Past Shows
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Fall ’08, and the Players produced our first ever commissioned work... The Last Night of Comedy by Nick Stokes. This was a wacky and often surreal farce that followed a struggling crew of sketch comedians down the twisted path of their demise... where else could you find Muppets mingling with Escher, Bach and Shakespeare?
Winter of 2009 saw the grand daddy of all the Shakespeares be the final show put on in the old Study Hall. The CWA Players added a bit of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and a splash of Caddyshack to the mix to create a dark, brooding play that aptly sent that performing space off with flights of angels...
Alice in Wonderland, based on the original children's story by Lewis Carroll and adapted by Eva LeGallianne, was produced in the winter of 1999. It told the traditional story of Alice and her strange adventures set in a turn of the century mental institution.
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams was produced in the fall of 1999. The show presented the trials of an American family coping with a changing world in the 1930's. This CWA version was set in a full-size replica of Laura's miniature glass menagerie.
Into the Woods was the winter musical for 2000. Our version leapt from the pages of giant story books, and was the first collaboration of the entire performing arts faculty. It was a grand evening of theatre.
The fall 2000 production was the remarkable Existentialist play by Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit. Written after WWII, this dark fable takes place in a version of hell far more grim than even Dante could have imagined.
The 2001 Winter production was William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Charles Wright's version set the characters in an abandoned circus complete with magicians, acrobats, and clowns. There was much pratfalling and giant hammers. The actors transformed a fairly melencholy play into a real hoot.
In the fall of 2001, the Charles Wright Players presented Feiffer's People, by Jules Feiffer of all people. Our production was very loyal to the spirit of the nineteen sixties and included a wonderful set built by Don Enoch that lovingly remembered the Laugh In television show.
The winter 2002 production was the classic Lerner and loewe musical, My Fair Lady. CWA's version utilized our tiny space to bring greater focus to the class struggles represented in the play. There was still wonderful music and singing thanks to the tremendous talents of many CWA seniors and the always excellent work of Julie Kangas and Heidi Huckins.
Farndale Macbeth
The Fall 2002 show was the aptly named... ahem... THE FARNDALE AVENUE HOUSING ESTATE TOWNSWOMEN'S GUILD DRAMATIC SOCIETY'S PRODUCTION OF MACBETH. Not a lot more one can say about it except that there were a lot of wigs, sweater-vests, and John Long in drag. Hmmmmm?
As the poster proudly proclaimed, this was the real thing. Winter 2003 saw a dark and creepy production of the Scottish Play that used wicked cool make-up, music and computer effects to produce a version of Macbeth that was a polar opposite to the Fall production. This show was made successful by a young and enthusiastic cast, lots of help from CWA faculty and staff, and a huge helping hand by our wonderful parents.
Fall 2003's BULLSHOT CRUMMOND was a comedy. That pretty much sums it up right there. Lots of funny voices and funny faces, pratfalls, innuendo, and some darn funny lines in there, as well. A talented, young cast made this one fly, and THE WORLD'S SMALLEST BIG BAND was not to be missed
This musical adaptation of the wonderful film with Peter O'toole was kind of a tear-jerker thanks to some brilliant performances by a very solid cast. Our Winter 2004 musical, MY FAVORITE YEAR featured some of the best pure singing that I have seen here, and the cast and crew all came together to make this little known musical a big hit... and it had dancing coffee cups. That's right... Dancing Coffee Cups. It doesn't get any better than that.
2004/2005 was our "Year of the Fang", and the fall show was the ultimate fang show "DRACULA". This version took place on the set of a popular daytime drama, and while the original script was probably intended to be a bit more serious, our version garnered a few laughs along the way. As always... great kids, great tech, and lots of support from faculty, and parents.
This may have been the best thing done at Charles Wright in my time. Everything just came together... It was ROMEO AND JULIET for gosh sakes, and though it may be over produced, I doubt it has been done with a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" theme too often. So you have this wonderful script, an unbelievable cast that made every word and action come to life, a wicked cool set, terrific costumes and make-up, and an ensemble effort that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy just writing about it. Good show.
Yeah, this was pretty heavy, but the fall 2005 production of WHEN YOU COMIN' BACK, RED RYDER featured some outstanding ensemble performances from a senior laden cast, and one of the best representational sets built on a Charles Wright stage in my time. Kudos to Brian Crawford and his elite squad of young techies for making this show a very memorable piece.
