(L-R) A. Richard Carter, composer Berkeley Fase and lyricist Geoffrey Parsons. Richard met Berkeley at a production of “Ring Around the Moon” in London.
The Orinda Starlight Village Players (OrSVP) continue their 42nd season with Jean Anouilh’s French farce “Ring Round the Moon,” adapted by Christopher Fry and directed by Jill Gelster.
Set in the winter garden of a French chateau, “Ring Round the Moon” concerns a pair of identical twins. One, Frederic, is sweet and innocent, while the other, Hugo, is sour and devious.
Frederic is engaged to the rich and ravishing Diana, but Hugo is convinced Diana is pining for him. Hugo decides to save his brother from a loveless marriage by inviting a beautiful ballerina to charm his brother at a party given by their aristocratic aunt, and in the process, unleashes a crazy chain of events.
“The tricky part of casting this show is finding an actor who can handle playing identical twins. Having worked with Matt Cardigan-Smith in several productions, he was the obvious choice,” said Gelster.
“Cardigan-Smith was last seen on OrSVP’s stage in the 2024 production of Agatha Christie’s ‘Spider’s Web’,” Gelster added. “Matt was also the director and set designer of this season’s successful production of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’.”
Gelster said this play was originally produced in 1950, but they chose to set it in the 1890s because they felt it more appropriately fit that era.
“Matt has created stunning costumes from the 1890s that include beautiful ball gowns and lots of jewels,” said Gelster. “The tradition of French farce reaches back to the time of Moliére and is a popular form of entertainment. At the first rehearsal, members of the cast pointed out that the play is also very Shakespearian – you’ve got twins, crossed lovers and mistaken identity.”
Casting this year was easy for the community theater group.
“We were blessed with a large turnout at season auditions this year, so we were able to select a wonderful cast and crew for this production,” said Gelster. “The show will include several dances choreographed by professional dance instructor Alice Lee. You will also see Alice running the tech for this show. As you can see, everyone involved has to wear multiple hats and we have a multi-talented group of people volunteering at OrSVP.”
OrSVP is producing the show by request of a Walnut Creek couple, Sandra and Sherry Snider. Gelster was approached by the couple who wanted to have OrSVP perform this play in honor of their friend Richard Carter.
“‘Ring Round the Moon’ was a favorite show of Richard’s,” said Sandra. “He attended The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art (now The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London University). Richard gave up his acting career when he immigrated to the U.S., but never lost his love for the theater.”
Performances of “Ring Round the Moon” run Friday and Saturday nights at 8:30 p.m., July 25 through Aug. 16. The Sunday performance is Aug. 10 at 4 p.m. and one Thursday performance, Aug. 14 at 8 p.m.
OrSVP is completely volunteer-run. Anyone interested in any aspect of theater and would like to learn more is encouraged to contact the group at info@orsvp.org or 925.528.9225. For more information, visit www.orsvp.org.
