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A Maine Premier

June 18 to June 29

It’s 1945 on an island in the South Pacific and a USO show is about to be cancelled when the Andrew Sisters fail to appear. It’s up to three determined 4F stagehands to go on with the show. Filled to the brim with slapstick comedy, old-fashioned romance and guys in drag, this salue to the swinging 40′s has over 25 top tunes like Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive.

All That Jazz

July 2 to July 13

In Chicago’s roaring 20′s, Roxie Hart murders her faithless lover, is convicted and sent to death row where she and Velma Kelly, another merry murderess, vie for the public spotlight. Add Billy Flynn, a smarmy lawyer, Warden Mama Morton and the female inmates of death row, Amos Hart and Mary Sunshine to these real life 1924 criminal cases of women, betrayed and catapulted to celebrity fame. Wild music, bootleg gin and razzle dazzle makes this All American musical an exhilarating evening of live theatre.

A New England Premiere

July 16 to August 3

Join a lovable green ogre named Shrek as he sets out to reclaim his home swamp from a gang of fairy tale misfits. He and his chatterbox companion, Donkey, must rescue the dragon-guarded Princess Fiona and deliver her to the diminutive Lord Farquaad who must marry a princess to become a king and make Dulac a real kingdom. A family friendly tale with lightheaded love, engagingly silly laughter and the hope of the ‘happily ever after’.

Grab Your Blue Suede Shoes

August 6 to August 17

In the sumer of ’55, a hip-swiveling guitar player arrives in a small Midwestern town to ‘shake, rattle & roll’. In the next 24 hours, five mixed-up love stories start percolating. Part camp, part romantic farce, this funhouse ride is filled with toe tapping and hand clapping. This high energy juke box musical features Presley favorites including Jailhouse Rock, Heartbreak Hotel, Teddy Bear, Hound Dog, Love Me Tender, Now Or Never, Don’t Be Cruel, One Night With You and eighteen more!

A Musical Legend

August 20 to August 31

One of America’s best-loved musicals about Patsy Cline, the greatest female country super star, based on her friendship with a devoted fan, Houston housewife Louise Seger. A true story of humor, sadness and reality featuring more than 25 hits like Walkin’ After Midnight, Crazy, She’s Got You, I Fall To Pieces and Sweet Dreams! Join us for this song-filled tribute to a musical legend and share her extraordinary legacy.

Performances are Tuesday thru Saturday at 8 pm ad Wednesday matinees at 2 pm. Additional Sundays, June 23, July 7 and 21, August 8 and 22 at 8pm and Saturday Matinees at 2pm on June 29, July 13 and 27, August 17 and 31. Subscriptions available at great discounts until June 29. Box Office opens mid-May with matinees at $32 and evenings at $39. Information reservations, subscriptions available online and by calling our box office at 207-985-5552.

A deliciously goofy revue featuring four young singers, killed in a car crash on the way to ‘the big concert’, now miraculously revived for the posthumous fulfillment of their dream to perform ‘the show that never was’. Great nostalgic pop 50’s hits like Undecided, 16 Tons, Chain Gang, Perfidia, Cry, Heart & Soul, Rags To Riches, Moments To Remember, Gotta Be This Or That & more. The Plaids’ close harmony, zealous choreography and boyish squabbles wll put a song in your heart, a tap in your toes and a smile on your face!

Forever Plaid - June 5 to June 23 

Enjoy a New England Christmas in July! WWII vets Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, now big tv stars, follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters to a Christmas show at a Vermont ski lodge, which just happens to be owned by the GIs’ former beloved Army commander. A great story, guys and gals tapping their hearts out, and medlodies like Blue Skies, I Love a Piano, How Deep Is the Ocean, Sisters, Count Your Blessings & more are the perfect gift any time of the year! by Irving Berlin.

White Christmas  - June 25 to July 14

We’ve waved our magical wand to create the timeless enchantment of this musical fairy tale! Filled with princes, pumpkins, stepsisters, a fairy godmother, palace balls and a sparkling melodic score. Perfect family fun filled with love, laughter and hope in the miraculous kingdom of dreams-come-true, where hearts will soar when the slipper fits! by Rodgers and Hammerstein II

Cinderella - July 17 to August 4

It’s that irreverent, kinky, cult musical laugh fest from 1973. A parody of B horror movies and sci fi wrapped up with mutating identities, time warps and high heels and glitter in this British horror comedy stage musical. Join Frank‘n’Furter, a mad transvestite scientist and his creation, muscle man Rocky Horror, in the audience participation fun or just sit back and enjoy the circus!  (PG14 content)

The Rocky Horror Show - August 7 to August 18

A New England premiere featuring the life and music of one of show business’ most memorable performers. Garland’s one woman concert at Carnegie Hall in April of 1961 is intertwined with spectors from her turbulent past: parents, husbands, bosses, costars, booze, pills and even a young and vulnerable Judy. Songs like You Made Me Love You, Over the Rainbow, The Trolley Song, Be a Clown, That’s Entertainment, After You’ve Gone, Stormy Weather & more mark this tribute to the legendary Judy Garland!

