On October 6th, the Providence Players will open their 20th anniversary season with Ken Ludwig’s fast-paced comedy Moon Over Buffalo. Director Jayne L. Victor has assembled an outstanding group of talented actors to bring this outrageously funny play to life on the James Lee Community Center Theater stage. Moon Over Buffalo kicks off the Players’ 2017-2018 season, a year long celebration of PPF’s two decades of providing quality, affordable, award-winning, all-volunteer community theater in Northern Virginia.
Join us for an Outstanding Season of Community Theater
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Meet the Cast of the Providence Players Production of Moon Over Buffalo
Maria Watson (Charlotte) worked for 15 years as a New York City-based actor, dancer and singer. She was classically trained at the Washington School of Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts and University of Utah. In New York, she studied directing with Tony Award-wining director Vivian Matalon and acting at the Acting Studio in New York City with James Price. She served as Artistic Director of the Mohawk Theatre Guild in Massachusetts, Millbrook Playhouse in Pennsylvania, and as Director/Choreographer at the Forestburgh Playhouse in New York. Maria is currently the Director of Dance at Georgetown Day School and on faculty at Ballet Nova in Falls Church. Maria is excited to be making her PPF debut in a role originally performed by one of her favorites, Carol Burnett.
Michael Donahue (George) This is Mike’s eighth season with PPF. He has also played Stanley Kowalsky in Glass Mendacity, George in Of Mice and Men, Tom in Dinner With Friends, Andrew Wyeth in Sleuth, Joe in All My Sons (which won the Ruby Griffith award for best production) and in the world premiere as Ray in Big Tree Falls with the Players. Mike was a member of the Society of American Fight Directors from 1984 to 2000 and staged fights all over the eastern seaboard. Mike has a BFA in performing from VCU and an MFA in directing from University of Memphis. He will be directing PPF’s production of The Front Page this winter.
Robey Manno (Ethel) made her PPF debut as Miss Stephanie in last winter’s production of To Kill a Mockingbird after a 30-year hiatus from the stage. She immediately followed up her return onstage with backstage roles as props master and stage crew member for PPF’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in the spring. This fall (is there a pattern here?) she is thrilled to be cast as Ethel in Moon. “The play is hilarious and is just what we all need right now…laughter and levity.”
Jenny Madorsky (Rosalind) is thrilled to be making her second appearance on the Providence Players stage! She was last seen as Marvalyn in Almost, Maine (Providence Players), Nora in Henrick Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (Duke Theater Studies), Tekla in August Strindberg’s Creditors (Duke Theater Studies), Louise in Steve Martin’s The Underpants (Duke Players), Anna in Stroke/Book (Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern), and Skylar/Brandi in Buddy Cop 2 (Manbites Dog Theater). She is excited to get to play once again with the Players!
Chuck O’Toole (Paul) is thrilled and grateful to make his PPF debut in Moon. It marks only his second scripted show since dropping out of mime school in 2001. In the meantime, he has taken courses at the Washington Improv Theater and chronicled the tragicomedy of U.S. fiscal policy as an editor for Tax Notes. He lives with his patient wife, Leah Nylen, in Washington.
Jaclyn Robertson (Eileen) is a classically trained actress having acted in roles from Shakespeare to Clifford Odets, working in LA, AZ, and TX. She is a 2006 graduate of the AMDA LA studio program. When she’s not acting, Ms. Robertson is busy running her fitness business and chasing after her 3 young children. She is excited to make her debut with the Providence Players of Fairfax!
Eric Trumbull (Richard) is making his Providence Players debut in Moon. He is a retired Professor of Theatre and Communications at NVCC-Woodbridge and has appeared locally in a diverse range of comedy, drama and musical theater productions with Castaways Repertory Theatre, Prince William Little Theatre, Clifton Does Drama, VpStart Crow Productions, and the Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre among others. In addition to his acting, Eric has directed more than 50 stage productions over the years.
