Hovey Summer Arts Festival

July 15, 16, 22 and 23, 2005

“Summer Shorts is …the best damn theater company doing what they do best…”
– Larry Stark, Theater Mirror
Join us for our annual summer festival, this year featuring original one-act plays, short films, and paintings by Seana Antaya.

Featured one-act plays:

TRACK A: 7/15, 7/23, at 8 pm

FILMS
“Cat in a Bag” by J.P. DiSciscio
“Disposition” by Peter Bertoli
“The Green Faerie” by Kelly Farrell

PERFORMANCES
“Hothouse” by Kelly DuMar, directed by Nancy Curran Willis
“Team Colors” by William Campbell, directed by Erika Eisman
“The Angel of Brooklyn” by Dwayne Yancey, directed by Mark Baumhardt

TRACK B: 7/16, 7/22 at 8 pm

FILM
“Tough All Over” by Keith Brown

PERFORMANCES
“Tree Man” by Steven Schutzman, directed by Michael Tonner
“The Father Hat” by Frank A. Shefton, directed by Vincent E. Siders
“Looking Down” by Glenn English, directed by Gordon Ellis

Produced by Leigh Berry
Stage Manager: Michelle Gillis

Hovey is excited to feature, for the first time, SHORT FILMS! Paintings by Seana Antaya will be displayed upstairs in the Act II Lounge….

Note that the festival is back at Hovey Players’ Abbott Memorial Theater, 9 Spring Street, Waltham, MA.

Volunteers are still needed for concessions and box office! Please contact house manager, Tom Berry, at mjrtommy@aol.com.

Prompter

Cast:

John Tierney as Roy Applewood
Kate Tonner as Irma Applewood
Steve Travierso as Wayne Applewood
Daria da Silviera as Patty Ann Applewood
Bill Doscher as Roy Applewood, Sr.
Sandi McNeal as Em Applewood
John Greiner-Ferris as Reverend Muncie
Renee Tyzbir as Ruth
Jere Babst as Frank

Produced by Helene Andersson
Directed by Michelle M. Aguillon
Stage Manager: Karen Dervin
Set Design and Construction by John MacKenzie and Michele Boll
Lighting Design and Photography by Jeremy Medicus
Sound Design by Michael Tonner
Costumes by Helene Andersson, Kate Murphy, and the Cast
Dresser/Make-up by Gabrielle Hatcher
Properties by Michelle Gillis
Sarah Powell, Dramaturg
Artwork by JulieAnn Charest and Christopher Dunn
Programs and Signage by Mike Dunn

Tech Crew: Gordon Ellis, Ronni Marshak, Chris Rose, Mario Salinas, Matt Silverstein, John and Elaine Storer, John Tierney, Michael Tonner, and Paul Zakrzewski

Review: MetroWest Daily News, Norm Gross (PMP Network)

adapted by Jack Neary
Directed by John MacKenzie

The Following is from the author’s web page

“This adaptation of the classic Poe short story takes the challenging, haunting, somewhat oblique tale and casts it in the guise of a fast-moving 1930’s detective thriller, all the while maintaining Poe’s basic story of familial treachery and madness. The play opens with a young man being interrogated by a tough Boston police detective. The young man has been discovered cowering at the scene of a horrible fire which has destroyed the Usher mansion, leaving two unidentifiably charred bodies in its wake. As the plot unravels, we discover how this young man was involved in the collapse of the Usher estate, and we learn the family’s horrible secret. The scene shifts back and forth from the police interrogation room to the Usher mansion as the young man recalls and relives the chilling events of the past two weeks.”

March 11, 18, 19, 24, 25 & 26, 2005, at 8 pm
March 20, 2005, at 2 pm
Abbott Theatre, 9 Spring Street, Waltham, MA
Tickets $15.00 — Seniors $13.00

Cast

Ted Batch – Shaughnessey
Timothy Dargon – Roderick
Christine Frydenborg – Madeline
Eric Houghton – James
Katie Kuhl – Claire
Tracy Nygard – Fiona
Steve Turner – Tremblay

Crew

Michelle Aguillon - Producer
John MacKenzie - Director
Michael Tonner – Stage Manager
Michelle Boll – Designer
Kimmerie H.O. Jones – Costumer
Rocco Sperazzo – Tech Crew
Lissi Engvall – Properties
Kate Tonner – Box Office
Eric Houghton – Web Support

Prompter

Review: Theater Mirror

By Alan Ball

Directed by Gordon Ellis

It’s just basic human nature to be a real degenerate every now and then. And you ought to be able to do it without the whole world looking down its nose at you…

It is through this somewhat twisted prism that we join playwright Alan Ball, Academy Award winning writer of American Beauty and creator of the HBO series Six Feet Under, as he examines the role and nature of today’s modern woman. Working from traditional stereotypes, Ball attempts to tear down our preconceived notions of what makes a “lady” by slowly chipping away at these timeworn images in a steamrolling comedy that is at times both shockingly raw and deeply moving.

During a grand, Southern wedding reception, five bridesmaids seek refuge from the sterile ceremonies below by locking themselves in an upstairs bedroom. Now uninhibited by a need to act “lady-like,” the women soon discover that in addition to an almost universal dislike for both the bride and the dresses she has made them wear, they each share a desire to break from the traditional molds of womanhood that society has tried to force them into. Secrets are shared, hopes and dreams revealed, and fears exposed, as each of the five struggle with the battle between social expectation and individual satisfaction, all while baring their thoughts on everything from relationships to sex to the naming patterns of make-up.

