Ah, Spring is in the air and The Schoolhouse Theater is planning to present a four-course meal of tantalizing fare. The following is a calendar of Main Stage theater performances and special events planned now through June.
March 1 - 25: Days of Wine and Roses, a biting drama by JP Miller and made famous by the 1962 film starring Jack Lemon and Lee Remick, is coming to The Schoolhouse Theater. Days of Wine and Roses is an intense dramatic portrayal of a young couple and their struggles with alcohol addiction. A play some called "brilliantahead of its time," The Schoolhouse Production will surely be spellbinding. Artistic director Pamela Moller Kareman describes it best, "This powerful play is ultimately a love story, a harrowing even sometimes terrifying love story, but a love story nonetheless." Not to be missed. Performances will be Thursday - Saturday, 8pm and Sunday, 3pm. An impressive roster of guests for the Talk Back sessions is also in store and an art exhibit, "Blooms & Bottles," will be on view in the main gallery for the run of the show.
Sunday, April 1 at 3pm: A screening of the film Lost Bohemia, tells the story of the landmarked artists' studios above Carnegie Hall. Famed residents included Marilyn Monroe, Isadora Duncan, Barnett Newman, Norman M ailer, Marlon Brando and George Balanchine. Sadly, it is the only film record of the extraordinary studios and last denizens of a community that inhabited them for over a century. Starting in 2001, residents of the studio were evicted by the Carnegie Hall Corporation in order to convert the studios into office space. The audience is invited to stay after the screening to participate in a Talk Back with the film's director, Josef Astor, a 20-year resident of the Carnegie studios.
May 24 - June 10: Twelfth Night The Schoolhouse is thrilled to announce that not only is this their first ever Shakespearean production, but they are bringing Penny Cherns, head of the classical acting department at the esteemed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, to Croton Falls to direct this beloved comedy. When Viola impulsively chooses to dress like her twin brother to fend for herself in a foreign land, she enters a situation as seemingly crazed as Alice through the Looking Glass. This adventure plays with oppositions, with exaggeration and delicacy and in the end exhorts us to seize the day and not live in an imagined romance. Sure to be an audience favorite! Performances will be Thursday - Saturday, 8pm and Sunday, 3pm.
Saturday, June 16 at 7:30pm: The First AnnuAl Bloomsday Celebration
Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce during which the events of his novel Ulysses (which takes place on June 16, 1904) are relived. It is observed annually on June 16 in Dublin and other locations. Joyce chose the date as it was the date of his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Ulysses.
The Schoolhouse Theater and Gallery is a unique setting for the arts in Westchester. Built in 1926, the brick building served as an active school until 1976. Galleries exhibit many fine local artists, while the theater, where ever y seat feels like a front-row-seat, accommodates audiences of less than 100. Theatergoers enjoy the intimate quality of the space, as well as the all-Equity casts who bring theatrical excellence and experience from Broadway to Croton Falls.
Over the years, The New York Times has called The Schoolhouse Theater "Westchester's sole claim to consistent, professional theater, where people can see plays they are not likely to see elsewhere." The Schoolhouse is a regional Equity theater, dedicated to presenting professional theatrical performances by award-winning playwrights and to support and promote other art forms.
The Schoolhouse is located at 3 Owens Road, Croton Falls, NY, just off exit 8 on I-684. For reservations, call the box office at 914-277-8477. More information about The Schoolhouse Theater and Gallery is on the web at www.schoolhousetheater.org.
