Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.  For generations, brides have collected these totems to insure the happy outcome of their weddings. This season they are elements in the arcs and circles of the new season at Colonial Players.  Themes from King Lear comically haunt The Curious Savage and The Lion in Winter as parents struggle with progeny over inheritance. Marriages gone wrong and in the making color the emotional landscapes of Dog Logic and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.  New plays, The Violet Hour and Frozen, challenge us with metaphysical mysteries and pain as old as Cain and Mrs. California provides a hilarious look behind the scenes of the pageant world of the 1950's.

 So we embark on a season of variety, a marriage of time, talent and fun between us - the actors, directors, techies, and playwrights - and you, our audiences.  Take the plunge as we work toward our 61^st anniversary, attempting what an enthusiastic critic noted this year: “Once again, Colonial Players creates a workable stage in a space that seems too small for the demands on it. Once again, they produce a play whose reach seems too large for typical community theatre resources. Yet they succeed show after show.”

The Curious Savage (Circle)

by John Patrick
September 11, 12, 13 m; 17, 18, 19, 20 m/e; 24 25, 26, 27 m; October 1, 2, 3 m/e

The gentle Mrs. Savage, a widow in possession of a generous fortune bequeathed by her husband, has been committed by her grasping stepchildren to a sanatorium, where they hope to keep her while they gain control of her money.  She finds herself surrounded by a group of genial kooks, social misfits who, despite their personal quirks, provide welcome respite from the maneuvers of the combative stepchildren.  These memorable residents populate a world of caring that Mrs. Savage fits right into, as she outwits her opponents and pursues her dreams.

The Violet Hour (Circle)

by Richard Greenberg
October 23, 24, 25m; 29, 30, 31, November 1 m/e; 5,6,7,8 m; 12,13,14 m/e

“A wonderful new work of serious whimsy and dark substance,” said the NY Times about this play that tells the story of a young independent publisher, just launching his business in 1919, and trying to decide between two authors to publish his first book.  There are strong incentives, love, and loss involved, and as he wavers between the two, another drama is playing out in an adjacent room:  A machine of mysterious provenance and purpose has arrived and is spewing out stacks of pages, while his hapless assistant strives vainly to stem the flood.  What is written on the pages, which quickly fill every room, will throw his every hope and plan into disarray. Fascinating!

The Lion in Winter (Circle)

by James Goldman
January 8,9,10 m; 14,15,16,17 m/e; 21,22,23,24 m; 28,29,30 m/e

It’s Christmastime and King Henry II has released his imprisoned queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, to make a court appearance for the holidays.  Royal contenders for the control of the kingdoms in France and England, the husband and wife have been enemies for a decade. Now on this visit, the question of which of their three sons will inherit the throne rises to the fore. This lavish drama, laced throughout with keen wit and comedy, speculates on the manipulations and conversations among them during the Queen’s stay.  They are intelligent, emotional, and often resoundingly funny, as ambition, pride, lost love, regret and revenge struggle in the grapplings of these most powerful of monarchs of the 12^th century.

Frozen  (Arc)
by Bryony Lavery
February 12, 13,14 m; 18,19,20,21 m/e; 25,26,27 m/e

Raw, humane and compassionate, Frozen is an extraordinary play that follows three people linked by the disappearance of a ten-year-old child: the mother who has retreated into a state of frozen hope; the man responsible for the crime; and the psychologist who studied the killer and subsequently the nature of evil.
The 2004 Tony Award Nominee for Best Play explores our capacity for forgiveness, remorse and change in the wake of an act that would seem to rule them out entirely. The characters embark on a journey that leads to an unexpected conclusion. The London Observer calls it “…so concentrated and unflinching that at times it takes your breath away."

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Circle)

by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts

March 12,13,14 m; 18,19,20,21 m/e; 25,26,27,28 m; April 8,9,10,11 m; 15,16,17 m/e

This musical celebration of the mating game takes on the truths and myths behind that timeless conundrum known as "the relationship." Act I explores the journey from dating and waiting to love and marriage, while Act II reveals the agonies and triumphs of in-laws and newborns, trips in the family car and pick-up techniques for the geriatric set. This hilarious revue pays tribute to those who have loved and lost and loved and won. 

Mrs. California (Circle)

by Doris Baizley

May 7,8,9 m; 13,14,15,16 m/e; 20,21,22,23 m; 27,28,29 m/e

This comedy by Doris Baizley is based on a mid-1950s competition to find the best housewife in California. But don't get your cliché flags out just yet! With a wink and a nod to the 1950s, when a woman’s place was in the home, the play foreshadows the feminist movement of the 1960s with a deft comedic touch.
Mrs. Los Angeles is accompanied to the contest by her brassy, best friend Babs, but Babs follows her own rules, none of which comply with those of the contest organizers. When Mrs. LA nearly gets kicked out of the contest thanks to Babs’ ceative tinkering with the other ladies’ domestic appliances, Mrs. LA has to make a choice; either Babs goes or she does. Her fellow contestants include the sugary sweet and almost perfect Mrs. San Bernadino, Mrs. San Francisco the sex kitten, and Mrs. Modesto who is dizzyingly inappropriate and flaky. The contestants are asked to complete seemingly mundane tasks such as to bake cakes, iron shirts, set tables, and share the most important story of their life with the audience. However, nothing on the set of the contest is quite as quaint as it appears. Each contestant has her own secret weapon at the ready, and Mrs. LA's sponsor, Dudley, has his hands full keeping his contestant in the contest, despite her deep-seated feminist attitudes, saucy language, and weak meatloaf.

 Dog Logic  (Arc)
by Tom Strilich
June 11,12,13 m; 17,18,19,20 m/e; 24,25,26 m/e

A fascinating mix of the sublime and surreal, this thought-provoking comedy is a study of devotion to ideals in the face of urban sprawl. Hertel Daggett is the brooding, reclusive caretaker of the pet cemetery he inherited from his father. His solitude is disturbed by relatives and a wannabe real estate developer, urging him to sell and let the property become a shopping mall. Hertel's explanations for protecting himself and the dead pets from the forces of encroaching development weaves dinosaurs, cave men, Egyptians, amoebas, television evangelists, Godzilla, and gospel music into an answer to the primal question: what makes man different than all the other animals?   Evenings; Thursday, Friday, Saturday 8 pm Matinees; all Sundays 2 pm; closing Saturday 2 pm One double run on second Sunday , 2 pm and 7:30 pm One double run on closing Saturday, 2 pm and 8 pm