author: Leonard Taube
Somebody hold me too close. Somebody hurt me too deep. Somebody sit in my chair and ruin my sleep and make me aware of being alive. That’s the plea of protagonist Bobby in Stephen Sondheim’s musical Company (book by George Furth) which is being produced by community theatre group Players On Air and gracing the stage of the Coppermine Pantherplex in Hampstead, MD. Originally produced in 1970 Company was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won six.
This irresistible, Players On Air ‘original’, I’m seeing tonight! ‘Specially for them! Okay, okay, so it’s not an “original”, as they didn’t write it— that’s Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser with Book by Abe Burrows, Willie Gilbert, and Jack Weinstock— but it is their very first time putting it on the main stage! And they are indeed succeeding when it comes to their production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.
Doors and sardines! On and off! That’s farce. That’s theatre. That’s life! And it’s farcical live theatre at Players On Air this October with their production of Noises Off directed by Michael Livingston. It’s a madcap comical farce of actors acting, drama being highly over-dramatized, and bloody sardines pulling a spectacular Houdini act! It’s a barrel of laughs, a bucket of fun, and a show you won’t want to miss.
Anyone familiar with Michael Frayn’s iconic play Noises Off will immediately recognize the set as a chaotic character and law onto itself.