The final production of Cranbrook Community Theatre’s 2022/2023 season opens Friday.
‘The Shoplifters’ is directed by Michelle McCue, it’s set in the back room of a supermarket – a seasoned shoplifter and her protégé are interrogated by a pair of security guards after getting caught using a five-finger discount.
McCue says this is her first foray into directing a comedic play.
“Thank god I have the cast I do because they’re all just naturally born comedians and they can really drive the comedy out of the script,” McCue says. “Normally I am really drawn to dramas, but after COVID nd after the fact the world is going through a lot of things, I just kind of felt we needed to have some laughs.”
McCue says the show combines comedy with the social commentary on rising food prices.
“Not that I’m saying people should shoplift, of course I’m not saying that, but it definitely gives you pause and it makes you think,” she says. “With the high price of groceries you wonder how people are getting by out there. If it’s hard for you, imagine how hard it would be for somebody on social assistance or living below the poverty line.”
The show stars Brenda Burley and Emily Bohmer as the shoplifters and McCue’s husband and son Bob and Bradley McCue as the guards.
The Shoplifters runs April 28 – May 13 at the Stage Door Theatre, doors open at 7:00 pm, a 2:00 pm matinee is happening May 7.
– Michelle McCue, Director
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