Season 2
2003 - 2004
Baby
September 25 – October 19, 2003
Book by Sybille Pearson, Music David Shire, Lyrics Richard Maltby Jr.. Baby was nominated for six 1984 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score. A funny and touching musical about three couples (one in their 20”s, one in their 30’s and one in their 40’s) dealing with having a baby. Of the original Broadway production, Frank Rich in the New York Times said, “The best new songs on Broadway! Baby will inspire you to run to the record store as soon as the original cast album comes out.”
Reviews
“Don’t be fooled by the title. “Baby” is a musical that is more about parents than babies, more about people thinking about being parents than actually bouncing them on their knees. Good Theater has opened its second season with this Maltby/Shire/Pearson musical that is as touching as it is funny, as lively as it is lyrical. Crisply directed by Brian P. Allen, this production has all the trademarks of Good Theater’s good theater: good property, great music, outstanding talent. Three couples in different decades of their lives face the prospect of having a baby. Each couple and each story is different, but all are striking in their depiction of what real people go through and how they respond. The insights expressed by the performers are underscored by a varied and emotional score that sweeps the audience along for the ride... (Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book were three of the six nominations the show got for the 1984 Tony Awards.) The vocally stunning Kelly Caufield and Ian Gleason are Lizzie and Danny, two college kids who, ooops, discover Lizzie is pregnant. Will this change their future? Samantha Fitschen and Timothy Bate are Pam and Nick – a couple in their 30’s who decide to try having a child. And Karen Stickney and Stpehen Underwood are Arlene and Alan – a couple with grown kids who, another ooops, discover they are pregnant again. They KNOW this will change their future. Allen has the ability to attract and encourage talented new and veteran performers to his shows. Even the ensemble include many who would be leads elsewhere – Cathy Counts, Jennifer McLeod, Bill Ellis, Margaret Plouffe, Chris Handy, Mark Calkins, Lois Sturtevant, Amy Roche, Meg Christie.” - Mary Snell. Portland Press Herald
“What’s so unique and clever about “Baby,” the 1983 Broadway musical – with book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. – is that it makes a coherent and charming evening of theater out of the experiences of three very different pairs of parents in a New England college town. “… ‘Baby,’ is a thoroughly professional (non-Equity) production, directed with skill and finesse by Good Theater founder Brian P. Allen. And let’s also note that Good Theater is Portland’s hottest and best new company to emerge in many a moon.” - Scott Andrews, The Forecaster
Cast & Crew
Starring:
Timothy Bate, Kelly Caufield, Samantha Fitschen, Ian Gleason, Karen Stickney, Stephen Underwood
Featuring:
Mark Calkins, Meg Christie, Cathy Counts, Bill Ellis, Laura Harris, Chris Handy, Jennifer McLeod, Margaret Plouffe, Amy Roche, Lois Sturtevant
Director: Brian P. Allen
Music Director: Beth Barefoot-Jones
Choreographer: Betsy Melarkey Dunphy
Set Design: Janet Montgomery
Set Construction: Craig Robinson
Lighting Design: Jamie Grant
Costume Design: Joan McMahon
Production Associate: Joan McMahon
Stage Manager: Karen Dunton
Loot
November 6 – 30, 2003
Loot is an irreverent black comedy by famed British playwright Joe Orton. The madcap action involves a bank robbery, a casket, a bumbling police inspector, and a nurse with deadly bedside manner. A farce that will leave you laughing so hard, you won’t know whether to root for the good guys or the bad guys!
Reviews
'Loot' is a Hoot
The Forecaster,
by Scott Andrews
Comic chaos and madcap mayhem erupt with when the two most incompetent criminals in London confront Scotland Yard’s most inept detective in a crime story that revolves around hot cash and a cold corpse.
That’s the shtick of “Loot,” a classic modern British farce by Joe Orton. Good Theater, Portland’s newest and most vibrant professional (non-Equity) thespian troupe, opened “Loot” last weekend to sold-out audiences -- who spent two hours doubled over with laughter. “Loot” is a hoot, and a must-see for anyone who revels in fine scripts performed by outstanding casts.
Falmouth theater professor Bill Steele directs six actors. The plot revolves around a pair of blundering criminals who rob a bank, then stash their bags of ill-gotten cash in a coffin containing the corpse of the mother of one of the guys. Then there’s the question of how the old lady died. Was it a murder committed by her curvaceous nurse, a blonde bombshell who’s knocked off a dozen husbands in as many years and is now scheming to marry the dead woman’s rich widower?
British criminal justice is represented by the most confused constable in the kingdom, who seems to fumble the simplest facts and obvious connections.
