‘The 39 Steps’ at The Cape Playhouse Is Pure Pleasure

September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘The 39 Steps’ at The Cape Playhouse

The Cape Playhouse presents THE 39 STEPS by Patrick Barlow. From the novel by John Buchan. From the movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Directed by Kimberly Senior. Scenic Design by Frank J. Olivia. Costume Design by Sarina Fellows. Lighting Design by M.L.Geiger. Sound Design by Joanna Lynne Staub. Fight & Intimacy Choreography by Unkledave’s Fight-House. Dialect Coaching by JDR. At The Cape Playhouse at the Cape Cod Center for the Arts, Dennis, MA through September 7, 2024.

By Linda Chin

Summer is officially over, our post-Labor Day calendars are filling up with back-to-school, back-to-work responsibilities, and theater companies across New England are launching their 2024-25 seasons, but Cape Cod and the dunes of Provincetown need not just be a lovely memory in your Rear Window. There’s still time to head North by Northeast (from NYC), or South by Southeast (from Boston) to The Cape Playhouse to catch a performance of The 39 Steps, a mystery play adapted from a 1915 Scottish spy novel and the classic 1935 adventure film by Alfred Hitchcock.

A Scrumptious Production Of ‘Waitress’ At The Cape Playhouse

August 15, 2024August 15, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

The Cape Playhouse presents WAITRESS. Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareilles. Book by Jessie Nelson. Directed by Eric Rosen. Choreographed by Paul McGill. Music Directed by Ryan Shirar. Scenic Design by Jack Magaw. Costume Design by Devario D. Simmons. Lighting Design by Kat C. Zhou. Sound Design by Andre Pluess. Wig Design by Bobbie Zlotnik. The Cape Playhouse at the Cape Cod Center for the Arts, Dennis, MA, through August 24, 2024.

By Linda Chin

The Cape Playhouse – the longest-running professional summer theater in the country – continues its exciting 98th summer season (the first with Eric Rosen as the new Artistic Director) with a scrumptious production of Sara Bareilles’ Waitress, directed by Rosen himself. Ryan Shirar music directs, and Paul McGill choreographs. Jack Magaw’s lovely scenic design for the main playing area, supported by Kat C. Zhou’s expert lighting design, includes a screened wall that defines the inside of the diner and offers views of the lovely rural landscape and open sky outside. Besides seeing the cast of sixteen performing their hearts out, the audience is gifted with seeing the orchestra of six musicians (conducted by Shirar) perform on-stage throughout the show.

A Cavalcade of Timeless Tunes at Cape Playhouse’s ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’

July 17, 2024July 17, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Julia Knitel as Carole King in *‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’* at the Cape Playhouse

The Cape Playhouse Presents ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’. Book by Douglas McGrath. Words and music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil. Directed by David Ruttura. Choreographed and Associate Directed by Joyce Chittick. Music Directed by Nick Williams. Scenic Design by Ryan Howell. Costume Design by Gail Baldoni. Lighting Design by Kirk Bookman. Sound Design by Emma Wilk. Wig Design by Bobbie Zlotnick. At The Cape Playhouse, Dennis, Massachusetts, through August 3, 2024.

By Linda Chin

If the buzz and camaraderie during intermission at last Saturday’s matinée of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical was an indication, audience members were having “one fine day” at The Cape Playhouse. In the multi-generational audience, traditionalists and boomers (like my plus-one and me) were well-represented, and what we had individually and collectively just experienced in the first act was a stroll down memory lane. For me, being in the historic Playhouse (which was originally a 19th-century church; the seats are wooden pews with comfy cushions), hearing beloved songs from my younger days (recognizable and filling me with anticipation from the first three chords) – and being taken back in time to moments and memories from my teen/young adult years, was surreal, even other-worldly. And, to continue the metaphor, the actors’ pitch-perfect renditions of the iconic songs on the Playhouse’s small, intimate stage, with their glorious voices and the live orchestra’s music soaring to the rafters, was spiritually uplifting, even heavenly.

Cape Playhouse’s ‘Deathtrap’ is a Killer Comedy

August 23, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Susan Wands, Robert Petkoff, Robbie Simpson in Cape Playhouse’s ‘Deathtrap’ Photo: Emma Quinn)

by Kobi Kassal

The Cape Playhouse closes their 93rd season with one of Broadway’s most successful comedic thrillers of all time. Ira Levin’s Deathtrap is brought to life, or should I say death, in a new production mounted by Tony-nominated director, Marcia Milgrom Dodge. Don’t worry – this review is spoiler free.

The play originally premiered right in our own backyard here at the historic Wilbur Theatre in Downtown Boston before moving on to play almost 1,800 performances on Broadway. Deathtrap also found success in the 1982 film adaptation starring Christopher Reeve and Michael Caine. Set in a stylish converted stable turned house in Westport, CT, the play opens with a down-on-his-luck playwright, Sidney Bruhl, who cannot seem to write a new play to save his life. He and his wife Myra have been living off her family money and are quickly running out of options until up-and-coming playwright Clifford Anderson writes a new hit that lands on Sidney’s desk. They joke about murdering Clifford and taking the play for themselves…and I won’t go into any more detail. Along the way we also meet Sidney’s lawyer, Mr. Poter Milgrim as well as a kooky European named Helga with mystic ESP powers who can predict the future.

Review: Noises Off – Cape Playhouse

August 10, 2019August 21, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Noises Off’ at Cape Playhouse (Photos: Emma Quinn)

by Kobi Kassal

Curtain up for Noises Off, now playing at the Cape Playhouse until August 17th. The 93-year-old theater has once again produced an exhilarating production that proves to be a masterclass in comedy on Cape Cod.

Esteemed playwright Michael Frayn wrote his farce-within-a-farce in 1982 and New York Times critic Frank Rich once declared it, “the funniest play written in my lifetime”. No wonder this show has been produced three times on Broadway in its 37 year history; not to mention numerous productions around the world. Frayn’s intricate story tells the tale of the play “Nothing On” that the audience witnesses three different productions of during the course of the show. Act I shows the final dress rehearsal of the show; Act II flips the set showing the audience the show from backstage; and Act III features the final performance of their touring production. Directing this behemoth of a play is no easy feat, not to mention doing it in 2 weeks, so kudos to Jeffrey Denman for doing a first-rate job.