The Players Guild of Dearborn presents “Disaster!” a campy, 1970s-themed jukebox musical comedy, with James Aguila (left) as Maury Summers, Charnell Williams as disco diva Levora Verona, Carissa Lokken as Shirley Summers, Mike Stec as Prof. Ted Scheider, a disaster expert, Ashley Gatesy as a nun with a gambling problem, Dylan Hart as flirtatious caterer Chad Rubik, and Joshua Beurer as casino owner Tony Delvecchio. The show runs Sept. 18 to 20, 25 to 27 and Oct. 2 to 4 at the theater, 21730 Madison in Dearborn. For tickets and more information, call 313-561-TKTS or go to playersguildofdearborn.org.
Ready for disaster and humor? Look no further than the Players Guild of Dearborn opening season show, “Disaster!” a campy, 1970s jukebox musical, and Trenton’s Open Book Theatre Company’s season starter “Boom,” featuring a bomb shelter first date as a comet hurtles toward Earth.
THE PLAYERS GUILD OF DEARBORN PRESENTS ‘DISASTER!’
The Players Guild of Dearborn presents Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick’s “Disaster!” a 1970s-themed jukebox musical comedy spoofing the disaster films of the era with earthquakes, tidal waves, piranhas and infernos.
Set in New York City in 1979, the city’s elite are gathering for the opening of a floating Manhattan casino and disco.
However, the ship’s pier is resting on a fault line, which leads to a series of disasters which the characters try to survive.
The fun comes from the 1970s hits imbedded in the show, including, in the first act, Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff,” Diana Ross’ “Theme from Mahogany,” Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” Carly Simon’s “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” Orleans’ “Still the One,” the Jackson Five’s “Never Can Say Goodbye,” Mary MacGregor’s “Torn Between Two Lovers,” and Chuck Mangione’s “Feels So Good.”
The second act includes The Commodores “Three Times a Lady,” Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4,” Linda Ronstadt’s “When Will I Be Loved,” Melissa Manchester’s “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” Tony Orlando and Dawn’s “Knock Three Times,” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” and Peaches and Herb’s “Reunited.”
The Guild’s production is directed by Brian Townsend, with Dylan Hart as Chad Rubik, Dominic Meszaros as Scott, Mike Stec as Professor Ted Scheider, Molly Boudreau as Marianne Wilson, Josh Beurer as Tony Delvecchio, Jamee Perryman as Jackie Noelle, Yousef Zmily as Ben/Lisa Noelle, Ashley Gatesy as Sister Mary Downey, Charnell Williams as Levora Verona, Carissa Lokken as Shirley Summers and James Aguila as Maury Summers.
The female ensemble includes Rebecca Borsodi, Julie Ballantyne Brown, Pamela Gunderson, Samantha Reams, Emily Schaf and Lilith Tack.
The male ensemble includes Tim Carney, Ryan Helka, Jeff Lokken and Jeff Graham.
Director Townsend said that in addition to parodying 1970s disaster movies, the musical’s goal is to entertain and to remind people to not take things too seriously.
“Life can be ridiculous enough on its own,” he said. “With the way many things are going in today’s world, it was nice to have an opportunity to work on a show where belly laughs and groans are given equal weight.”
Townsend said the show has a lot of moving pieces.
“There’s a heavy mix of sight gags, over-the-top properties, lavish costumes, period hairstyles, comedic timing, explosions and earthquakes,” he said. “You have to keep on your toes so the show keeps moving and elements logistically fall into place.
“That’s true of all shows, really, but it feels amped up for this production.”
Townsend said the cast’s energy and inventiveness has in turn challenged him to come up with more things for them to do.
He said audiences will be singing some of the songs on the way home, just as he has been shuffling through the songs on a daily basis.
“Aside from all the zaniness this show contains, there’s still a bit of a message here,” Townsend said. “In order to get through any disaster, we all need each other, and that sense of community is important, perhaps more now than ever.”
Williams said that while she is enjoying the creative process, her biggest challenge is channeling the right balance of diva with the subtleties that still make her human.
“I’m hoping people get a real kick out of the great dance numbers in the show and leave wanting to boogie down some more when it’s all over,” she said.
Meszaros said the script is fun, with lots of jokes and catchy songs, while Perryman said the show is goofy.
“Yes, the music is awesome and most people will be familiar with a lot of it, but more than that, it is just simply fun,” Perryman said. “This show honestly has something for everyone.”
Stec, who plays the disaster expert, said this is the largest role he has ever played, and he is learning to call on his inner confidence to pull it off.
He said the parody has something for everyone.