Scott Stofko (Howard) is proud to be a part of PPF’s 20th anniversary production of Moon Over Buffalo. This is his first show with PPF, and he is enthusiastic about becoming a greater part of the PPF family. He has been seen recently in Aldersgate Church Community Theater’s (ACCT) productions of Little Princess (Ram Dass), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (Sir Sagramor), and Fools by Niel Simon (Count Youskevich). Scott also works in voiceover and is very fond of performing characters with unique vocal traits. His voice-over work was recently demonstrated at LTA as the pre-show announcer for their recent run of Red, White and Tuna.
We Invite You to Join us for the Providence Players 20th Anniversary Season as a Season Ticket Holder
Order Season Tickets Online Here
Become a season ticket holder for significant savings off the single show ticket price. Season tickets are convenient and flexible. Choose which performance you wish to attend from any of 10 performances, including two Sunday matinees or Thursday evening performances. Choose early for the best seat selection or choose when you know when you want to go. Need to change the performance date later? We will help you make changes if you need to attend a different performance even after you have made your reservation. Holiday show tickets for “The Phantom Tollbooth,” based on the children’s classic and terrific for the entire family, are available as an additional item. The season runs from October 2017 to June 2018.
Moon Over Buffalo
By Ken Ludwig
Directed by Jayne L. Victor
From the master of period-perfect farce, Ken Ludwig, this fast-paced comedy is set in the Erlanger Theatre in Buffalo in 1953. Charlotte and George Hay are on tour with a repertory consisting of Cyrano de Bergerac and Noel
Coward’s Private Lives, when they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom: Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee. Mistaken identities, outrageous plot twists, slapstick comedy and a slew of self-obsessed performers desperately try to keep things from (hilariously) falling apart.
Performance Dates And Times
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.
October 6-21
Sunday Matinees 2:00pm
October 8 & 15
The Phantom Tollbooth
By Susan Nanus
Directed by Chip Gertzog
Based on the Book by Norton Juster Norton Juster’s acclaimed fantasy adventure comes to life onstage! Milo is bored and the Demons of Ignorance keep telling him “If you get the urge to do anything — don’t. It could be dangerous.” To the rescue comes the Phantom Tollbooth! Aided by a trusty timekeeping dog Tock, they meet many memorable characters in the Land of Wisdom on their quest to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason. Based on the classic young adult novel, The Phantom Tollbooth is outstanding entertainment for the whole family.
Co-Produced by Providence Players and The Young Hearts
This special production of a holiday treat will benefit the work of The Young Hearts, a group of amazing teens who raise funds to battle blood cancers and other diseases. Half of all net proceeds from this production will be donated to Young Hearts Foundation in pursuit of their important mission. For the past five years, over $40,000 was generated to support this important cause, and PPF hopes to increase its support in 2017.
Performance Dates And Times
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.
December 8 – 16
Saturday & Sunday Matinees 2:00 p.m.
December 9, 10, 16, & 17
The Front Page
By Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Directed by Mike Donahue
The classic comedy set in a 1920s Chicago Criminal Courts press room. Reporter Hildy Johnson wants to break away from journalism and get married, but all that changes when there is a jailbreak and an escaped convict, Earl Williams, falls into the reporter’s hands. Hildy’s daunting challenge now is to get Williams out of the building to a safe place for an interview before rival reporters or trigger-happy policemen discover him. Fast paced, and filled with crisp dialog and sharp humor, this irresistible comedy of both stage and screen fame packs a wallop of nostalgic Americana.
Performance Dates And Times
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.
April 6 – 21
Sunday Matinees 2:00 p.m.
April 8 & 15
California Suite
By Neil Simon
Directed by Beth Gilles-Whitehead
Neil Simon’s humorous confection in four separate comedy play-lets with one common thread. Four couples from different cities travel to California over the course of a year and stay in the same Beverly Hills Hotel suite, bringing their problems, anxieties and comic marital dilemmas with them. Simon is at his most humane and compassionate best yet the banter flies fast and furious in this popular comedy. The New York Times said “Mr. Simon is writing at his ebullient best…[He] makes us laugh so effortlessly.”
Performance Dates And Times
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.
June 1 – 16
Sunday Matinees 2:00 p.m.
June 3 & 10