 Route 20, P.O. Box 283 Wayland, MA    |
Vokes Players'
1994-1995 Season
(Click on each title for more information!) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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#229
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Directed by Craig Foley |
October, 1994
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero. Benedick and Beatrice are engaged in a "merry war"; they both talk a mile a minute and proclaim their scorn for love, marriage, and each other. In contrast, Claudio and Hero are sweet young people who are rendered practically speechless by their love for one another. By means of "noting" (which sounds the same as "nothing," and which is gossip, rumour, and overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into rejecting Hero at the altar. However, Dogberry, a Constable who is a master of malapropisms, discovers—unbeknownst to himself—the evil trickery of the villain, the bastard Don John. In the end, Don John is captured and everyone else joins in a dance celebrating the marriages of the two couples. |
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#230 Duet For One By Tom Kempinski Directed by Kimberly Faris |
January, 1995 Kempinski gives a searing impression of the anguish and disturbance involved in probing the regions of the subconscious, whose secrets may help illuminate our lives if brought to the surface. Duet For One can therefore be likened to a drama in which the mind conceals a mystery waiting to be solved. When Stephanie Abrahams, wheelchair-bound wife of a fashionable composer, arrives at the consulting room of German-Jewish psychotherapist, Dr Feldmann, she suggests that plans to act as her husband’s secretary and to teach exceptional pupils the violin are proof of fighting-spirit, to bolster which Feldmann prescribes anti-depressants. As the sessions continue, as the psychotherapist raises questions about her childless marriage, conflict with her father, the early death of a mother who had abandoned a concert pianist’s career and, crucially, about her own marriage, Stephanie’s façade is pierced. |
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#231 What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton Directed by Rick McKenzie |
March, 1995
Dr. Prentice is a psychiatrist attempting to seduce his attractive prospective secretary, Geraldine Barclay. The play opens with the doctor examining Geraldine Barclay in a job interview. As part of the interview, he convinces her to undress. The situation becomes more intense during Dr. Prentice's supposed "interview" when Mrs Prentice enters. He attempts to cover up his activity by hiding the girl behind a curtain. His wife, however, is also being seduced and blackmailed by a Nicholas Beckett. She therefore promises Nicholas the post as secretary, which adds further confusion, including Nicholas and Geraldine dressing as the opposite sex. Dr. Prentice's clinic is then faced by a government inspection. The inspection, led by Dr. Rance, reveals the chaos in the clinic. Dr. Rance talks about how he will use the situation to develop a new book: "The final chapters of my book are knitting together: incest, buggery, outrageous women and strange love-cults catering for depraved appetites. All the fashionable bric-a-brac." |
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#232 Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel Directed by John Fogle |
May, 1995 Set in Ireland's County Donegal in August 1936 is the fictional town of Ballybeg. Dancing at Lughnasa is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator. He recounts the summer in his aunts' cottage when he was seven years old. This play is loosely based on the lives of Friel's mother and aunts who lived in the Glenties, on the west coast of Donegal. Set in 1936, during the summer before de Valera's new constitution was approved by referendum, the play depicts the late summer days when love briefly seems possible for three of the Mundy sisters (Chris, Rose & Kate) and the family welcomes home the frail elder brother, who has returned from a life as missionary in Africa. However, as the summer ends, the family foresees the sadness and economic privations under which they will suffer as all hopes fade. |
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#233 Jacques Brel is Alive and Well & Living in Paris Music by Jacques Brel Directed by Kirsten Gould Musical Direction by Susan Minor |
July, 1995 Jacques Brel is Alive and Well & Living in Paris is an American musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. revue, consisting of around 25 songs, is performed by four vocalists, two male and two female. Jacques Brel contributed most of the music and French lyrics; English translations were provided by Eric Blau, Stone's husband, and Mort Shuman, a Brill Building songwriter responsible for such hits as "This Magic Moment", "Viva Las Vegas", "Teenager In Love", and others. |
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