“It’s a musical for anyone who thinks ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ was missing a tap number, that ‘Airplane’ needed a soundtrack full of ‘70s hits, and ‘Mamma Mia’ didn’t have nearly enough piranha,” Stec said.
Hart said the show has over-the-top gags mixed with classic songs, while Carissa Lokken said it’s a fun parody of disaster films with songs to which one will want to sing along.
“I hope we give the audience a great big laugh and have them walking away humming the music and planning to tell their friends to get their tickets,” she said.
The Players Guild of Dearborn has switched its evening show times from 8 p.m. to 7:30.
The show contains adult language and situations.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18, 19, 25 and 26, and Oct. 2 and 3, with 2:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and 27 and Oct. 4 matinees at the theater, 21730 Madison St. in Dearborn.
For tickets and more information, call 313-561-TKTS or go to playersguildofdearborn.org.
Trenton’s Open Book Theatre Company starts out its season with a “Boom,” featuring a bad first date in a bomb shelter as a comet hurtles toward Earth, with Kevin Keller (left) as Jules and Danielle Wright as Jo, and a stressed-out damselfish. The show runs Sept. 11 to Oct. 4 at the theater, 1621 West Road in Trenton. For tickets and more information, go to openbooktheatrecompany.net.
TRENTON’S OPEN BOOK THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS ‘BOOM’
What’s worse than a bad first date? A bad first date in a bomb shelter as a comet hurtles toward Earth.
Peter Nachtrieb’s “Boom” pairs Jules, a grad student in marine biology, with Jo, a journalism student, who meet on a Saturday night in his underground campus laboratory in response to his ad offering “sex to change the course of the world.”
Jules thinks that the end of the world is coming via a comet, and has changed his lab into a safe space to wait out the coming disaster, after which he hopes to repopulate humanity.
Throw into the mix Barbara, a museum docent who serves as the audience’s guide to the end of civilization that occurred thousands of years earlier.
The show has been described as an “apocalyptic comedy” that looks at different viewpoints about sex, reproduction and the future of mankind.
Directed by Hannah Niece, the cast includes Kevin Keller as Jules, Danielle Wright as Jo, and Krista Schafer as Barbara.
Niece said the show is weird, funny and surprisingly heartfelt.
“It’s a comedy about very heavy and at times dark things, the end of the world being only one of them,” she said. “We had to find a balance between taking seriously what needs to be taken seriously and keeping things funny and wacky enough that it doesn’t shift into a drama or a horror story.”
Wright said the show is funny and fast-paced, and she has been challenged by the fight and intimacy choreography.
“There’s a lot of physicality in this show and there are so many lines, but we have such a great group working on this show, and the rehearsals have been a blast,” she said. “This show is wild but fun, and there are a lot of lines that make me laugh out loud, even when I’m not supposed to.”
Schafer agreed that the show is a little wild.
“The humor is dark, and there are some pretty strange things going on,” she said. “I love how little by little the playwright reveals what’s happening to the audience.”
Schafer said her character, Barbara, is enthusiastic and passionate, like she is.
“In some ways she controls the story, and in others she is controlled by it,” she said. “I’ve often been pegged as being on the over-enthusiastic side, and I love to let that enthusiasm out to play with Barbara.”
Schafer said the play is about the end of the world as we know it, but it is also about the hope and legacy left behind.
“And it’s wickedly funny,” she said.
Keller said the show’s rapid dialogue makes the actors work to keep up with the show’s quick pace.
“The show is also pretty kooky, so we as actors get to play very big emotions as they try and survive the end of the world together,” he said. “I love any show that challenges me physically and emotionally.”
Keller said Jules is stern in his own convictions while also completely oblivious to the emotions or intents of others.
“That lets us play some very funny misunderstandings and word play,” he said. “I’m also literally rolling over couches and getting punched, so I feel like I’m getting to use every tool I love to pull out when acting in a show.”
Keller said he performed a monologue from the show while in college, so performing the role now in its entirety is a cool full-circle moment.
“I think people will love ‘Boom’ because it’s a really fast-paced, smart comedy about people trying to do their best with the circumstances that they’re under,” he said. “While I hope no one ends up in the scenario of our characters, I think everyone can relate to trying their absolute best even when things seem hopeless.”
The show includes strong language, strobe lights and water-based fog.
Show times are 8 p.m. Sept. 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26, and Oct. 1 to 3, with 2 p.m. Sept. 13, 20 and 27 and Oct. 4 and 3:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and Oct. 3 matinees.
For tickets and more information, go to openbooktheatrecompany.net.