Alton Little Theater will present CHASE ME UP FARNDALE AVENUE, S'IL VOUS PLAIT for nine performances, May 10th through 19th at the Showplace. The hilarious French Farce closes out the 79th Season of shows in grand style. The play within a play is the master crafting of a 'comedy tres saucy' when an English Woman's Dramatic Guild attempts to mount a complex French farce to honor their French guests. Hapless actors gradually lose their slender grip on plot and off-stage drama threatens to overwhelm them - while the audience is reduced to helpless laughter! Audience members and actors alike can appreciate the wit and timing of days when everything that can go wrong - DOES! Of course, the incompetent troupe carries on, playing two or three roles and drafting the stage manager, the costume mistress and the light and sound crew into on-stage performances. Of course the obvious chaos is carefully directed - and happens the same way night after night despite collapsing beds and hapless props and blunders aplenty.
Director, Mark Hilgert, has a true passion for farces and discovered this piece by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin and thought that ALT audiences would enjoy seeing the kind of behind-the-scene-antics made famous in productions like NOISES OFF. To capture the spirit of the play he needed a cast who could handle the physical comedy and the timing needed to pull off the fun of being in a very "bad" production. Tanya Fox, Pat Kulish, Patti Kruegel, Julia Swan and Steven Harders take on the delightful roles and are relishing rehearsals (and trying to remember just which door to open). Tanya is indeed English and brings a unique appreciation to the characterizations of the play. Jane Hill is serving as language coach for the purposeful "bad" French needed in the production and Kevin Frakes has helped to construct a set that really doesn't work (going against all his instincts.).
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Audiences on three continents have enjoyed this play and ALT hopes to provide an enjoyable evening out - and give theater lovers the first opportunity to purchase advance (discounted tickets) for the 80th Anniversary Season. The Director, Mark Hilgert can be contacted for
interviews and photo opportunities at (618) 402-6417 and promises that CHASE ME UP FARNDALE AVENUE, S'IL VOUS PLAIT is a farce to make any Frenchman twiddle his mustache! Reservation and Ticket information can also always be found on the ALT Website: altonlittletheater.org. Tickets are $15 for Adults and $8 for students (through college). Reservation/box office number is (618) 462-6562.
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