Bruce Kaplan (L) and Kim Saunders performed in the first Stories by Starlight production, Tartuffe. Stories by Starlight continues Sept. 10 through Oct.3.
The Orinda Starlight Village Players (OrSVP) resume the Stories by Starlight series Sept. 10. The series features a different production each weekend in September, performed as reader’s theater. Each production has three performances, Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Orinda Community Center Park Amphitheater.
Reader’s theater is a minimalist style of performance without sets but with scripts openly used by the cast. OrSVP’s productions feature costumes, lights and sound. Due to COVID-19 surges, OrSVP is requiring all audience members, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks.
First up, Sept. 10, 11 and 12, is Don Quixote, written by Matthew Garlin, directed by Amy Cook and adapted from the novel by Miguel Cervantes. This is a modern adaptation of the classic story with new windmills and quests. A man, estranged from his son, finds adventure worthy of the name “Don Quixote” with the help of his nurse and dearly departed wife.
Next up is George M. Cohan’s Seven Keys to Baldpate, a mysterious melodramatic farce directed by Suzanne Loraine running Sept. 17, 18 and 19. A writer bets he can complete a novel in 24 hours and tucks himself away in a remote mountain inn. It seems the perfect getaway spot to write. Or, is it? “The crazy cast of characters will tickle and shock you,” said Lorraine.
The final production of the month, running Sept. 24, 25 and 26, is A Familiar Visage, written and directed by Eddie Peabody. A 19th century American writer and journalist, reeling after a personal tragedy, accepts an overseas assignment working with the world’s first detective. They collaborate to unlock a seemingly interwoven and increasingly macabre mystery.
The last production in the series, Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, adapted and directed by Malcolm Cowler, runs Oct. 1, 2 and 3.
In the past, OrSVP provided blankets and jackets to attendees who forgot to bring their own. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, OrSVP will not be doing so this year.
For more information and reservations, contact info@orsvp.org or visit www.orsvp.org.
