A Comedy by Ian August*
Directed by Ken Wiesinger

Saturday, March 27 @ 8pm

Featuring: Brian O'Halloran, Carol Todd*, Eben Gordon*, Rebecca Harris Flynn, Bob Senkawicz* and Geoff Shields*

Submitted by C. Randall McCloskey: What would you do to get your foot in the door of Show Biz? Discover the outrageous lengths actors will go to in order to smash down that door! Take four desperate thespians, one creepy casting director, an elusive talent agent, sprinkle in a few theme songs, drunk jokes and transvestites and you’ve got the ingredients for Ian August’s bizarrely comic look at the life of the actor in Submitted by C. Randall McCloskey!

(Contains adult language and themes. Not appropriate for younger audiences.)

Written by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Michael T. Mooney

Saturday, August 14 - HOUSE @ 3pm and GARDEN @ 8pm
The audience will be invited to dine with the cast and crew at a local restaurant.

Featuring: Maria Brodeur-Ludwig, Patrick Carpenter, Cody Dalton, Laura DePinho, Julianne DiPietro-Renshaw, Rick Holloway, Chris Mortenson, David Neal, Geoff Shields*, Valerie Stack Dodge, Volney Stefflre, Judy Stone, Elizabeth Urcinoli and Roxanna Wagner

Two plays -- designed to be performed simultaneously and involving the same characters -- set in the same English country house on the same cloudy August day, are Alan Ayckbourn's vehicle for a sharp and hilarious scrutiny of the destructive nature of human behavior and emotions. Friends, neighbors, and hired help are gathered in preparation for a garden fête at which the guest of honor, for reasons of which no one is entirely certain, is an alcoholic, promiscuous French movie star. The surly gardener steadily ignores various intrigues being rather noisily conducted in the bushes and garden sheds, the film star's agent is mistakenly assumed to be a chauffeur and is sent to the pub for her lunch, the dog does his share of alerting passersby to covert romantic liaisons, the kitchen maid breaks everything she touches, and an amoral London writer observes the goings-on with a cool and knowing eye. As the action, and the storm clouds, build toward the afternoon's deluge, politics, friship, marriage, sex, children, the interactions of the social classes, and the absurd anachronisms of the remaining landed gentry are all submitted to Ayckbourn's penetrating gaze.

The plays will be introduced and directed by Michael T. Mooney, who studied with Sir Ayckbourn in England and has directed the American premieres of four of his plays. This is the first New Jersey presentation of HOUSE & GARDEN, plays written by Ayckbourn in 1999 and seen in London in 2000 and New York City in 2002. Although written to be performed by the same cast, simultaneously in two adjacent auditoria, the Holmdel readings will be performed sequentially with a matinee of HOUSE at 3pm and an evening reading of GARDEN at 8pm. Tickets are $10 for one show, $15 for both.

Saturday, September 25 @ 7pm

Come Join Us for Ballads in the Barn as the D Major Singers return to present a candlelight concert of songs of the 18th century. These consist mainly of songs that the settlers brought with them, primarily from Britain and Ireland. The accompaniment is minimal (often none at all), and is provided by the harpsichord, guitar, and fiddle, all of which instruments were known to the American colonists. The evening includes a reception featuring wine, beer and other goodies.

The self-described "Four Roguish Chaps" that comprise the D Major Singers are Pete Brady, Jim Cusick, Irene Hauge and Lois Lyons. The unusual name is a humorous nod to the easiest musical key in which to play folk music. Since the group's inception in 1984, the group has given more than 100 performances in over five states: NY, NJ, PA, DE, and Ohio For more information about the group, please visit the group's website at http://mysite.verizon.net/dmajorsing.

This is a special ONE DAY ONLY event on Saturday, September 25 at 7pm at the Duncan Smith Theater, 36 Crawfords Corner Rd., Holmdel, New Jersey 07733. Ticket prices are $25 general public ($20 for seniors and $10 for students). Ticket price includes reception featuring wine, beer and light fare. Reservations may be made by calling the box office at 732-946-0427.