Stories that are new to the stage, slightly off-center or just plain strange are what Harlequin Productions does best. But its upcoming show takes its fondness for oddness to a new level by warping well-known tales.
The Cayuga Community College theater group opens its fall show, “Flipped and Twisted: An Evening of Two One-Acts,” tonight, at the Irene A. Bisgrove Community Theatre.
The two plays, “Bob Juan” and “Jack, the Ticket Ripper,” hijack the main character of Lord Byron's epic poem and London's infamous serial killer to create an hour of comedy that features Don Juan's maladroit younger brother and a jaded theater worker who snaps when his job is axed.
“When I direct shows, I want to make it fun,” said theater director Bob Frame. “We call it a play for a reason.”
The 15-member cast is a collection of CCC students who participate in the theater program as an extracurricular activity. In order to keep students interested and ensure they are learning something new, Frame chooses plays that are “geared more to the student sensibility,” he said, “rather than going after another chestnut that they're not interested in.”
Playwright Jay Huling's “Bob Juan” relies on a chestnut, Lord Byron's Don Juan, a suave gentleman of the 1800s. Huling's play follows the trials and tribulations in love of Juan's younger brother, Bob, who was not blessed with Don's charm.
“My Bob Juan is wonderful,” said Frame. “He's throwing his body all over the stage but is in control of himself.” Similar to many of the plays Frame chooses for the college theater group, “Bob Juan” relies on physical, slapstick humor.
John Morogiello's interpretation of the classic killer Jack the Ripper transforms Jack into a theater ticket taker who is nixed for a volunteer who can do his job for free. Jack loses his cool and goes on a killing rampage throughout the theater.
Frame said that among the biggest challenges he encounters with every new season is the turn-over of students. As an extracurricular program, he sees a lot of new faces at each audition. But with “Jack, the Ticket Ripper,” Frame said he had been working on one particular challenge.
“Lots of people to kill, so you have to deal with blood,” he said, “but still keep it funny.”
Sarah Gantz
253-5311 ext. 237
sarah.gantz@lee.net
If you go.
What: “Flipped and Twisted: An Evening of Two One-Acts”
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 29 - 31 and Nov. 5 - 7
Where: Irene A. Bisgrove Community Theatre, Cayuga Community College Auburn campus, 197 Franklin St., Auburn
Cost: $1 for CCC students, $5 general public
Info: Call 255-1743
The two plays, “Bob Juan” and “Jack, the Ticket Ripper,” hijack the main character of Lord Byron's epic poem and London's infamous serial killer to create an hour of comedy that features Don Juan's maladroit younger brother and a jaded theater worker who snaps when his job is axed.
“When I direct shows, I want to make it fun,” said theater director Bob Frame. “We call it a play for a reason.”
The 15-member cast is a collection of CCC students who participate in the theater program as an extracurricular activity. In order to keep students interested and ensure they are learning something new, Frame chooses plays that are “geared more to the student sensibility,” he said, “rather than going after another chestnut that they're not interested in.”
Playwright Jay Huling's “Bob Juan” relies on a chestnut, Lord Byron's Don Juan, a suave gentleman of the 1800s. Huling's play follows the trials and tribulations in love of Juan's younger brother, Bob, who was not blessed with Don's charm.
“My Bob Juan is wonderful,” said Frame. “He's throwing his body all over the stage but is in control of himself.” Similar to many of the plays Frame chooses for the college theater group, “Bob Juan” relies on physical, slapstick humor.
John Morogiello's interpretation of the classic killer Jack the Ripper transforms Jack into a theater ticket taker who is nixed for a volunteer who can do his job for free. Jack loses his cool and goes on a killing rampage throughout the theater.
Frame said that among the biggest challenges he encounters with every new season is the turn-over of students. As an extracurricular program, he sees a lot of new faces at each audition. But with “Jack, the Ticket Ripper,” Frame said he had been working on one particular challenge.
“Lots of people to kill, so you have to deal with blood,” he said, “but still keep it funny.”
Sarah Gantz
253-5311 ext. 237
sarah.gantz@lee.net
If you go.
What: “Flipped and Twisted: An Evening of Two One-Acts”
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 29 - 31 and Nov. 5 - 7
Where: Irene A. Bisgrove Community Theatre, Cayuga Community College Auburn campus, 197 Franklin St., Auburn
Cost: $1 for CCC students, $5 general public
Info: Call 255-1743
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