For the summer of 2012, make that three big-name actors, all in one vehicle, the last and possibly least performed of the plays of the great Noël Coward. A Song at Twilight takes place in the Swiss Alps, where a legendary British author and his wife are visited by an old flame of his with a bombshell of a secret to divulge. Orson Bean, his real-life wife Alley Mills and Paula Prentiss are the stars, and James Glossman directs. The show runs from July 20 to August 5.
Kicking off the Shadowland summer season, from June 1 to 17, is Farragut North, by Beau Willimon. See if this plot description sounds familiar: “It’s Iowa on the eve of the presidential caucuses, and campaign wunderkind Stephen Bellamy feels on top of his game. But in politics, all is not always as it seems, and soon Stephen is no longer fighting for his candidate, but for his own political career.” Yes, this is the drama that was adapted by George Clooney into the Oscar-nominated screenplay for the 2011 film The Ides of March. Brendan Burke directs.
Fully Committed by Becky Mode depicts the trials and tribulations of Sam, the reservation clerk for a chic, overbooked first-class Manhattan restaurant. Anything that can possibly go wrong certainly will in this breakneck one-act, one-actor comedy, directed by Brendan Burke. It runs June 22 through July 15.
From August 10 to September 9, following the Coward piece, Shout! The Mod Musical is a Sixties-era musical revue that follows the coming-of-age and consciousness-raising of five young women. Created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein, it’s set to a soundtrack of Sixties girl-group hits like “To Sir with Love,” “Downtown,” “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” “Son of a Preacher Man,” “Goldfinger” and more.
Summer at Shadowland wraps up with the New York premiere of The Dangers of Electric Lighting by Ben Clawson, running September 14 to 30. The drama is based on the true-life “war of currents” in 1884 between established inventor/entrepreneur Thomas Edison, defending DC, and the scientific upstart Nikola Tesla, advocating AC. Brendan Burke directs.
Shadowland hosts performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at $30 and Sunday matinees at $25, with a $2 discount for seniors and students.
July 14 to August 3
PianoSummer
SUNY-New Paltz
Box office: 257-3880
https://www.newpaltz.edu/piano/schedule.html
Meanwhile, across the Gunks, young keyboard prodigies from across the country and around the world will be gathering on the SUNY-New Paltz campus to study with a resident and guest faculty of piano masters led by Russian émigré Vladimir Feltsman, and to demonstrate their chops in the annual Jacob Flier Piano Competition. The general public is invited to sit in on the competition rounds and master classes and attend recitals by instructors and students both.
This looks like fun. Where can I get more information? We usually just stay with our local sun valley resort, but wed like to try somewhere new. 🙂