct from Off-Broadway with its originator John O’Hern, is slated for Oct. 22 to 24. It’s billed as “a comedy for parents.”
Schario describes this show as “a stay-at-home dad’s hilarious rant about post-marital sex, a seemingly immaculate conception and his courageous efforts as a birthing coach.”
After a year’s hiatus, “A Christmas Carol” is returns to this stage on Dec. 10 to 12. The six-actor show adapted by Schario is coupled with musician, singer and storyteller Jennifer Armstrong’s “Celtic Christmas.”
Last year, Schario saw another theater’s production of his adaptation for the first time.
“It got a great production,” he said. It was at Bay Street Theatre on Long Island and it was directed by Tony winner Jack Hofsiss.
Schario said it was “kind of cool” to see it done there, and he noted that the Long Island troupe used the fiddler somewhat differently. Schario’s version of the Dickens’ classic plays there again in December.
In 2005, Jan. 21 to 30 brings the Maine première of a recent Off-Broadway hit, “Rounding Third,” to The Public Theatre. It’s by Richard Dresser, the author of “Gun-Shy.” Schario said “Rounding Third” is sort of like “The Odd Couple’s” Oscar and Felix as Little League dads.
Irish ‘Moonshine’
“Moonshine” is Public Theatre’s choice for March 11 to 20. In the play, it’s Good Friday in a small Irish village where the Protestant church is closing down, the vicar’s wife is dying and the cast for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is down to a spunky group of four. The town’s eccentric undertaker must keep hope alive for these lovable misfits.
This staging of “Moonshine” marks one of the first U.S. productions of this endearing Irish play.
Schario recalls that he and Mitchko read this play for the first time a few months ago. They fell in love with it and agreed it had to have a place in the already set season.
“We both wanted to direct this one,” Schario said. “I had the unspoken assumption from the beginning that I would do it, and Janet assumed she would. We worked it out – and it’s Janet who gets to direct it.”
Mitchko also will direct Tom Stoppard’s farcical “Rough Crossing,” which concludes the regular season when it runs from May 6 to 15. This “Fawlty Towers” style comedy puts a pompous leading man, his dimwitted leading lady, two playwrights, one speech-impaired composer and a waiter aboard an ocean liner.
One more special performance is set for May 22. That’s when the Figure of Speech Theatre’s production of “The Beanstalk Variations” comes to the Lewiston stage following performances on Broadway and at the Kennedy Center in Washington. It’s a delightful adaptation of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” featuring songs, humor and amazing hand-carved puppets.
The schedule for The Public Theatre’s 2004-2005 season follows the successful formula that Schario has used to fill the theater’s seats in show after show in recent years.
“We have developed some deep and powerful connections with our audiences,” Schario said. “They trust us to pick good plays and they can be sure of a season of wonderful discovery. They are always willing to come along for the ride.”
Subscriptions for the 2004-2005 season are on sale at $64 for adults and $56 for seniors and students through the business office at 782-2211. Tickets for “A Rooster in the Henhouse,” “A Christmas Carol” and “The Beanstalk Variations” are sold separately at $16 for adults, $14 for students and seniors, and $11 for children under 12. Group rates and student matinees are available for most performances.
The Public Theatre is at the corner of Lisbon and Maple streets.
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