Cranbrook Community Theatre has announced the line up for the 2022/2023 theatre season.
In October, Trevor Lundy is directing Misery, based on Steven King’s book, February features Oscar Wilde’s trivial comedy for serious people: The Importance of Being Earnest directed by newcomer Nathaniel Leigh, and in April Michelle McCue will bring the season to a close with The Shoplifters by Morris Panych.
CCT President Peter Schalk says audiences will go wild for all three shows at the Stage Door Theatre.
“There’s going to be some awesome sets, the comedies are going to be hilarious, we haven’t had a thriller for a while so that’s going to be pretty nice,” Schalk says. “And there’s some fairly big names out there. Things that have been heard and seen before, that people will be wanting to come to Cranbrook Community Theatre to watch.”
Schalk is excited for their first full season since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
“Our last show, as I was saying, Tuesday with Morrie [was] able to be open fully,” he says. “We still had people who were masked of course, and we were still doing all kinds of precautions inside the theatre. But just being able to be sitting there with a full crowd of people laughing and putting all of those emotions that theatre brings. It was really quite something.”
CCT is holding auditions for the shows in June, scroll down for more information:
Cranbrook Community Theatre is pleased to announce its 2022/2023 season. CCT audiences will be treated to two comedies and a thriller.
Opening the new season in mid-October is Misery by William Goldman from the novel by Stephen King and directed by Trevor Lundy.
The thriller takes place in Annie Wilkes’s home after she has rescued successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon from a car crash.
Annie is Paul’s “number one fan.” While she nurses him back to health, she sneaks a peek at the latest installment in his bestselling series.
Unhappy with what she has read, Annie forces Paul to rewrite the story.
In February 2023, the classic Oscar Wilde comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by first-time CCT Director Nathaniel Leigh, takes the stage.
Set in London and the English countryside, two bachelors create alter egos named Earnest and attempt to win the hearts of two women who, conveniently, declare they can only love men called Earnest.
Deception, disguise and misadventure ensue as the story unfolds.
The Shoplifters by Canadian playwright Morris Panych and directed by Michelle McCue wraps up the season in late April.
CCT audience will meet Alma, a senior who has perfected the five-finger discount, making everyday senior’s day; her accomplice Phyllis and two grocery store security guards, Dom, the rookie, and Otto, the veteran.
As each character shares wildly different takes on what happened, themes of inequality and social justice emerge in this thought-provoking comedy.
“CCT has a great lineup of shows for next season,” said President Peter Schalk. “We’re excited to welcome back two directors, Trevor and Michelle, and to have Nathaniel stepping into the director’s role for the first time. We hope CCT audiences are as excited about the upcoming season as we are.”
CCT is proud to welcome its first season sponsor, Mike Paugh – IG Wealth Management.
Auditions for the new season are Saturday, June 4th and Monday, June 6th at the Studio Stage Door.
Please visit CCT’s Facebook page and website for audition information.
Directors Bios
Trevor Lundy
After the need to cancel his last directing role in the spring of 2020, Trevor is absolutely ecstatic to be returning to the director’s chair for this production.
He is excited to be taking on a thriller for the first time in his directing career, and how can you go wrong with a little Stephen King?
Trevor’s previous directing credits include “Making God Laugh” (2015), “Lucy” (2017) and “The Tin Woman” (2018), all produced by CCT.
Nathaniel Leigh
You might recognize Nate‘s voice as the 12 o’clock news anchor for 102.9 Rewind Radio and Total Country b104.
A lifelong actor, Nate is more comfortable being on the stage than behind it.
He is stepping into the director’s chair for a full-length show for the first time and is ready to bring his unique sense of humour to a CCT production.
This is the second time CCT has performed the ‘Importance of Being Earnest”, but Nate hopes to put a unique spin on the classic play by injecting it with some physical comedy while staying true to Wilde’s fantastically witty dialogue.
This is Nate‘s fourth show with CCT, having previously served as a sound operator for I’ll Be Back Before Midnight, sound designer for The Aliens, and performing on stage in The Fighting Days.
Michelle McCue
Michelle is a long-time contributor to Cranbrook Community Theatre.
She is a former board member and volunteers in some capacity for every production.
She has had the privilege of performing in several wonderful roles over the years.
The most recent was Beatrice in “View From A Bridge,” also her most challenging and favorite role.
She began her directorial debut directing a scene from “Plaza Suite” and then directed “The Diary of Anne Frank.” In 2020 she co-directed “Almost, Maine” with her husband Bob.
She is excited to be coming out of the Covid cocoon by bringing the comedy “The Shoplifters” to the CCT stage in Spring 2023. Time for a laugh, Cranbrook!
– Submitted by Cranbrook Community Theatre Society
– Peter Schalk, Cranbrook Community Theatre Society president
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