Something Funny's Going On — In Astoria; Lucky Stiff Gets Revival Feb. 11
By Kenneth Jones
31 Jan 2005
The Astoria Performing Arts Center, the tiny but growing resident theatre in Queens, revives the early Ahrens and Flaherty musical comedy, Lucky Stiff Feb. 11-27.
The Equity showcase staging is directed by APAC artistic director Brian Swasey and features Ron DeStefano, Amanda Ryan Paige, Laura Daniel, T.J. D'Angelo, Susan Wilson, Greg Horton, Tommy Labanaris, Darren Rozumek, Adrienne Asterita, Michelle Doucet and Howard Brewer, Jr.
Jeffrey Campos is musical director.
Designers are Marie Lynn Wagner (set), Niklas Anderson (lighting) and Kristine Koury (costume).
Book and lyrics for the show are by Lynn Ahrens, with music by Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winners for Ragtime and collaborators on Once on This Island, Seussical, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance and the upcoming Dessa Rose.
Lucky Stiff (which has two cast albums in stores, including the recent piano-and-voice York Theatre Company concert cast) is about a shy English shoe salesman who inherits $6,000,000 from his recently-murdered uncle's will, on the condition that he escorts his uncle's corpse on a week-long vacation to Monte Carlo and convinces all those at the resort that his uncle's corpse is still alive and having a swell time. Should he fail to complete the task the money becomes property of the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. The score boasts a recent cabaret favorite, "Times Like This."
Amanda Ryan Paige, of Off-Broadway's Zanna, Don't!, portrays dog-loving Annabel Glick.
APAC stages a mix of new works, classics and musicals and has an annual new plays competition. This is APAC's fourth season. Sue Scannell is executive director.
Swasey's direction of last season's Is There Life After High School? won him the Off-Off Broadway OOBR Award.
New York City Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr. is seeking to secure a grant for APAC of $500,000, from the city toward the acquisition of a permanent building and Performing Arts Center in LIC/Astoria.
Scannell said, "The dream has always been to turn APAC into a 'mini-Lincoln Center,' and this money is a step closer to helping us do just that."
The Astoria Performing Arts Center is located at 31-30 33rd Street between 31st Avenue and Broadway in the heart of Astoria and Long Island City.
APAC operates at (and independently from) the Presbyterian Church of Astoria.
For reservations an information, all (718) 393-7505 or visit www.apacny.org.
Contact Us | Advertise | Privacy Policy
Send questions and comments to the Webmaster
Copyright © 2008 Playbill, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|