Winter of 2006 saw an old warhorse of a musical wrenched and wrangled into a new-fangled summer blockbustery medium. Yes, it was ANNIE GET YOUR GUN set in "THE MATRIX". There was lots of singin' and dancin' and slow-motion gunnin'. Now that's Show Business!
Fall of 2006 gave us OUT OF THE FRYING PAN. A sweet little forties play about six twenty-something friends sharing an apartment in New York City... so why not set it on the sit-com set of FRIENDS? You can't think of a reason, can you? And neither could we. This one had a good ensemble cast and a set that was painstakingly similar to the sit-com... and, yeah, we sang the stupid theme song, too.
What better way to ring in Winter of '07 than with a 70's Rock Opera? Make it a Glam Rock version of DOCTOR FAUSTUS, that's how. This was a doozy... rock videos, ludicrous costumes and make-up, special effects, original songs, a full band on stage, and, of course, plenty of platform shoes. A tribute to Ziggy Stardust and his ilk, this show just about killed the cast and crew... but what a way to go!
The Fall of 2007 was a trip in the Way Back machine for the cast and audience of A THURBER CARNIVAL. Even the cast had no idea what they were saying was funny until our preview audience... but it was funny, moving, and oddly relevant. For a few nights, a talented cast brought back the wit and insight of one of this country's leading comic commentators, and they did it with a hip, beatnik flair that was thoroughly enjoyable and thoroughly Thurber. Ms. Heather Cantrall made her tech debut with a beautiful black and white set. Good stuff.
Yep... THE WIZARD OF OZ, a Winter '08 show for the entire family... Okay, so we killed off Toto, and the Witch was the scariest Jack-in-the-Box ever... and the Scarecrow was Jack Skellington, the Tinman was Optimus Prime... Oh, and the Wizard was a 12 foot tall Darth Vader puppet, and we won't even mention the Faculty flying monkeys... but other than that... Well, families loved it thanks to a brilliant Cast, Crew and Pit, and the hard work of Mr. Mike Moffit on tech and Ms. Aimee Mell on voices. A beautiful, fun, and even occasionally creepy time was had by all.
Story Theatre
Alice In Wonderland
The Glass Menagerie
Into the Woods
No Exit
The Tempest
Feiffer’s People
My Fair Lady
Macbeth
Bullshot Crummond
My Favorite Year
Dracula
Romeo and Juliet
When You Coming Back, Red Ryder?
Annie Get Your Gun
Out of the Frying pan
Doctor Faustus
A Thurber Carnival
The Wizard of Oz
1998-1999
1999-2000
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
The Last Night of Comedy
Hamlet
2009-2010
You’re a Good Man,
Charlie Brown
The Winter Musical for 2010 was that classic ode to that Round-headed kid. We set the 6 classic characters in a time bubble surrounded by our own version of a more contemporary, angsty present. Great singin’ and dancin’, Arena stagin’, and dinner thrown in for good measure. Everything about this show was brand new to all of us, and the kids pulled it off without a hitch. Happiness is a choral version of Radiohead’s Creep during an interlude.
RHINOCEROS
Fall 2009 and Eugene Ionesco ruled the brand new Donn Laughlin stage. This show packed a Tom Jones punch combined with more high tech than you could shake a horn at. Our version utilized over 80 feet of depth (the old space afforded about 10 feet max), and we covered it with auto lights, spinning gobos, and lots and lots of What’s New, Pussycat. Good times.
Story Theatre, by Paul Sills, was produced in the fall of 1998.The show presented a group of down and out street performers who acted out various fables and fairy tales using common urban refuse for costumes and props.
2010-2011
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
The winter show for 2011 was NOT a musical... it just really looked that way. With a eleven mostly original numbers composed or arranged by our brilliant house band, this version of the bard’s classic rocked the theatre as a tribute to the music video genre. The cast sang and danced their little brains out and still managed to tell the tale with clarity and plenty of pure entertaining moments. This was also the biggest tech show we have ever attempted and the results of all that hard work were extraordinary! I want my MTVeeeeeeee...
The Real Inspector Hound
This one was mostly just a ton of Stoppard fun, but the talented cast and huge tech crew made it a show to remember by transforming the entire building into a ritzy West End Theatre... complete with massive sidewalk banners, coat checks, restroom greeters, and even a few seedy scalpers. Very fun!
