Dan's Papers - May 23, 2008 - The Hamptons Stage

The East End theatrical scene is heating up this summer. Moon Over Buffalo, Hampton Theatre Company's final production of its 2007-2008 season, will open May 29 and run through June 15 at the Quogue Community Hall. Farther east, Charles Busch makes his return to Bay Street Theatre from June 3 to 29 with his play Shanghai Moon.

When Ken Ludwig's comedy Moon Over Buffalo opened at the Martin Beck Theatre in 1995, it marked Carol Burnett's return to Broadway after a 30-year hiatus. The talented actress received a Tony Award nomination for her role as Charlotte Hay, an actor who, along with her husband George, is performing in a repertory theatre in Buffalo, New York in 1953. In HTC's production of Moon Over Buffalo, the roles of Charlotte and George will be played by Rosemary Cline, an original member of the company, and Joel Leffert, an experienced New York City actor who joins the company for the first time. The fast-paced production is a true stage comedy, famous for leaving audiences exhausted from laughter.

The play, in the style of a Moliere farce, relies heavily on a strong, comedic cast, and HTC group is poised to pull it off. Diana Marbury will play the role of Charlotte's deaf mother, Ethel, who is a former "stage mom" and strongly dislikes George. HTC veteran Andrew Botsford is cast as Richard, the Hay's lawyer and eventual suitor of Charlotte. Fellow HTC veteran Joy Marr is double cast as Charlotte and George's daughter, Rosalind, who left the theater to pursue a "normal" life. Additional cast members include Peter Stewart as Paul, Rosalind's ex-fiancé, Teddy Nilsson as Howard, a weatherman who is Rosalind's current fiancé, and Amanda Nichols as Eileen, an actress in the company who is George's mistress.

Moon Over Buffalo will run May 29 through June 15 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets cost $22 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for students under 21. Located at Quogue Community Hall, 126 Jessup Avenue, Quogue. For more information, call 631-653-8955 or visit www.hamptontheatre.org.

Following his sold-out hit last summer, The Lady In Question, Charles Busch returns to Bay Street Theatre's Target Mainstage with his play Shanghai Moon. Busch plays the lead role of Lady Sylvia Allington, the wife of an English diplomat. Set in Shanghai in 1931, Lady Sylvia and her husband try to persuade a notorious Chinese warlord, General Gong Fei (played by Thom Sesma), to donate a priceless antique jade bust to the British Museum. Scandal, bedlam and fun, in the inimitable Busch stlye, ensue. Julie Halston, a big hit in The Lady In Question, also returns to Bay Street Theatre for this production as Ms. Carroll and Sir Geoffrey. Other supporting cast members include Jarlath Conroy, Jodi Lin and Gordana Rashovic.

Shanghai Moon will run June 3 through June 29. Performance times vary. Tickets cost $50/$55/$65. Located at Bay Street Theatre, on the Long Wharf, Sag Harbor. For more information, call 631-725-9500 or visit www.baystreet.org.