Rehearsals for Marrano Justice Are Well Underway!

Canyon Moon Theatre of Sedona, Arizona, is proud to present the cast of Joel Levin's Marrano Justice, opening September 9, 2010 at 7:30pm.

The play stars Mark DeMichele in the role of Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo and features Robert Bays as Tomas Torquemada, Deon Johnson as Judge Irving Lehman, Craig Hartley as Judge Learned Hand, Michelle Lambeau as Nell Cardozo and Jamie Maletz at Kate.

Watch this space for updates!


From left to right: Mark DeMichele, Robert Bays, Jamie Maletz.

Previews of "GLORIOUS!" by Peter Quilter begin Tonight at Canyon Moon Theatre!

Don't miss this hilarious comedy based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, diva extraordinaire of the 1940s!

GLORIOUS! by Peter Quilter opens this Thursday, May 27, at Canyon Moon Theatre in Sedona, Arizona!

Glorious! by Peter Quilter runs May 27 through June 13 at Canyon Moon Theatre. The (London) Sunday Times called the play  “a lunatically funny comedy…glittering, hilarious...a comedy with a heart…”

In1940’s New York, the performer everyone wanted to see including avid fan Cole Porter was Florence Foster Jenkins, a delusional and joyously happy soprano whose pitch was, unfortunately, far from perfect. Her elaborate costumes, from a Spanish senorita’s garb to an “angel of inspiration” outfit complete with wings and halo, delighted her audiences.

Quilter’s play provides a hilarious portrait of Jenkins as an indomitable spirit who may have committed “murder on the high C’s,” but who also had an enthusiasm for music that no cranky critic could squelch. Florence Foster Jenkins spent her fortune in pursuit of her dreams. She believed that singing badly was better than not singing at all. And for this, she became famous and has captured the imagination of audiences over the years. Quilter was not being entirely ironic when he called his play Glorious! 

Canyon Moon's production, directed by Producing Artistic Director Mary Guaraldi, recreates her absurd performances as it follows Jenkins during the last year of her life, from recording sessions and galas to Carnegie Hall, where, at the age of 76, she made her legendary sold-out debut and swan song. Helping her along the way are a cadre of real-life figures: Jenkins’s manager/boyfriend St. Clair Byfield, her accompanist, a young pianist with the wonderfully descriptive name of Cosmé McMoon, her friend and fellow amateur, Dorothy, and Maria, a temperamental maid.

Gerard Maguire (St. Clair Byfield) has had a long and distinguished career as an actor, writer, director and teacher since graduating from NIDA, Australia’s leading drama school. An audience favorite at CMT, Gerard played Henry in The Lion in Winter and directed The Business of Murder.

Glorious! Introduces four actors new to the CMT stage. Susy Hopkins (Florence Foster Jenkins) is a classically trained soprano who has appeared in concert at Lincoln Center and was featured in the Joseph Papp production of La Calisto in New York City.  Aiden Redsteer is a graduate of Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy where he worked with Canyon Moon’s Mike Levin. He is now at NAU studying theatre. He was nominated for a best actor award this past season at NAU.

Michelle Lambeau (Dorothy) has been an active participant in theatre for twenty years.  This year, Michelle produced and directed her original adaptation of Jane Austen's Lady Susan. Morgana Campbell (Maria/ Mrs. Verrinder-Gedge) began her theatre experience in 1998 while attending Arizona Western Community College in Yuma, AZ.

The show plays May 27-June 13 with no performance on June 5.  Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday performances begin at 3 p.m.  Tickets are $19, $11 for full time students. Tickets for preview performances (May 27, 28) are $16. All shows take place at the Oak Creek Factory Outlets on Hwy 179 in the Village of Oak Creek. Canyon Moon Theatre is a professional, non-profit theatre that serves the northern Arizona community and its guests. Single tickets for Glorious! will be available for purchase at Marketplace Café and Rycus’ Corners in the Village of Oak Creek and at Bashas' in West Sedona. You may also call 800-838-3006 to make reservations.

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

'LADY SUSAN' Makes the Cover of Kudos Magazine!

Use this link to check us out:


Kudos Magazine, March 3, 2010

Note: Unfortunately, this link is replaced by Kudos every week, so our show is no longer on the cover. But it was, and perhaps if you visit the link and look up the cover article, "VVT Reads Lady Susan," you will find us again!