EAST BRUNSWICK — Playhouse 22, the township’s community theater troupe, is gearing up for its first shows in four years.
In fact, the company has a full season of shows slated, beginning this month and running through June. The season is the troupe’s first at its new home, the East Brunswick Community Arts Center, at Heavenly Farms, 715 Cranbury Road.
“The Odd Couple, Female Version,” is first on the schedule, from Sept. 11-Oct. 10. East Brunswick resident Douglas Brautigam will direct the Neil Simon classic.
“This version of ‘The Odd Couple’ will keep the audience in stitches, and I’m thrilled to be part of new theater’s first season of programs and shows,” said Brautigam, a member of the Playhouse 22’s Board of Directors.
There will be no shows Sept. 18, 19 and 20 in observance of Rosh Hashanah.
Playhouse 22’s second show will be the hit musical “Guys and Dolls.” Director Mary Lynn Dobson, an award-winning and accomplished director and playwright, will serve as director. The show runs Oct. 30-Nov. 22. Dobson previously directed “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “She Loves Me” and her original production, “Two On The Aisle, Three In A Van.”
In December, Playhouse 22 will bring back its annual production of “A Christmas Carol,” first premiered in 1994 when Playhouse 22 was located in its former theater on Dunhams Corner Road. The holiday classic will be sponsored by the law offices of Mayo and Russ in East Brunswick. Running Dec. 11-20, the shows will be directed by Tony Adase.
Playhouse 22 kicks off 2010 with a staged version of the Frank Capra classic, “You Can’t Take It With You.” Based on the 1936 Broadway comedy and 1938 film starring Jimmy Stewart, Playhouse 22’s version will be directed by award-winner Bob Garigullo, who brought “Six Degrees of Separation” and “Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero” to the Playhouse 22 stage in 1999 and 2001, respectfully. The show will run Feb. 5-28.
In the spring, audiences will gather to see the musical “Brigadoon.” The film version of the well-known musical starred Gene Kelly. “Brigadoon” tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for one day every 100 years, though to the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. Adase will direct the show, which runs April 9-May 2.
Playhouse 22 finishes the season with “Jewtopia,” the longest-running new comedy in both Off-Broadway and Los Angeles history. “Jewtopia” tells the story of two 30-year-old single men. One, a gentile, wants to marry a Jewish girl so he’ll never have to make another decision; the other, a Jew, wants to marry a Jewish girl to please his family, but can’t get a date. Directed by Mark Kalet, the show will run June 4-27.
For information, visit www.Playhouse22.org or call the box office at 732-254-3939.