Posts Tagged ‘Palace Theatre Cape Charles Virginia’

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The Palace Theater In Cape Charles Rehearsing The Musical “Oliver !”

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

Rehearsing "Consider Yourself" Number At Palace Theatre, Cape Charles

The Cape Charles’  theater season is winding down with Art’s Enter’s  blockbuster production of  the hit Broadway musical  “Oliver !”  at the Palace Theatre in the Cape Charles historic area.  After almost two months of rehearsals so far,  the cast and crew are now fine tuning their art to be ready for Opening Night on  April 2, 2011.  I’m so proud to have been  included in this production as the cast is full of truly experienced thespians who really know their stuff !   Having never before acted on the stage  in my whole life,  this season, my debut season,  has been an incredible experience for me.  I was first introduced to the Palace’s  amateur theatre group by Eva Noonan,  a  follow Realtor at  the Blue Heron Realty Co.  Cape Charles office  and a 10 year veteran of  Palace Theatre productions.  Shortly thereafter I was in my very first play,  “The Two Mrs. Carrolls”,  a murder thriller taking place in the south of France during the roaring twenties.  I had tried out for a part unsuccessfully but the director was compassionate enough to actually write-in a small part just for me especially to keep up my interest in theater.  It turned out to be quite a wonderful experience although,  to my horror,  the video made on the play’s opening night  revealed my complete lack of acting skills.  ( I can tell you that watching a video of one’s first acting efforts is a truly humbling experience ! ) 

Rehearsing "Pick A Pocket Or Two" For Palace Threater's Production Of The Musical "Oliver !"

 Nevertheless,  I accepted the role of Dr. Chasuble in Oscar Wilde’s classic  “The Importance of Being Earnest”,   Palace  Theater’s  second production of this season.  After  my debut  experience in  “Mrs. Carrolls”,  I learned a few lessons in humility and accepted the proffered advice of my fellow actors when it came to shaping my role.  I rehearsed my lines relentlessly,  using long walks down my 1/2 mile driveway out in the Eastern Shore countryside  as my personal  “stage”.  (  By the time the play was over I think I could have recited all my lines in my sleep,  backwards !  )  It must have been hilarious to hear me coming down the country lane,  repeating my lines with an aristocratic British accent!   Remarks from members of the audience who had seen my first production sounded like rave reviews of my performance  and I have been  pronounced the  “most improved actor”  of the season so far.  Now, with  “Oliver !”  in the making,  I have much more confidence than ever and, unbelievably,  I am actually learning how to sing and dance,  although I don’t think Michael Crawford has anything to worry about from me…… just  yet.  From murder mystery to 19th century British satire to a Broadway musical in just one season, what an experience !   What fun this has been,  what an incredible pleasure it is to have become part of  the  thriving, dynamic arts community here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia,   they really welcomed me and made me feel at home.   Like  the Artful Dodger,  they said  Consider Yourself One Of Us !    ( Check out  the Palace Theatre and Arts Enter at www.artsenter.org )

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Playtime At The Palace In Cape Charles, Virginia

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

Once again we’re looking forward to play time at the historic Palace Theatre in Cape Charles, Virginia.   ( See  September, 2010 posts  about Arts Enter’s  first play of  the  2010-2011 season,  a mystery entitled The Two Mrs. Carrolls . )   This season’s second production by Art’s Enter is a long-time thespian favorite,  The Importance Of Being Earnest  by Oscar Wilde.    Interestingly,  this clever farce,  subtitled  A Trivial Comedy For Serious People,  was  first performed about 1895 and has been kicking around ever since.   It was  even made into a movie about ten  years ago,  staring Rupert Everett,  Judi Dench,  Colin Firth  and Tom Wilkenson,  some of my favorite British actors,  ( Dench especially for her role in the long running BBC series  As Time Goes By  and Wilkenson as Gerald in the hilariously poignant  film,  The Full Monty  ).  According to the Palace’s advance ad,  George Bernard Shaw once said that Earnest  was the funniest play ever written.  It is indeed a very witty piece of  writing,  a romantic comedy full of clever turns of phrase.  I find it  pretty amazing that a play which is now  115 years old is still capturing  the imaginations of theatre groups all around the country  ( take a quick peek at some of  the U Tube clips of  recent  productions of  Earnest,   especially the clips from  South Coast Repertory.  )

Getting ready for lunch at Aqua restaurant

So we  are planning for a late lunch today at  Aqua’s Restaurant overlooking the Chesapeake Bay near the marina and then off to the theatre for the  3:00.pm matinee.   I’m looking forward to the Cobb Salad at Aqua.  Unbelievably,  next Wednesday,  as part of an over-all menu revision,  I’ve been told they are taking their  absolutely delicious Cobb Salad off  the menu although it’s their most popular salad and,  in my opinion,  their best salad,  assorted field greens layered with corn kernels,  an entire sliced egg,  crunchy bacon, perfectly ripened avocado,  long crisp cucumber slices,  tender grilled chicken,   topped with a creamy Parmesan pepper dressing.   I’m just asking……. What sense does it  make to remove one of your most popular luncheon dishes just because it’s been there nearly since opening day ?    Their hamburger has been on since opening day as well —  but I’d just about bet the farm that the  same hamburger choices are  going to make an appearance on the new menu !   ( I think we need a revolt,  maybe a  “Committee for the Retention of the Cobb Salad at Aqua”.  )   My daughter will be likely be having the fish sandwich and clam chowder,  safe and secure that fish sandwiches will probably always be on the menu !  Anyway, we all truly enjoy Aqua’s atmosphere and scrumptious food and shall cling to the hope that maybe next spring the  beloved Cobb Salad shall re-appear on their menu.

