Penguin Rep Theatre Announces its 45th Season

Penguin Rep Theatre, under the leadership of Joe Brancato, founding Artistic Director, and Andrew M. Horn, Executive Director, announced its 2023 season -- the professional company’s 45th -- kicked off April 14th.

Described by Mr. Brancato as “a season of laughter and love,” the offerings at Penguin’s home facility, a repurposed 1880 barn in historic Stony Point (Rockland County), New York, include four mainstage productions and a host of Stage, Too! events, including workshop readings of Brat by Jason Pizzarello, directed by Bob Balaban (The Exonerated, Gosford Park, The French Dispatch) and starring Emmy Award winner Edie Falco (The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie, Avatar: The Way of Water), which ran from April 14 through April 16.

The mainstage season begins May 5 with Popcorn Falls, a “feel-good show” (The New York Times) by James Hindman, an author of last season’s hit Now Comes the Fun Part. Directed by Rose Riccardi and Tom Souhrada, the comedy runs through May 28.

The mainstage lineup also includes:

Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, an uproarious new comedy set in the era of bell bottoms, cassette tapes and landline phones by Katie Forgette, directed by Thomas Caruso, June 23 through July 16.

The world premiere of Gene & Gilda about beloved entertainers Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner will follow August 4 through August 27. Written by Cary Gitter, author of The Sabbath Girl and The Virtuous Life of Joseph Andrews, this intimate portrait of two comic legends will be directed by Joe Brancato.

Let There Be Love, a humorous and moving family drama by Kwame Kwei-Armah, will close the season September 22 through October 15.

Stage, Too!
special events also include I Choose the Light: The Music of Neil Berg, a celebration of the award-winning local songwriter’s work, with Mr. Berg, Rita Harvey (Phantom of the Opera, Fiddler on the Roof), and special guest Richard Todd Adams (Cats, Les Misérables) for one performance only: Sunday, May 28 at 7:00 p.m.

Performances and special events are scheduled at Penguin’s intimate, 108-seat theatre located at 7 Crickettown Road. “The converted barn, circa 1880, has never been more inviting” (The New York Times). Says Mr. Horn, “it’s theatre so close you can feel it, with comfortable upholstered seats and no seat more than 30 feet from the stage.” The theatre is air conditioned, handicapped accessible, and has plenty of free parking.

Performances on the mainstage take place: Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m., select Friday matinees at 2:00 p.m., select Friday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.

Individual tickets for mainstage productions are priced at $46. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and young people (30 and under).

“We hate service charges, facility fees, credit card surcharges, and any kind of additional fee,” says executive director Horn, “so we don’t charge them!”

Season tickets are on sale now. Prices for the mainstage season start as low as $120 for the four plays, a savings of 25 to 35% off the cost of individual tickets.

“The very best seats in the house go to subscribers before single tickets go on sale,” says Mr. Horn. For no additional charge, he says, patrons can select a value-added subscription series that includes post-performance discussions among the artists and audience, and pre-show tastings supplied by local restaurants.

An additional incentive, says Horn, “is to dine out at a discount, with select restaurants offering special benefits to Penguin subscribers.” Other subscriber benefits include a discount on the purchase of additional tickets and ticket insurance for lost or forgotten tickets.

To order tickets or for further information, visit Penguin Rep’s website at www.penguinrep.org or call 845-786-2873.

PENGUIN REP 2023 MAINSTAGE SEASON

May 5 – May 28 – Popcorn Falls, by James Hindman, directed by Rose Riccardi and Tom Souhrada

A zany bunch of characters must band together to save Popcorn Falls from bankruptcy after its only claim to fame – its waterfall – has dried up! The town’s last chance is a grant that can only be used if it produces a show in a week. But can the intrepid townspeople rise to the challenge? Can art save the world? An inventive “feel-good show” (The New York Times) by an author of last season’s hit Now Comes the Fun Part.

June 23 - July 16 – Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, by Katie Forgette, directed by Thomas Caruso

Travel back to the era of bell bottoms, cassette tapes and landline phones in this uproarious comedy. It's 1973 and the O'Shea family faces a crisis of biblical proportions when a conversation about “the birds and the bees” threatens to turn into a parish-wide scandal. With their good name at stake, the household must work together to preserve their honor and prove that nothing is more sacred than family.

August 4 – August 27 – Gene & Gilda, by Cary Gitter, directed by Joe Brancato

Beloved entertainers Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner come to vivid life in this hilarious and heartfelt new play from Penguin playwright-in-residence Cary Gitter, author of The Sabbath Girl and The Virtuous Life of Joseph Andrews. Follow the famous couple from their first meeting through their personal and professional ups and downs, all the way to their poignant farewell. Don’t miss this intimate portrait of two comic legends in love—and the lives they led beyond laughter. World premiere.

September 22 – October 15 – Let There Be Love, by Kwame Kwei-Armah

Arthur, a West Indian immigrant living in London, is gruff, grumpy, and tired of growing old. When his daughter hires a young caregiver from Poland to look after him, he is forced to reckon with his past. This humorous and moving family drama explores the powerful grip of memory and longing that lies at the heart of all immigrant experiences — and what can happen when, at any age, we welcome new possibilities. New York premiere.

STAGE, TOO! SPECIAL EVENT:

May 28 @ 7 p.m. – I Choose the Light: The Music of Neil Berg

A celebration of the music of Neil Berg, creator of the concert 100 Years of Broadway and composer and lyricist of the hit Off Broadway musical The Prince and the Pauper, Grumpy Old Men: The Musical, and the upcoming rock musical The 12. With Mr. Berg, Rita Harvey (Phantom of the Opera, Fiddler on the Roof), and special guest Richard Todd Adams (Cats, Les Misérables).

ABOUT PENGUIN REP THEATRE

Penguin Rep Theatre
(Penguin Players, Ltd.), based in a converted 1880s barn in historic Stony Point (Rockland County), New York, is a nonprofit professional theatre company now in its 45th year of operation.

Joe Brancato was a high school English and drama teacher in 1977 when he peered into an abandoned 1880s hay barn in Stony Point, New York, and envisioned the space repurposed into a theatre.

More than 40 years later, Penguin Rep – the theatre Brancato started with Francine Newman-McCarthy and runs with executive director Andrew M. Horn -- has grown from a summer theatre to become one of the Hudson Valley’s most enduring cultural institutions, reaching tens of thousands of theatergoers each year at its home, in New York City and beyond – with its work moving to Off Broadway and to stages across the country and around the world.

Since its founding in 1977, Penguin has presented more than 150 productions – over 100 directed by Brancato himself -- for more than 400,000 people from the lower Hudson Valley and beyond. And Mr. Brancato has brought together accomplished professional actors – David Canary, Michael Cullen, Tim De Kay, Gregg Edelman, Michael Esper, Barbara Feldon, Tovah Feldshuh, Beth Fowler, Deborah Hedwall, Celeste Holm, Richard Kline, Andrew McCarthy, Lizbeth Mackay, Michele Pawk, and Karen Ziemba, among others – to star in new and noteworthy plays by such playwrights as Lee Blessing, Ronald Harwood, Allan Knee, Arthur Laurents,
Warren Leight, Jon Marans, William Mastrosimone, Lainie Robertson, James Sherman and Elizabeth Swados.