I might just have to go see this one. Sounds like a lot of fun.

AUDITIONS: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, JR.

Brundage Park Playhouse, Carrell Road, Randolph, will be holding auditions for the February 2010 For Kids By Kids Production of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, JR. by Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur S.
Sullivan, on Friday, November 20, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM and Saturday, November 21, from 2:00 - 5:00 PM.

Wacky, irreverent and as entertaining today as it was when it first opened in 1879, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE is a hilarious farce of sentimental pirates, bumbling policemen, dim-witted young lovers, dewy-eyed daughters and an eccentric Major-General, all morally bound to the often ridiculous dictates of honor and duty.

Children from ages 12 to 18 will be considered for roles in this production. Auditioners are requested to sing a song a capella and be prepared to do some dance moves. There is very little dialogue in the show.

Performances will run February 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 at 8:00 PM and February 7, 14, 20, 21 at 2:00 PM.

A challenging For Kids By Kids production featuring children playing all the roles.

Mark Carovale will direct.

For further information please send an email to BPP@brundageparkplayhouse.org or call the theater at 973-989-7092.  A cast list is available on the website at www.brundageparkplayhouse.org.

Moving on, we  have the details on auditions in Chatham. Read on. I'm off to the office.

AUDITION NOTICE   The Pillowman   The Chatham Community Players 23 North Passaic Avenue Chatham, NJ 07928 973-635-7363   The Chatham Community Players will hold open auditions for THE PILLOWMAN by the Irish playwright Martin McDonagh.  The production runs February 26 – March13, 2010 at the Chatham Playhouse.  Jonathan Wierzbicki directs.    Auditions will be held on Tuesday, November 10 and Wednesday, November 11 at 7pm.  Both auditions will be held at The Chatham Playhouse, 23 North Passaic Ave., Chatham.  Director Jonathan Wierzbicki asks that actors be familiar with the script.  Readings will be from the script for the four main roles.  The four ensemble roles will be asked to improv a scene without words. The Chatham Players have an open call casting policy. ALL roles are open, none are precast, and everyone is encouraged to audition. Any questions please call Kristin Furlong at (732) 208-4184 or email her at kristinbarber33@yahoo.com.   For directions or additional information, please visit www.chathamplayers.org   Synopsis: The Pillowman centers on a writer in an unnamed totalitarian state who is being interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a series of child murders.  Thought to be one of McDonough's least forgiving and bravest plays, it offers an unflinching examination of the very nature and purpose of art.   Character Breakdown: Katurian - male, age 20-40, Brother of Michal, a writer of short stories, intelligent, has rebellious quality   Michal - male, age 20-40, Older brother of Katurian, mentally challenged, innocent, good sense of humor, inner toughness   Tupolski - male, age 30-50, Superior to Ariel, high ranking officer, sarcastic, has dark sense of humor, cruel   Ariel - male, age 20-40, Works with Tupolski, prone to violence, volatile, has inner vulnerability   There are four other characters who are involved in portraying the stories that are told:  Two males (one adult, one child age 9-15) and two females (one adult, one child age 9-15).  Actors should move well.    Please be advised that the content of the material may be inappropriate for some children.  Parents are free to attend all rehearsals.

I was at Centenary College last night for "Underneath the Lintel" with Steven Dennis, who did a very good job with this fascinating one-man work. I'll post a Review Preview in a few days but it's worth checking out. And only 90 minutes!

Now, it's all about leaf removal. Let me get to that.

PRINCETON’S FAMOUS TRIANGLE SHOW TO OPEN 119^TH YEAR

WITH A BRAND-NEW PRODUCTION

  STORE TREK

A Saga of Corporate Greed and American Consumerism Run Amok!

 NOVEMBER 13& 14 AT 8PM

 The Princeton Triangle Club is the largest student performing arts group at Princeton University and the only student group that performs on the Matthews stage of McCarter Theatre Center

 With its newest production Store Trek, Princeton’s famed Triangle Club boldly goes where no musical comedy has gone before to the crass crossroads of corporate greed and American consumerism. The production will run Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14 at 8pm on the Matthews stage of McCarter Theatre Center (91 University Place, Princeton).

 Welcome to the World’s Biggest Box Store, where the aisles go on for miles, and evil lurks behind every breathtaking bargain! With original music and lyrics by Princeton’s best and brightest, this year’s all-new musical extravaganza descend into the deep depths of deep-discounting, where the fun is econo-sized and the laughs are free (with ticket purchase!)

 Following on the heels of Triangle’s recent successes, Stark Raven Mad! (2008) and A Turnpike Runs Through It (2007), the highly skilled team of professionals (and Triangle alumni) return for Store Trek: director Glen Pannell ’87, choreographer Hans Kriefall ’87, and music director Peter Mills ’95. New to the team of professionals will be costume designer Karl Ruckdeschel, whose Broadway credits include associate designer for Rock of Ages and Avenue Q (also Las Vegas, US tours and New World Stages). He also served as associate designer to William Ivey Long on Annie Get Your Gun.

 Tickets are $22 - $35. Student tickets are $10 (on the web use the STUTIX promo code). To charge tickets by phone, call the McCarter Ticket Office at (609) 258-2787; toll-free at 1-888-278-7932; or online at www.mccarter.org. McCarter Theatre is located at 91 University Place, Princeton, NJ.

Here are the details.

Moving on as we should, here are the details for the annual Forum series of roundtable readings at Playwrights Theatre in Madison, which will feature some prominent actors (Edward Herrman and Austin Pendleton, to name two returnees) and some terrific playwrights (Lee Blessing, David Wiltse, to name two).

I always wish I could get to these readings, but my limited time must be focused on reviewing shows that stick around long enough for the review to be useful. When they finally add an eighth day to the week (I would call it Funday), maybe I can get to stuff like this.

But I can't, so perhaps some of you who do attend can post some comments here and let us know about what you saw.