Beyond the Rainbow: The New Judy Garland Musical - August 21 to September 1

Click on the image for ticket information.

6/12/2011 The Portland Press Herald

’39 Steps’ runs at full throttle with over the top attitude,fun

by Steve Feeney

Scene from "The 39 Steps"

“The 39 Steps” a Tony Award winning comedy adapted from the legendary film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, has certainly proved popular with area theater companies.  Portland Stage offered a production last fall and the Hackmatack Playhouse has scheduled a run for later this summer.

But right now the comic thriller/farce is paying a visit to the venerable Arundel Barn Playhouse and it starts the season off on a very high note.

The Patrick Barlow play, set in between-the-wars England, concerns Richard Hannay, one of those fictional “average” guys who turns out to be not so average.  Hannay gets drawn into a no-one-knows-quite-what mystery by a femme fat-ale who is killed in his apartment.  He then embarks on a harrowing journey where he encounters all manner of odd characters, sinister and silly-often both at the same time.

A backstage setting and many figurative and literal winks aimed at the audience give the show the sort of over-the-top theatrical attitude that draws everyone in on the fun.  The allusions to other Hitchcock films alone make for a fun challenge for the crowd.

Judging from Friday’s performance, director Gary John LaRosa found just the right quartet of young actors to make the show work.

Matthew Krob, as Hannay, had the dashing, one eye-brow raise kind of spirit down perfectly as his character began to relish the intrigue of outwitting spies.  He became that classic 1930s leading man as he eluded the authorities in his attempt to unravel the secret bestowed upon him by a shady lady.  Whether hanging precariously from a railroad bridge or being menaced by airplanes, Krob’s Hannay was a charmer.

Jessica Morgan performed well in the exaggerated range of characters she was given.  Her uneasy (in more ways than one) moments while handcuffed to the hero were highlights.

Robert Rice and Danny Prather went for the laughs as Englishmen, Scotsmen, salesmen, showmen, hoteliers and in numerous other roles.  Rice particularly had a ball with those parts requiring him to wear a dress.

Credit should be given to a technical crew for the numerous lighting, sound and set changes.  This is a show that needs to stay at or near full-throttle and the Arundel staff got it done.

Having fun with theatrical conventions while also paying tribute to how entertaining they still can be, this “39 Steps” is a winner

-Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who live in Portland

The Arundel Barn Playhouse will present another season of Song, Dance and Laughter in the tourist area of Kennebunkport, Maine. The Playhouse is located in beautiful southern New England with ocean beaches, golf, biking, canoeing, restaurants and other summer attractions. It is 1 1/4 hours from Boston and 30 minutes from Portland, Maine and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Summer climate in general is in the 80′s with low humidity.

The 39 Steps “The 39 Steps” is the two-time Tony Award-winning hit show in its THIRD SMASH YEAR IN NEW YORK, which continues to be an audience-pleaser. The amazingly brilliant cast of 4 plays over 140 characters in this fast-paced comedy thriller that’s great fun for ages 9 to 90. The New York Times calls it “Absurdly Enjoyable” and the Daily News says it’s “A Dizzy Delight!”

Crazy For You Crazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as “The New Gershwin Musical Comedy”, it is largely based on the songwriting team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well. Crazy for You won the 1992 Tony Award for Best Musical.

The Wizard Of Oz Little Dorothy Gale of Kansas, like so many girls her age, dreams of what lies over the rainbow. One day a twister hits her farm and carries her away over the rainbow to another world. Come join Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Cowardly Lion and Toto as they travel the universe of Dorothy’s imagination.

A Taffeta Wedding It’s 1964 and wedding bells are ringing for our favorite singing sisters, The Taffetas. Join them and their crooning beaus, The Cardigans, as they swoon and sway to favorite ’50s and ’60s pop tunes like Who’s Sorry Now, Kiss Me, Sincerely and Locomotion in this nostalgically fun musical about gals and the guys they love, written by Rick Lewis, creator of The Taffetas and A Taffeta Christmas.

I Left My Heart: A Tribute To The Music Of Tony Bennett From the team that created My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra comes the jazzy new musical revue I Left My Heart – a tribute to the man Sinatra called “the greatest singer in the world,” Tony Bennett. The unforgettable score includes forty classic tunes originally recorded by Bennett, from “The Best Is Yet To Come” to “Because of You” — and, of course, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”.