Five Women is a raunchy and touching comedy that has been called an “affectionate but unflinching look at female friendships” by the Duluth News Tribune, featuring a “kaleidoscope of colliding emotions — anger, optimism, embarrassment, resentment, loyalty — even while generating laughs” (Orange County Register). Says Theatre Week, “Alan Ball has the comic writer’s requisite talent for dialogue that ricochets snappily around the stage.”

Join us this winter at the Abbott Theater as we attempt to take you inside the secret world of women, in Alan Ball’s story “about people trying to connect with each other… about people realizing what’s really important in their lives as opposed to what they thought was important… about people finding bravery within themselves.”

January 14, 15, 21, 27, 28 & 29,
and February 4 & 5, 2005, at 8 pm

January 30 and February 5 at 2 pm

Abbott Theatre, 9 Spring Street, Waltham, MA
Tickets $15.00 — Seniors $13.00

Cast

Rachel Carney - Frances
Gail Bishop Nessman - Georganne
Sara Jones - Mindy
Mary Kate Rod - Meredith
Melissa Sine - Trisha
Edwin (Ted) Batch - Tripp

Crew

Jeremy Medicus - Producer
Ronni Marshak - Assistant Producer
Gordon Ellis - Director
Matthew Silverstein - Stage Manager
Kimmerie H.O. Jones - Costumes
Ben Aldrich – Set Designer/Master Carpenter
Jonathan Kemble - Lighting Designer
Jerry Bisantz - Publicity
Michelle Aguillon - House Manager
Eric Houghton – Web Support

Reviews: MetroWest Daily News, Theater Mirror, Theater Mirror

Congratulations!

Hovey Players is proud to announce their Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) nominations for last season’s production of Five Women. Melissa Sine was nominated for Best Actress and its cast was nominated for Best Ensemble. Congratulations to all!

Prompter

by Jeffrey Hatcher
Directed by Lissi Engvall

In the last decade of the 20th century, a beautiful young woman wearing 19th century clothing is found floating on an iceberg in the middle of the North Atlantic. When rescued, she utters only one word, “Titanic.”

The woman is taken to an isolated spot on the coast of Maine, where a mysterious man, an expert on the 1912 sinking of the liner, skeptical of her claim, has arranged to interrogate the woman for six days. His goal: to crack her story, get her to confess she’s a fake and reveal her true identity. With some misgivings this man John is assisted by a Dr. Halbrech. The woman proves to be quite an adversary and John is drawn closer to her, even as he becomes more desperate to learn the truth. In a final attempt to crack her he confronts her with the last known Titanic survivor, Francis Kittle. At play’s end, the identities of all the characters have been questioned and many secrets revealed on this trip on the Scotland Road.

November 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 & 27, 2005, at 8 pm
November 14 and 21, 2005, at 2 pm
Abbott Theatre, 9 Spring Street, Waltham, MA
Tickets $15.00 — Seniors $13.00

The Cast

Leigh Berry, Wayne Vargas, Rachel Kline and Phyllis Weaver

Production Staff

Director – Lissi Engvall
Producer – Michael Tonner
Technical/Lighting Director – John Mackenzie
Set Design/Construction – Antonio Menditto
Costumes – Helene Andersson
Publicity – Jerry Bisantz
Program – Chris Dunn
Artwork – Dan Wintermantel

Prompter

Review: MetroWest Daily News, Theater Mirror

William Shakespeare’s Famous Comedy
Directed by Wayne Vargas

September 17, 18, 24, 25, 30, October 1-2, 2004, at 8 pm
September 26 at 2 pm
Abbott Theatre, 9 Spring Street, Waltham, MA
Tickets $15.00 — Seniors $13.00
Petruchio. Kate. A man. A woman. Spontaneous combustion.

The Taming of the Shrew is perhaps the most famous play ever written about the battle of the sexes.

Petruchio arrives in Padua looking for a wife, a rich one. The wealthy Baptista has a daughter, Kate, whom he wants to get off his hands, but she has a reputation as a shrew… a scolding tongue and a fierce temper. Petruchio also has a reputation, as a wild boy. Will he take Kate on?
…and who will tame whom?

The Cast

Katherina/Servant - Michelle Aguillon
Petruchio/Servant - Josh Bartok
Lucentio/Nathaniel - Brian Busch
Bianca/Tailor - Emily Evans
Vincentio/Peter/Christopher Sly - Stephen Falcone
Grumio/Lord - Mike Haddad
Hortensio/Servant - Eric Houghton
Widow/Pedant/Hostess/Servant - A.J. LaDuke
Biondello/Curtis/Page - Neal Leaheey
Baptista - Jim Muzzi
Tranio/Joseph - Andy O’Kane
Gremio - Christopher Wrenn

Production Staff

Wayne Vargas - Director
Shannon Allen and Michael Tonner – Producer
Matt Silverstein - Stage Manager
Gabrielle M. Aguillon-Hatcher – Assistant Stage Manager
Sarah Powell – Dramaturg
Chris Dunn - Program Art
Eric Houghton – Webmaster

Program

Prompter

Review: MetroWest Daily News