ONSTAGE In Bedford’s 2008 Season
“Picture This - A Celebration of Love”

Based on a true story and drawn from the journals and letters found on the frozen body of Captain Scott, the action of the play blends scenes of the explorer and his men at various stages of their ordeal, with flashbacks of Scott and his young wife and with fateful glimpses of his Norwegian rival, Roald Amundsen, whose party beat him to the South Pole. Refusing the use of sled dogs as unsporting, Scott and his team struggle to drag their heavy gear across a frozen wasteland, only to find that Amundsen has preceded them to their goal. The play is also a study of British pride and upper-class resolve—Scott’s aristocratic sense of destiny and command and his young bride’s ability to understand her husband’s compulsive drive while failing to accept his motivations. But it is in the tragic trip back, as the members of the expedition die one by one, that the play reaches its dramatic apogee, capturing with chilling intensity the awesome bravery of men who must accept the bitter knowledge that suffering and death will be the only reward for their heroism.

Audition Dates:
February 11 & 12 at 7:00 pm

Romeo and  Juliet

Written by William Shakespeare
Free outdoor performance in partnership
with the City of Bedford. - Rated PG

Romeo and Juliet is an early tragedy by William Shakespeare about two teenage “star-cross’d lovers” whose “untimely deaths” ultimately unite their feuding households. The play has been highly praised by literary critics for its language and dramatic effect. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. This is an ONSTAGE in Bedford fundraiser, and it will be performed out doors in the park adjacent to the theatre, it is free and open to the public and will run for only two performances. Don’t miss this classic come to life!!

Show Dates: April 11 & 18

Audition Dates:
February 18 & 19 at 7:00 pm

The Full Monty

Book by Terrence McNally
Score by David Yazbek
Musical Comedy

Rated R for Mature Theme and Language

In this Americanized version adapted from the 1997 British film of the same name, six unemployed Buffalo steelworkers, low on both cash and prospects, decide to present a risqué dance at a local club after seeing their wives’ enthusiasm for a touring company of professionals. As they prepare for the show, working through their fears, self-consciousness, and anxieties, they overcome their inner demons and find strength in their camaraderie.

Show Dates: May 9 - 24

Audition Dates:
March 24 & 25 at 7:00 pm

"Pinocchio"
 
"Pinocchio Comedia" Written by Johnny Simons
Directed by Michael Winters
Rated G

Here comes the most wonderful version of Pinocchio ever! Take the wonderful costumes and creative masks and beloved characters including Geppetto, the Fox and the Cat, along with a few other great characters, and the stage is set for a wonderful retelling of Pinocchio’s journey to becoming a real little boy. This production  will leave you in stitches with its comedy and some unexpected touching moments making you believe that anything is possible if you believe hard enough. You and your family will leave loving Pinocchio even more!

Show Dates: June 27 - July 12

(No July 4th Performance)

Audition Dates:
May 12 & 13 at 7:00 pm

Wear comfortable clothes and come prepared for movement.  No opened toed shoes or flip flops at auditions please.

God’s Favorite

Written by Neil Simon

Comedy - Rated PG

Neil Simon actually made a hysterically funny play from the Book of Job, transferring the scene to a Long Island mansion where reside a tycoon, his wife, a prodigal son, and a pair of kookie twins. Then one night a messenger from God enters with a big G on his sweatshirt. Our modern Job won’t renounce God. Everything becomes a test of his faith, including his family. He tries listing his prodigal son’s qualities and can’t think of any. His wife asks him how he can love a God who makes him suffer and he says his prodigal son makes him suffer and he loves him. He believes he’s been chosen to show how much a man can love God. He gets an itch, then, neuralgia, tennis elbow and hemorrhoids. Having lost everything, God in the form
of the messenger answers him.

Show Dates: August 15 - 30

Audition Dates:
June 30 & July 1 at 7:00 pm

Sweeney Todd

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Soundheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Musical Thriller

Rated PG13 for Mature Theme and Violence

The rare instance of a musical thriller, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s chilling, suspenseful, heart-pounding masterpiece of murderous barber-ism and culinary crime tells the infamous tale of the unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th century London seeking revenge against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. His thirst for blood soon expands to include his unfortunate customers, and the resourceful proprietress of the pie shop downstairs soon has the people of London lining up in droves with her mysterious new meat pie recipe!

Sophisticated, macabre, visceral and uncompromising, “Sweeney Todd” nevertheless has a great sense of fun, mixing intense drama with howlingly funny moments of dark humor: audiences find themselves laughing hysterically one moment and gasping in surprise the next.

Show Dates: October 17 - November 1

Audition Dates:
August 25 & 26 at 7:00 pm

Audition Dates:
October 13 & 14 at 7:00 pm