Last Week for Twelfth Night at Canyon Moon Theatre: A Musical Romp of Romance and Laughter

Audiences have been laughing their way out of the theater for the past two weeks, so don’t miss out on your last three chances to see Twelfth Night at Canyon Moon Theatre, Thursday through Saturday, April 22-24 at 7:30 PM.  It features silly lovers and ale-loving pranksters, all chasing each other in a musical romp that ends in marriage with a few twists.

            Never send a boy to do a man’s work, especially if he’s a girl!  Romantic complications among the upper classes multiply in the fantasy kingdom of Illyria as Duke Orsino sends Viola (thinking she is a boy) to woo the celibate Olivia in his name. Add a backdrop of side-splitting revelry as the ever-tipsy Sir Toby Belch and the foolish knight, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, join forces with the fun-loving Maria to marry Olivia off to Sir Andrew and to dupe the puritanical steward Malvolio into making a fool of himself by wooing Olivia. Throw in a twin brother, sword play, various other disguises and twelve songs and the rollercoaster is at full throttle.

Twelfth Night is directed by Canyon Moon favorite Robert Bays who also plays the fun-loving Sir Toby. Bays is a Broadway veteran who has appeared at Canyon Moon as the ailing Judge in Trying and as the Neil Simon stand-in in Chapter Two. The musical director, Teri Bays, returns to CMT as Maria after playing opposite her husband in last season’s Chapter Two. Craig Hartley as Malvolio was in CMT’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest and has an extensive background in theatre as a director and actor.

Brad Roberts, aka Sir Andrew Aguecheek, works for Yavapai Broadcasting and is a veteran of CMT’s murder mysteries where he has played everything from a flighty female to a Hawaiian ghost.  Mary Wallin, who starred in Barefoot in the Park, plays Viola, the object of everyone’s affection. The Duke of Orsino, Justin Ove, last appeared at CMT in Jerry Finnegan’s Sister. When Justin is not onstage, he is becoming a sommelier at Page Springs Winery. Talented newcomer Sarah Ann Lesslie plays the lovely Olivia.  Sir Toby’s band consists of Robert Bays and Teri Bays on piano, C C Cline on bass and Thomas Wisbey on drums. Set and costume design are by Robert Reninger, who has worked throughout the west as a stylist and designer.

Tickets are $19.  Full-time student tickets are $11. To purchase tickets, call Brown Paper Tickets’ 24-hour hotline at 1-800-838-3006. Tickets are also available at Rycus’ Corners and Marketplace Café in the VOC and at Basha’s in West Sedona. Thursday through Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m.  Sunday performances are at 3 p.m. Canyon Moon Theatre is located in the Oak Creek Factory Outlets, next to Village Pet Supply and Grooming, on Highway 179 in the Village of Oak Creek.

Canyon Moon is supported by the Arizona Community Foundation and is northern Arizona’s year-round professional theater.

MARRANO JUSTICE Workshop Reading Tonight at Canyon Moon Theatre in Sedona

by Michelle Lambeau    

Tonight Sedona's Canyon Moon Theatre will be hosting a reading of Joel Levin's new play, Marrano Justice. This dramatic presentation of the life and works of Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo, whose deeply humanist erudition helped set the Court on the path of enlightened secularism that made our country great right up to the end of the XXth century, will be followed by a discussion moderated by Producing Artistic Director Mary Guaraldi.

A workshop production of  Marrano Justice is planned  for mid-September 2010. Watch this space for updates!

Announcing "MARRANO JUSTICE," Canyon Moon's Newest Original Production coming to Sedona this September

by Michelle Lambeau


Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo (1870-1938) was extremely influential in shaping American legal philosophy in the XXth century. Appointed to the Court by Herbert Hoover to succeed the celebrated Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Cardozo was already famous for his flair, his philosophy and his modesty. His tenure, though brief, is remarkable for the insights and lasting influence he brought to our justice system.

Cardozo was also an extremely private and complex individual. He tolerated no inquiries into his personal life and, though he practiced no religion, took great pride in his heritage as a Sephardic Jew who traced his ancestry back to the Iberian peninsula.

Playwright Joel Levin has set himself the task of presenting this fascinating historical figure in dramatic form with Marrano Justice. The title refers to the medieval term of contempt reserved in Spain and Portugal for forced converts to Christianity who were suspected - and often brutally executed - for secretly adhering to Jewish practices.

A rehearsed reading featuring Mark DeMichele, Bob Bays and Gerard Maguire alongside your humble blogger, followed by a discussion with the playwright and director Mary Guaraldi, will be presented by Canyon Moon Theatre this Sunday, April 11, at 7pm. The reading is by invitation only, and will be free of charge to participants. This will be followed, in September 2010, by a public workshop production of the play.

Watch this space for continuing information on this exciting project by Canyon Moon.

*****

"In truth, I am nothing but a plodding mediocrity—please observe, a plodding mediocrity—for a mere mediocrity does not go very far, but a plodding one gets quite a distance. There is joy in that success, and a distinction can come from courage, fidelity and industry."  

-- Benjamin Cardozo