GYPSY to Kick Off Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre's 41st Season, 6/14-30

Celebrate summer with two wonderful plays offered by Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre in the College Community Center at CCBC Essex. "Gypsy" with its wonderful music and dance and "Social Security" with its 'sandwich generation' humor are refreshingly honest and enjoyable.

"Gypsy'" is loosely based on the 1957 memoir of the flamboyant stripper known as Gypsy Rose Lee. Louise, Lee's real name, (young - Sophie DeVito of Towson; older - Laura Donnelly of Baltimore City) and her younger sister, actress June Havoc (young - Katerina Lomis of Bel Air; older-Anna Holmes of Bel Air), were the children of an ambitious and manipulative stage mother, Rose (played by Shannon Wollman of Baltimore City). Featured as strippers are: Susan Ford Gorman of Baltimore City (Electra), Lisa Pastella-Young of Parkville (Mazeppa) and Laura May of Forest Hill (Tessie Tura).

The play is set in the 1920s as vaudeville was declining and burlesque was emerging. It follows the girls as their mother Rose and her hapless beau Herbie (played by Roger Schulman of Baltimore City) are hustled from town to town and theatre to theatre as Rose attempts to find roles and stardom for her children. Despite its serious subject, the play is funny and bright, filled with great songs and dance. In fact some critics believe that "Gypsy" may well be one of Broadway's greatest musicals with its abundance of major hits including "Everything's coming up roses," "Together," "Some People," and "Let Me Entertain You." John Desmone directs "Gypsy," with Bambi Johnson as Choreographer, Sally Tarr as Musical Director, Molly Hopkins as Stage Manager, Kacey Coffin is the Lighting Designer and James J. Fasching is Costume Coordinator. G. Maurice "Moe" Conn is the Mainstage Technical Director.

"Gypsy," which runs from June 14 - June 30, is in the Mainstage Theatre in the College Community Center (formerly the B Building Theatre) at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Boulevard in Rosedale.

Tickets for "Gypsy" are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors (60+) and $12 for children 12 years of age or younger. Tickets are available online athttps://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/team.asp?SponsorID=2623 or through the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS (2787).

"Social Security" by Andrew Bergman offers quasi-reality TV on stage. You will feel the pain of two married art dealers as they struggle with the visit of the wife's 'goody-goody' sister, her uptight CPA husband and her 'archetypal Jewish Mother,' who have come there to help them try to save their college student daughter from the horrors of living only for sex. Reality meets absurdity and you will recognize many of the people in this play as people you know or might even be related to! CCBC's Cabaret Theatre provides a wonderfully intimate setting for this family farce starring an ensemble cast of Greg Guyton of Phoenix as David Kahn,Jennifer Skarzinski of Parkville as Barbara Kahn, ReGina Rose of Bel Air as Trudy Heyman, Thom Peters of Parkville as Martin Heyman, Marge Ricci of Parkville as Sophie Greengrass and John Rowe of Perry Hall as Maurice Koenig. Albert J. Boeren directs and serves as Sound Designer with Lisa L. Boerenas stage Manager, Michael Rasinski as Set Designer/Scenic Artist/Lighting Designer, and James J. Fasching as Costume Coordinator. Kate Gage is the Cabaret Theatre Technical Director.

"Social Security" runs from June 15-30, in the Cabaret Theatre on the second floor of the College Community Center (formerly the B Building) at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Boulevard in Rosedale.

Tickets for "Social Security" are $16 for adults and $14 for seniors (60+). Tickets are available online at https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/team.asp?SponsorID=2623 or through the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS (2787).

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