Nutty Comedy CHARLEY'S AUNT Plays The Roxy Regional Theatre This Month

Fans of Oscar Wilde's comedies and the British sitcom Fawlty Towers -- and those who simply love to laugh -- will not want to miss the latest entertainment offering coming to the corner of Franklin and First in Historic Downtown Clarksville.

Complete with young lovers, mistaken identity, eccentric characters and lots of hilarious twists and turns along the way, the delightfully nutty British farce CHARLEY'S AUNT opens at the Roxy Regional Theatre on Friday, July 12, at 8:00pm. In keeping with the theatre's traditional pay-what-you-can opening night, all tickets not pre-sold at the regular price will go on sale at 7:30pm that evening for a $5 minimum donation.

Written by Brandon Thomas and the inspiration for the 1941 film starring Jack Benny, CHARLEY'S AUNT features Ryan Bowie and Ian Alexander Erbe as Jack Chesney and Charley Wykeham, two Oxford undergraduates who are hapless at life and hopeless in love.

Jack loves Kitty Verdun (Caitie L. Moss), and Charley loves Miss Amy Spettigue (Emma Jordan). They invite the ladies to lunch to meet Charley's wealthy aunt from Brazil ("where the nuts come from"); but when she cancels her visit at the last minute, the boys are thrown into cataclysmic confusion. What do they do now?

The problem is solved by drafting their feckless Oxford undergrad pal (Bryan Plummer) into a black satin skirt, bloomers and wig to impersonate Charley's aunt -- setting off a hilarious chain of classic comic confusion!

Directed by Mairzy Yost-Rushton, the cast also features Brian Best as Amy's uncle and Kitty's guardian, Stephen Spettigue; Gregory Scott Stuart as Jack's father, Colonel Sir Francis Chesney; Melody Lieberman as Charley's real aunt, Donna Lucia d'Alvadorez; David Graham as Jack's valet, Brassett; and Sarah Wilson as Donna Lucia's ward, Ela Delahay.

CHARLEY'S AUNT is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., and is produced in part by Hugh & Joy Hatcher. Additional funding support has been provided by Tracy Jackson.

Performances run July 12 through July 27 on Thursdays at 7:00pm and Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, with a 2:00pm matinee on Saturday, July 20.

Tickets are $25 (adults) and $15 (13 and under) and may be reserved online at www.roxyregionaltheatre.org, by phone at (931) 645-7699, or at the theatre during regular box office hours (9:00am to 2:00pm, Monday through Friday, and one hour prior to curtain). Military, APSU students and CitySaver coupon holders can receive two tickets for the price of one to Thursday performances during the run.

The Roxy Regional Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to producing professional live theatre and promoting the arts, with emphasis on education, in Clarksville, Middle Tennessee and the Southeast. The theatre is located at 100 Franklin Street in Historic Downtown Clarksville. For more information, visit www.roxyregionaltheatre.org.

Photo: "Ryan Bowie, Bryan Plummer and Ian Alexander Erbe star in CHARLEY'S AUNT at the Roxy Regional Theatre, July 12 - July 27"

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