After lunch,  it’s off to  the  theatre.  We  are especially looking forward to seeing David Kabler,  broker for Blue Heron Realty Co.’s  Cape Charles  office,  who is playing the role  of   the vicar,   Dr. Chasuble.    This is Dave’s second stage role,   having made his debut at the Palace earlier this year in the part of   Frank Updyke  in the Art’s Enter production of  the  Two Mrs. Carrolls .    So it should be a good day,  a farewell  Cobb Salad  followed by playtime at play time in the little town of  Cape Charles’  beautifully renovated Palace Theatre.   (  P.S.  I might mention that  Wilde is also  known for  his short stories,   particularly the beautiful  The Happy Prince    and  the ironic  The Nightingale and the Rose,  both of   which can be read on-line at  www.shortstoryarchive.com/w/oscar_wilde.html    I first read Oscar Wilde when I was in school,  having  received as a gift  a book which was a collection of  his short stories and some of his poetry.   The stories have stuck with me ever since.  )

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To The Cast Of “Two Mrs. Carrolls”, Take Another Well Deserved Bow !

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Historic Palace Theatre In Cape Charles, Virginia

My husband,  a friend and I spent a delightful Sunday afternoon last week  at the historic Palace Theatre in Cape Charles, Virginia  watching the matinee performance of  ” The Two Mrs. Carrolls”.   It was one of those cool, rainy,  constant drizzle  Sundays that usually make me feel like staying at home with a hot cup of tea,  listening to  The Splendid Table  on NPR or thumbing through the latest  Contessa or  Mario Batali cookbook, wondering if there is a delicious recipe of less than five ingredients that can be whipped together in  15 minutes ( good luck with that ! ) . However,  we had matinee tickets for the play and off we went,  rain or no,  to see the Mrs. Carrolls.

I was not familiar with that particular  play,  written by Martin Vale,  but the playbill indicates that it is a film noir classic from 1947 and starred Hunphrey Bogart and Barbara Stanwyck.   A  comic thriller set in the South of  France,  it revolves around  a lovey-dovey,  newly- wed English couple  ( but the husband,  an artist,  has a roving eye ),  the wife’s  old flame who visits a lot,  a beautiful young neighbor who also visits a lot and a very funny French  housekeeper,  Clemence ,   who can speak English but insists on speaking French throughout,  sans peur et sans reproche,  played with good comic effect by Susan Kovacs,  a  Blue Heron customer .    The wife soon falls mysteriously ill and the play is off and running !

Bravo ! Take Another Bow !

Staged and directed by Sheila Cardano,  whose daughter,  Clelia Sheppard,  is the Executive Director of  Art’s Enter,  the play came off wonderfully– the years of Sheila’s  hard work and efforts to put together a talented local amateur theatre group and stage crew and to renovate  the Palace Theatre  have really paid off handsomely.   The theatre,  now fully restored,  truly looks great.  ( Years of fund raisers together with grants and donations have restored this lovely Art Deco building to its former 1940’s glory.  Wow !  And you should see the seats now,  comfy and beautifully re-covered,  to the tune of  hundreds of  dollars each and the gorgeous golden wall murals.  Before and after pictures  really tell this  amazing restoration story and  illustrate how far the Palace Theatre and Art’s Enter have  come in these  last 15 years. )   On stage,  the props and scenery looked great– so authentic,  you felt like you really were in  an artist’s home.  Lots of well done lighting and sound effects too,  especially the mistral wind,  which blew on and off for much of  Act 3. 

Eva Takes The Lead Role And Dave Makes His Stage Debut

Best of all was the cast,  who vividly brought this  story to life.   Consisting of  nine amateur actors  from various  walks of  life, including a recreational director,  a vacation rental associate,  three  retirees,  a real estate sales agent,  a real estate broker,   a Deputy Commissioner of the Revenue  plus  Clelia Sheppard,  the Executive Director of Art’s Enter and one of the Eastern Shore’s great multi-taskers,  this cast  came together seamlessly to create the story’s realistic voice.   It was an excellent performance,  thoroughly enjoyed by the entire audience.   I realize that I am biased but the three of us really loved seeing our two colleagues from the Blue Heron Realty Co. Cape Charles office ,  Eva Noonan and Dave Kabler   ” do their thing”  on-stage,  both presented an accomplished performance,  with Eva  cast in the leading role of Sally Carroll.  And so,   to the entire cast,  at the next performance  go ahead and take an extra bow— you deserve it !

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