We all need a night of laughter and great entertainment. Now on stage at The Ridgefield Theater Barn is the hilarious comedy “Moon Over Buffalo”. The comedy will be presented starting May 30th through June 21, 2025. The play by Ken Ludwig was staged on Broadway in 1995 starring Carol Burnett and ran for over 300 performances.
The play takes place in Buffalo New York in the early 1950s where we meet George and his wife Charlotte who are both actors and are presenting two plays in their small repartory theatre, Cyrano De Bergerac and Private Lives. We meet the characters as they have a sword fight to and fro across the Theatre Barn stage. The sword fight is only a hint of the highly physical comedy that is to come during the two act, two hour performance.
George and Charlotte love the theater, but they crave one last fading hope at starring in a Hollywood feature film. Such a chance happens when the leading actor in a Frank Capra film is injured and the legendary director is coming to see George and Charlotte perform in person with the possibility of casting them in the film.
Chaos breaks out in the preparation for the performance. Joining the cast is Eileen one of the company actors who announces she is pregnant with George’s child. Also arriving is Roz (the daughter of George and Charlotte) and her fiancé, a television weatherman. When Charlotte discovers that George has fathered a child she plans to run off with her own lover, Richard. George starts drinking and runs off. As Capra will be arriving soon for their performance, the players make a crazy physical chase through the elaborate stage in search of George and aided by Charlotte’s half deaf mother, Ethel.
The pace of comedy becomes frantic, fast and physical. The Theatre Barn set has numerous doors and a staircase which becomes the backdrop for a desperate search to find George and somehow stage the play in time before Capra’s arrival. The laughs are nonstop with wonderful performances from the cast.
The cast is George Hay – Fred Rueck, Charlotte Hay – Gillian Holt, Ethel – Elayne Gordon. Rosalind – Julia Preis, Howard – Seth von Schmidt, Eileen – Clara Sussmann, Paul – Matthew Donovan, and Richard – Timothy Huber.
Directed by Diana Canova who expertly guides this hilarious and over the top comedy by using every square foot of the stage and directing the actors to deliver their lines with hysterical result. An evening of laughs not to be missed. The set design was very impressive and really was an important part of the play.
The Ridgefield Theater Barn is a great experience. The audience in the small intimate space can bring in their own food and drink to enjoy prior to the performance. It is a very special venue and the productions are always of high quality.
For tickets and information:https://ridgefieldtheaterbarn.org/
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