Bill Van Horn News

William Shakespeare's magical comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream opens at Theater at Monmouth Friday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. One of Shakespeare's most popular plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream follows the journey of four young lovers as they find their way through the forest and to each other. But as Lysander says "the course of true love never did run smooth." Full of madcap chases and mistaken identities, A Midsummer Night's Dream is an exploration of the mystery and madness of love.

For 2015 Theater at Monmouth has planned a season of Magic, Murder, and Mayhem! Season 46 peeks into nature of reality and illusion, pokes fun at the foibles and fables of romances young and old, and will prick-up the hairs on the back of your neck. From Shakespeare to Stoppard and Coward to James, the 2015 Season is sure to be a perception-altering ride.

The actor in Walnut Street Theatre's A LIFE IN THE THEATRE discusses why acting is similar to other jobs but unlike most.

Walnut Street Theatre's Independence Studio on 3 continues its season with David Mamet's comedy A Life in the Theatre. Philadelphia audiences will be the first to see this production before it becomes the fifth national tour of a Walnut Street Theatre production. A Life in the Theatre opens in Philadelphia tonight, January 15th and runs through February 1st in the intimate Independence Studio on 3.

Walnut Street Theatre's Independence Studio on 3 continues its season with David Mamet's comedy A Life in the Theatre. Philadelphia audiences will be the first to see this production before it becomes the fifth national tour of a Walnut Street Theatre production. A Life in the Theatre begins in Philadelphia with previews on January 13th, opens January 15th and runs through February 1st in the intimate Independence Studio on 3.

Walnut Street Theatre's Independence Studio on 3 continues its season with David Mamet's comedy A Life in the Theatre. Philadelphia audiences will be the first to see this production before it becomes the fifth national tour of a Walnut Street Theatre production. A Life in the Theatre begins in Philadelphia with previews on January 13th, opens January 15th and runs through February 1st in the intimate Independence Studio on 3.

As has been the tradition for quite a few seasons, Theater at Monmouth ends its season with a production of one of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operettas. This year's choice, The Sorcerer, is a frothy, pleasant entertainment enhanced by the strong vocal merits of much of the cast. The pristine neo- baroque gem of a theatre in Cumston Hall is the perfect venue for singing. The acoustic - unmiked - is crisp, clear, focused, and allows for the ringing delivery and coloratura fun of Sullivan's music.

Doing justice to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, one of the most beloved and most often quoted plays in the repertoire, can be a daunting task, but the Theater at Monmouth has assembled a youthful cast and given the Bard's tragedy an honest reading - one which compensates for what it may lack in passion and abandon with sincerity and moments of striking originality.

Season 45 continues at Theater at Monmouth with Oscar Wilde's deliciously witty satire, A Woman of No Importance, opening tonight, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. Fraught with epigrams and pithy sentiments, A Woman of No Importance probes the societal hypocrisy of punishing women for the sin of passion while lauding men for their conquest. Surely the basis for Downton Abbey, Wilde's dark comedy lays bare the moral contradictions of Victorian England.

Season 45 continues at Theater at Monmouth with Oscar Wilde's deliciously witty satire, A Woman of No Importance, opening Friday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. Fraught with epigrams and pithy sentiments, A Woman of No Importance probes the societal hypocrisy of punishing women for the sin of passion while lauding men for their conquest. Surely the basis for Downton Abbey, Wilde's dark comedy lays bare the moral contradictions of Victorian England.

William Shakespeare's pastoral comedy, As You Like It, opens at Theater at Monmouth on Friday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m. Set in the 1940s, As You Like It explores the ups and downs of love and courtship. Filled with mistaken identities and misplaced devotion, As You Like It lampoons the often puzzling, yet utterly gratifying, labor of love.

William Shakespeare's pastoral comedy, As You Like It, opens at Theater at Monmouth on Friday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m. Set in the 1940s, As You Like It explores the ups and downs of love and courtship. Filled with mistaken identities and misplaced devotion, As You Like It lampoons the often puzzling, yet utterly gratifying, labor of love.

The British are coming to Monmouth for Theater at Monmouth's 45th season. The British Invasion, running from June 28 through September 28, 2014, features a line-up of plays from England's greatest playwrights.

Whether it be live theatre or cinema, most theatergoers are looking for entertainment and often an escape. We buy our tickets, step through the lobby and enter a dimly lit space waiting with expectations of entertainment; comedy, drama, musical, horror, what have you. Every once in a while, the silence in the theatre is broken by 'that person'; the annoying audience member who feels the need to comment on the action or talk back to the performers. They are usually met with disdain, constant 'shooshing', and often removal from the theatre. However, Francis Beaumont's comedic masterpiece written nearly 400 years ago not only makes these 'annoying' talkback artists part of the show, it makes his work timeless and hilarious.

The Walnut Street Theatre will close its production of Noël Coward's FALLEN ANGELS on May 2nd. Champagne, romance and laughter are on the menu in this prime example of English comedy. The production will feature performances from Susan Riley Stevens, Karen Peakes, Bill Van Horn, Greg Wood, Dan Olmstead and Jennie Eisenhower.

Important new works for the stage are regularly being produced all across Greater Philadelphia in significant numbers! Currently, at the Walnut Street Theatre, two new plays can be seen - one a timeless look at the corrupt politician (The Prince by Bill Van Horn and Armen Pandola), and the other about the seeds of change that brought our national politics to where it is today (The Eclectic Society by Eric Conger).

Bill Van Horn and Armen Pandola have created a well-written political comedy currently playing at the Walnut Street Theatre's Studio 3. The Prince features two characters portrayed by the playwrights themselves. Nick Collas (Armen Pandola) is law ethics professor recounting to his students (the audience) the case of indicted politician Paul 'The Duke' Ducachevski (Bill Van Horn). Both actors spend the entire time in these roles and therefore spend a good deal of time addressing invisible people. However, when Van Horn as the Duke has a meeting or personally greets people at a crowded event, the acting and writing allow the audience to clearly see the people he's addressing.

The Walnut Street Theatre's 2009-2010 Independence Studio on 3 season opens with Red, White and Tuna - the tale of a tiny Texas town celebrating a very crazy Fourth of July. Directed by Barrymore Award winner Madi Distefano and featuring the talents of Bill Van Horn and John Zak; Red, White and Tuna starts on November 24, opens on December 3 and closes on January 3.