Productions from 2015
It’s A Wonderful Life- A Live Radio Play
Playwright- Joe Landry
Winter 2015
Directed by Keith Gerth
Music Director: Becca Holloway
Stage Manager- Traci Cidlik
Actors:
Martin J. Hughes as Jake Laurents
Marshall Kious as Harry “Jazzbo” Heywood
Marisa Lerman as Lana Sherwood
Amanda Meyer as Sally Appelwhite
Joe Page as Freddie Filmore
Stephen Smith as Bud Collyer
Plot Summary
Oil Lamp Theater invites you to kick off the holiday season with their presentation of Joe Landry’s It’s a Wonderful Life — A Live Radio Play. This heartwarming classic is a show within a show. It’s December 24, 1946 in Studio A at WBFR Radio, and a cast of six actors is preparing to present It’s a Wonderful Life live to the listening audience. With the help of only a sound-effects artist, the ensemble re-enacts the story of George Bailey, a young man whose dreams of traveling the world are thwarted by his sense of responsibility to the family business. Down on his luck, Bailey, compassionate yet disheartened, is at the end of his rope. He questions his purpose in life and considers ending it all. Just then, an angel arrives to show Bailey how the lives of those he loves would be affected if he were not around. The story’s message is profound and remains relevant for today’s audiences.
Jest A Second!
Playwright- James Sherman
Fall 2015
Directed by Keith Gerth
Stage Manager- Victoria Apodaca
Actors:
Andrew Clancey as Joel
Neil Austin Edwards as Dr. Rosen
Evan Johnson as Bob
Ricky March as Abe
Elizabeth Mazur as Sarah
Julie Mitre as Miriam
Plot Summary
In the follow-up to the heartwarming farce “Beau Jest,” Sarah’s brother Joel fears telling their parents he’s gay. So once again Bob comes to the rescue, donning an outfit to play Joel’s perfect, if somewhat butch, Jewish girlfriend.
Bleacher Bums
Playwright- Joe Mantegna
Summer 2015
Directed by Keith Gerth
Stage Manager- Becca Holloway
Actors:
Beth Goldberg as Ruth
Emily Hawkins as Cheerleader
Martin J. Hughes as Greg
Eric Loughlin as Decker
Katie Mancuso as Melody
JT Nagle as Richie
Dennis Schnell as Marvin
Rob Weinstein as Zig
Plot Summary
In the bleachers at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, die hard Cub fans root for their team. The group includes a rabid cheerleader, a blind man who follows the game by transistor radio, a bathing beauty, a nerd, and various other bleacher denizens. As the game proceeds, they bet among themselves on every conceivable event, go out for frosty malts or beers, try to pick up the bathing beauty and, occasionally, watch the game.
Never the Bridesmaid
Playwright- Bill Jepsen
Summer 2015
Directed by Keith Gerth
Stage Manager- Becca Holloway
Actors:
Cristiana Barbatelli as Kathleen
Martin J. Hughes as Anthony
Eric Loughlin as Brian
June Miller as Doris
Daniella Rukin as Maria
Stephen Smith as Elmer
Desiree Staples as Therese
Plot Summary
Maria and Anthony are twins who’ve been damaged by love. Widowed once and divorced twice, Maria longs for a relationship but feels the stigma of a “three-time loser.” Dumped by his fiancé four years earlier, Anthony hasn’t dated since. Each has a lot to say about the other’s love life, but both are floundering in their own—while preparing for the 40th anniversary of their parents’ perfect marriage.
Oil Lamp After Dark Presents
Murderers
Playwright- Jeffrey Hatcher
Summer 2015
Directed by Keith Gerth
Stage Manager- Becca Holloway
Actors:
Neil Austin Edwards as Gerald Halverson
Lauren Lichtenstein as Minka Lupino
Julie Mitre as Lucy Stickler
Plot Summary
Murderers is one play told in three stories.
THE STORIES:THE MAN WHO MARRIED HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW is Gerald Halverson’s confession of an illicit love and a plan to shelter five million dollars from the IRS.
MARGARET FAYDLE COMES TO TOWN is about Lucy Stickler, the long-suffering wife of Bob, a septuagenarian who used to have a roving eye.
MATCH WITS WITH MINKA LUPINO stars Minka Lupino, Riddle Key’s ever-sunny, ever-helpful receptionist. Minka is a fan of crime novels who becomes an avenging angel on a mission to rid the retirement community of its predators.
Later Life
Playwright- A.R. Gurney
Spring 2015
Directed by Barbara Anderson
Stage Manager- Nicole Szontagh
Actors:
Claudia Garrison as Other Women
Ed Kuffert as Other Men
Henry Odum as Austin
Julie Partyka as Ruth
Plot Summary
Austin has spent his entire life convinced that something terrible is bound to happen to him. One night, at a party, he has the pleasure of rekindling a romance begun almost thirty years ago with Ruth. Comically, and sometimes painfully, these two people rediscover each other and themselves while a bevy of free-spirited other guests rally behind them and remind them of the infinite possibilities that life holds, should one only choose to pursue them.
Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon
Playwright- James McLure
Winter 2015
Directed by Elizabeth Lovelady
Stage Manager- Becca Holloway
Actors:
Sara Heller as Hattie
Lauren Lichtenstein as Amy Lee
Lexi Saunders and Elizabeth
Joe Boersma as Ray
Michael Dalberg as Cletis
Evan Johnson as Roy
Plot Summary
In Lone Star, heavy-drinking Vietnam veteran Roy offers his unique perspective on the world, mostly to his naïve younger brother Ray As he waxes philosophical and shares stories from the war, he reveals a sensitive soul that is unmoored after his stint on the battlefield and struggling to re-acclimate to life in his small Texas hometown.
Laundry and Bourbon offers us the world from Elizabeth’s (Roy’s wife) perspective. The play takes place as Roy’s wife is folding laundry and sipping bourbon and Cokes with her friend Hattie As the two of them engage in idle gossip, the turmoil of Elizabeth’s troubled marriage to Roy is slowly uncovered. They are joined by Amy Lee who self-righteously reveals that Roy has been spotted around town with another woman. As the plot continues to twist and turn, we see Elizabeth’s true nature and the true nature of her relationship with Roy.
The Odd Couple
Playwright- Neil Simon
Winter 2015
Directed by Keith Gerth
Stage Manager- Becca Holloway
Actors:
Cristiana Barbatelli as Gwendolyn Pigeon
Zach Bloomfield as Vinnie
Michael Dalberg as Roy
Elizabeth Mazur as Cecily Pigeon
Chris Miller as Oscar Madison
Grant Niezgodski as Speed
Rob Weinstein as Murray
Steve Zeal as Felix Ungar
Plot Summary
The Odd Couple is a madcap comedy that tells the story of two hilariously mismatched roommates. Felix Ungar is a fastidious and hyper-critical man who, in the midst of a dissolving marriage, finds himself living with his longtime friend Oscar Madison, a carefree slob. The two struggle to reconcile their different lifestyles and hilarity ensues. The madness is witnessed by their poker buddies, and the Pigeon Sisters, their upstairs neighbors. As the tension builds, their friendship begins to suffer, and could even crumble completely. Will they be able to put aside their differences and learn to compromise, or will they part ways forever?