Yearly Archives: 2012

We’re back!! Join us as we return to our home in the Dunham Arts Center. And stay tuned for details about our efforts to create a fully realized arts center for the Westside!

KING O’ THE MOON
By Tom Dudzick
Oct. 12-27, 2012

Revisit the Pazinski family in this hilarious, heartfelt sequel to OVER THE TAVERN. Set in the rebellious 1960s, Rudy, all grown up at 22, is a seminary student who is rethinking his father’s deathbed wish for him to become a priest. Eddie, on the verge of fatherhood, is about ship out for Vietnam. Their sweet sister Annie is contemplating divorce and Ellen, their widowed mother, sees a new romance blossoming. Join the family as they gather to honor their late father’s memory and quickly become entangled in each other’s lives. As with Tavern, there is never a dull moment in KING O’ THE MOON as the Pazinski household hurtles towards the next decade.

Praise for KING O’ THE MOON:
“Dudzick is well on his way to becoming the Neil Simon of the Catholic, Polish-American working class” ALICE T. CARTER, INTHEATER MAGAZINE

“This is a “Moon” that winces with pain and winks with joy. In its easy accessibility, this is a play that sometimes feels like an all-American musical comedy without the music.” HEDY WEISS, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

Our children’s show:
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS OF THE BLACK FOREST
By June Walker Rogers
Nov. 30-Dec. 9, 2012

Join us for this loose adaptation of the Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale. All the characters you love are here: Snow White, the seven dwarfs, the absent-minded king, his new wife (part witch and part queen but all funny), the magic mirror, and the handsome Prince. Throw in some new characters: the queen’s dim witted maid, Miss Time (daughter of Father Time), and Snow White’s animal friends and you have a rollicking twist on a familiar story, and in the end, everyone learns a valuable lesson!

MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS
By Ron Hutchinson
Feb. 22-March 9, 2013

The year is 1939, three weeks into the production of “Gone With the Wind” legendary producer David O. Selznick closes the set and fires Director George Cukor. With just five days to get back on track, Selznick hires famed screenwriter Ben Hecht to write a new script from Margaret Mitchell’s bestselling 1037 page novel. The only problem – Hecht had never read the novel! With no other options, a crazed Selznick pulls Director Victor Fleming from “Wizard of Oz” and barricades all three in his office for a marathon script writing session. For five days, mayhem and hilarity ensue amidst sleep deprivation, bushels of bananas, and tons of peanuts! Shell shocked and weary, the men emerge with a blockbuster script.

Peanut allergy warning: Patrons should be aware that peanuts and peanut shells are used in the production of this play.

I HATE HAMLET
by Paul Rudnick
May 3-18, 2013

Andrew Rally has it all: celebrity from his starring role in a hit television series; a beautiful girlfriend; a glamorous, devoted agent; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park. Having second thoughts about playing such a challenging role, in front of a live audience no less; the tipsy ghost of John Barrymore returns to his old apartment, urging Andrew to cast off the trappings of the material world and throw his soul into his destiny as an actor, to play Hamlet on the stage.

“…unapologetically silly and at times hilarious… affectionately amusing about the theatre…-The New York Times

“… fast-mouthed and funny…It has the old-fashioned Broadway virtues of brightness without pretensions and sentimentality without morals.”-The Village Voice

General Admission Tickets $14 or $12 for seniors or students or groups of 10 or more. Children’s Show admission $5. Season tickets which include admission for the above 4 shows can be bought for $35/ Single or $50 Pair.

For season ticket information: call 513-588-4988 | www.sunsetplayers.org

Also- join us for Playhouse Off the Hill: theater for families! All tickets – $5 (not included in the season ticket package)

ACCIDENTAL FRIENDS
By Y York
9/29 at 7:00 PM
Ages 7 and up

This funny but moving play tells the story of Jonathan, temporarily blinded by a head injury. He sits alone wondering why his best friends don’t come see him. Enter Hilda, a classic over-achiever geek, wondering why Jonathan hasn’t answered the witty letter she was made to write in class. With Hilda’s relentless encouragement, Jonathan learns to get around using his sense of touch. He also discovers that although Hilda may be unusual, she is also interesting and funny. Nonetheless, when Jonathan gets back to school and his friends, he turns his back on her. Only when it is too late does Jonathan realize that he must be encouraging, and that he can help Hilda by being her friend. The characters are rich, the story is honest, the play respects its audience.

THE TRAVELING JEKYLL & HYDE SHOW
By Russell Davis
1/26 at 7:00
Ages 11 and up

This high comedy deconstructs the themes of Stevenson’s classic horror novel using verbal wit, slapstick and clowning. A tiny touring theatre company attempts to tell the story of the scientist who learns to split his good from his evil side; however they are sabotaged ate every step who suffers from his own ability to keep his morality straight. The three women in the company slowly take control of the story as they learn to take control of their lives.

NOTE: This play is not a literal telling of the original novel, although it does touch on its themes and is very, very funny.

GO, DOG. GO!
Adapted by Steven Dietz and Allison Gregory
From the book by P.D. Eastman
4/ 20 at 2:00 PM
Ages 5 and up

P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book comes to life on stage in an exploration of movement, color and space. The dogs delve into life with gusto, creating a visual spectacle for the audience to feast upon. They snorkel. They howl at the moon. They ride a ferris wheel. They sing and dance and climb trees. This is a rollicking free-for-all of chicanine-ery. A big and little musical world of doggy fun. Like a pop-up book that comes to life – and never stops.

“With its gentle, bouncy humor and familiar situations, Go, Dog. Go! would make a fitting introduction to theater for even the youngest children, and has enough sly wit to satisfy older children and parents.” -The Columbus Dispatch