This is definitely one of the best shows I’ve seen all season. The whole cast is outstanding, but let’s specially mention Samantha Fitschen as the deadly nurse and Stephen Underwood as the dense detective.
Cast & Crew
Starring:
Sean Demers, Samantha Fitschen, Chris Horton, William Sandstead, Josh Stamell, Stephen Underwood
Director: William Steele
Set Design: Janet Montgomery
Lighting Design: Jamie Grant
Costume Designer: Joan McMahon
Assistant Technical Director: Craig Robinson
Stage Manager: Natasha Mieszkowski
Same Time, Next Year
by Bernard Slade
March 4 - April 11, 2004
Same Time Next Year is a wonderful romantic comedy about two people who meet once a year to carry out an affair. The play was a huge hit on Broadway and later a major motion picture. Two of Good Theater’s favorite performers will shine in this delightful romantic romp. Nominated for Best Play at the 1975 Tony Awards and the production won a Tony for Best Actress.
Reviews
‘Same Time, Next Year’ remains fresh and funny
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD
By Mary Snell
"Two favorite actors, Stephen Underwood and Lee K. Paige, shine in this Good Theater production, deftly directed by guest artist William Steele. This is a well-paced evening of good solid acting. You’re gonna love it." "Paige is fabulous in this role, making slight changes of voice, of gesture and gait, of facial expression and attitude, as Doris becomes more educated and independent." "George’s changes are less noticeable until the end. Underwood utilizes his comedic timing to great effect, yet also manages a serious side that he rarely shows. In the last scene when George walks out the door, Underwood’s face shows true devastation – it’s one of his most genuine moments."
THE PHOENIX
"Paige and Underwood are both excellent laugh-line deliverers, and alternate in the role of straight man to the other's funny man."
THE FORECASTER
"Good Theater's Steve Underwood and Lee K. Paige are outstanding in their portrayal of these two characters. William Steele, a University of Southern Maine drama professor, is Good Theater's guest director, and he encourages finely nuanced and convincing performances from both."
Cast & Crew
Starring:
Lee K. Paige and Stephen Underwood
Director: William Steele
Assistant Technical Director: Craig Robinson
Costume Design: Joan McMahon
Set Design: Janet Montgomery
Lighting Design: Jamie Grant
Side by Side by Sondheim
April 8 – May 2, 2004
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
And music by Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers, Jule Styne.
Continuity by Ned Sherrin
Side by Side by Sondheim is a hilarious musical romp through some of the great songs of Broadway. Hear favorite tunes from West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and more.
Reviews
GOOD THEATER GIVES SONDHEIM DANDY RIDE
by Christopher Hyde
"… a highly enjoyable evening of sophisticated theater."
"For an intimate setting like this one, the pianos, which are right on stage, work better than an orchestra."
"The actor-singers are well-nigh perfect for the selections, which tend to
alternate between the romantic and the sophisticated...Caufield can also belt one out with the best."
"Director Brian Allen narrates the work, which includes some great stories about Sondheim and his friends and also sings and dances. His narrative of ‘I Never Do Anything Twice’ from The Seven Percent Solution, is worth the price of admission. Allen can get a laugh simply by posing, as in ‘The Boy From…’ a nice parody of ‘The Girl From Ipanema.’"
"In this production, McGhee rescues it ["Send in the Clowns"] single-handedly, with understatement and a fine sense of context."
"This is the first production I have seen by the Good Theater company. If Side by Side is an example, they will be a welcome addition to Portland professional theater."
Cast & Crew
Starring:
Kelly Caufield, Lynne McGhee*, David Weitzer* & Brian P. Allen
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association
Director: Brian P. Allen
Set Design: Janet Montgomery
Choreography: Samantha Fitschen
Lighting Design: Jamie Grant
Costume Design: Joan McMahon
Technical Director: Stephen Underwood
Assistant Technical Director: Craig Robinson
Maine Hysterical Society
December 27 - 28, 2004
If you missed them at the Lobster Festival, The Maine Festival or the L.L. Bean Summer Series, here's your chance to catch them in Portland! Randy Judkins, Stephen Underwood and Barney Martin present fast paced Down East comedy, hilarious song parodies, wicked good jugglin', seasonal favorites and more at The St. Lawrence Arts Center.
Reviews
"Right from the start, our sold-out crowd was howling with laughter and, unbelievably, it just got funnier! The combination of stories, sketches, songs, juggling, and characters kept the audience involved, engaged, and entertained for the entire evening."
Cast:
Randy Judkins, Stephen Underwood and Barney Martin
