Entries Tagged 'OVER OUR HEAD PLAYERS' ↓

On September 18, Over Our Head Players opens their 18th season with the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire. A story about healing after tragedy, Rabbit Hole runs three weekends September 18 – October 4 at the Sixth Street Theatre, 318 Sixth Street, Downtown Racine. Reservations are available through the box office, (262)632-6802. Tickets are $12 - $15.

A successful suburban couple must pick up the pieces after devastating tragedy tests their marriage: the Corbetts have everything a family could want, until a life-shattering accident leaves them drifting perilously apart. Rabbit Hole charts their bittersweet search for comfort, exploring life after tragedy. Their story is told through daily moments and emotional hurdles hiding in routines. The drama is in the haunting details, capturing “the awkwardness and pain of thinking people faced with an unthinkable situation - and eventually, their capacity for survival, and even hope.”

Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire is well-known for his comedies. Rabbit Hole is the most serious and simply told tale from the man who wrote the previous OOHPs hits Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, and Wonder of the World. In addition to Rabbit Hole’s Tony nomination for Best Play, Lindsay-Abaire’s work as a lyricist earned him two Tony nominations for Shrek the Musical, currently running on Broadway.

With a critically acclaimed Broadway premiere, featuring Cynthia Nixon, Tyne Daly, and John Slattery, Rabbit Hole has been hailed as an artistic breakthrough for the highly regarded David Lindsay-Abaire. In addition to being awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it has drawn critical raves: “an intensely emotional examination of grief, laced with wit, insightfulness, compassion and searing honesty,” Variety. “Grade: A! A transcendent and deeply affecting new play, which shifts perfectly from hilarity to grief,” Entertainment Weekly.

Director Patti Fitchett is familiar with Lindsay-Abaire’s style; she previously directed Wonder of the World at Sixth Street Theatre. She notes that although Rabbit Hole is a drama by a well known comedy writer, it fits into his view of life, which has been described as “outsiders in search of clarity.” She further explains part of the attraction to his plays, “I like that Lindsay-Abaire writes about real people in absurd situations; this show is no exception. It emphasizes our society’s discomfort with grief, showing how the most common of human emotions can become so complicated.”

The Rabbit Hole cast includes Jenny Kostreva, Jennifer Nordstrom, Joe Krapf, Alice Anne Conner, and Patrick Schneider.

Well-known local actor Patti Fitchett directs Rabbit Hole; Kathy Honigmann assistant directs; Rich Smith production manages, and Stephanie Dresen Stage Manages. The staff includes Joseph Piirto, Donna Nielsen, Maddie Braun, Ron Schulz, Diane Carlson, Jerry Horton, Tom Spraker, and Janine Anderson. Continue reading →

Over Our Head Players will present Theatre/Schmeatre, original sketch comedy, beginning May 15. These original sketches will be performed at Sixth Street Theatre, Downtown Racine, on Fridays and Saturdays only, May 15 – June 6. Reservations are available through the box office, (262)632-6802. Tickets are $15.00.

Theatre/Schmeatre is a multi-media evening of short, unrelated original scripted comedies Continue reading →

In March, Over Our Head Players opens a dark, unauthorized parody of the Peanuts characters, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead by Bert V. Royal. An adult comedy, Dog Sees God runs just three weekends March 27 – April 11 at the Sixth Street Theatre, 318 Sixth Street, Downtown Racine. Reservations are available through the box office, (262)632-6802. Tickets are $12 - $15. OOHPs cautions the play contains mature content and language.

This unauthorized parody is set approximately 10 years after the events in the comic Peanuts. CB’s world is inhabited by a parade of misfits: Continue reading →

Theatre / Schmeatre is an evening of original sketch comedy. OOHPs’ sketches promise lots of silliness and satire in the tradition of Second City. Back for a second year!

Over Our Head Players will hold open auditions for Theatre / Schmeatre. Auditions are on Tuesday, March 31, at 7:00 p.m. at the Sixth Street Theatre, 318 Sixth Street, Racine. Roles are available for two to four men and two to four women. Both female and male actors ages 18 to 60 are needed. Shows are May 15 – June 6. Auditions involve cold readings and may also include improv exercises; prepared pieces are not necessary. No previous experience is necessary to audition. For more information, leave a message for the director at the theatre, (262)632-6802.