Out on the Town!
Friday night, the Bobcat Players hit the town with a reader's theatre performance of Bobcats After Dark: Survival of the Fittest at Cafe Kolache. We enjoyed a wonderfully cozy night of laughter with our community and the desserts were to die for! The performance sold out quite quickly, and we were very excited to help forward the arts in Beaver County while also supporting local small business. If you missed the show, here's a quick recap:
Board member Pat Depenhart narrated the program as our resident disco queen, introducing eight short vignettes by various playwrights. Survival of the Fittest began with Please Have A Seat and I'll Be With You Shortly by Garth Wingfield, the tale of two troubled patients in a therapist's office. David and Sue, played by Casey Novak and Mike Prest, strike up a conversation for the first time after month's of sitting in the waiting room in silence--but who knows where it will really lead? In Another Day by Cindy Arsenal, two cherries see change in their immediate future and brace for the impact it will have on their lives. Brandon and Dawn Fowler as Hermoine and Bob brought the laughs, as always, in this quirky script. Joshua Antoon and Kelly Kochick really raised the question of survival, especially for women in a man's world, with their performance of Asking For It. Despite its serious undertones, the two brought humor to the play about a woman involved in a hit and run accident. The first act was rounded out by David and Shelly Cary with their heartfelt performance of Post-Its by Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman. Post-Its records an entire marriage from its nervous beginnings to the heartbreaking end.
After a brief intermission, Pat kept the show rolling with DMV Tyrant by Christopher Durang, performed by Jere Antonetti and Patty Hamilton. This short play tells the all-too-familiar story of what happens when systems break down, with the added bonus of a complete lack of customer service. In keeping with that theme, Valerie Boyce and William Kucinski (making his Bobcat debut) gave us a glimpse at how to survive technology in the 21st century with Henrietta by Joe Krawczyk. Henrietta is the story of a very aggressive GPS system with an agenda and made its debut at last year's Pittsburgh New Works Festival. And though our theme was survival, every story eventually comes to an end. In Funeral Parlor by Christopher Durang, Susan is mourning the loss of her husband when a surprising guest with absolutely no boundaries insists on helping her properly grieve. Andrew Mayle and Patti Ross knocked it out of the park with this hilarious script, which was originally written for Carol Burnett and Robin Williams. Joyce Hoellein and Keith Zagorski, a powerhouse pairing, brought the show to a comedic close with Chocolate by Frederic Stroppell. Hoellein portrayed the prim and proper Mrs. Colby, who always had a too-perfect answer to the detective's questions about her missing husband and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
You may or may not realize that the Bobcat Players have been performing "out on the town" for years now. We've performed for library fundraisers, retirement communities, garden clubs, teacher's groups, and more. In fact, this program, Survival of the Fittest, is able to hit the road and is easily customized to your needs. If you're interested in hiring us for a performance, don't hesitate to reach out! We can best be contacted through our e-mail and we'd be happy to provide you with more information. And don't forget to stay tuned for our next Theatre Thursday blog entry on February 14th, where we announce our 2019 casts!
