Preparing for a Premiere

August 4, 2005

We closed our second show of the season last week.  “Red Herring,” a wonderful comic caper, went out with a bang.  If you missed this one, I am sorry.  Audiences really had a great time with this McCarthy era comedy by Michael Hollinger.  Our talented cast of six actors played 17 different characters; changing wigs, costumes and facial hair constantly throughout the show.  It was a blast watching them switch from one character to the other and demonstrated the incredible skill of our professional cast.

Our cracker-jack technical crew struck the Boston fishing pier set of “Red Herring” last Sunday night and immediately began assembling the London living room for our next play, the wacky comedy “Tom, Dick and Harry.”  It is always a marvel to see one set on Sunday night and come back in Monday morning to a completely different world.  Kudos to our hard working team of designers, technicians and interns for pulling off this  gargantuan task again.

The opening of “Tom, Dick and Harry” by Ray and Michael Cooney is another coup for the Players.  We are one of three theatres in the world getting a chance to premiere the Cooney comedy before its London premiere later this month.  Because of our long relationship with the Cooney’s (we’ve done five of their comedies) we were selected for this pre-London tryout.

Those of you familiar with the other Cooney shows we’ve done, “Out of Order,” “Funny Money,” “It Runs in the Family,” “Caught in the Net,” and “Cash on Delivery,” will know what comical geniuses Ray and his son Michael are.  They are expert craftsmen at piling one hilarious situation on top of another and creating a non-stop world of comic bedlam.  These are the kind of shows that make the saying “side splitting” humor really ring true.

Ray has written or co-written more than 17 plays that have been presented in London’s West End and as a director and producer is responsible for more than 30 London productions.  In England he is the equivalent in terms of longevity and success of our famous Broadway playwright Neil Simon.

Ray’s son Michael is following in the family tradition having written a number of stage comedies as well as writing and directing the movies “Jack Frost,” “Jack Frost 2” and Identity.

So between now and August 21 you have the special chance to see this talented father and son teams newest comedy, “Tom, Dick and Harry.”  You can call the box office at 868-3287 or visit our new and improved website at www.peninsulaplayers.com.  See you at the theatre!