Community theater spring shows

Theater troupes eager to perform

Community stage stars bringing you comedy, drama and even a fairy tale

by Mark Lord

Chronicle Contributor

While the Covid-19 pandemic took a toll on the local theater scene, as multiple groups were forced to ring down their final curtains, the companies that survived are gearing up for a busy spring and summer season, including a burgeoning troupe that was temporarily detoured by the virus just as it was about to make its debut back in 2020.

That new company, City Gate Productions, plans to dedicate itself to “telling stories that challenge the mind, inspire the heart and reflect the beautiful diversity” of the borough.

Coming soon will be a production of “Lobby Hero,” Kenneth Lonergan’s play about a luckless young security guard who is drawn into a murder investigation, leading loyalties to become strained to the breaking point and proving that truth can be elusive and justice quite costly.

According to City Gate’s president and co-founder Thom Harmon, the group’s first effort turned out to be a staged reading of Lucas Hnath’s play “The Christians,” which was presented via Zoom in July 2020.

That was followed by a fullfledged production of “The Weir,” a play by Conor McPherson that is set in an Irish pub.

Harmon said in a recent telephone interview that, as Broadway and other theatrical venues began to reopen, he had the idea to produce the play in an actual bar. He found just what he was looking for in Yer Man’s Irish Pub in Glendale, the neighborhood where he now resides with his wife, Virginia, the group’s co-founder.

The Harmons both got involved in local theater productions not long after arriving in New York in 2017 from their native Philadelphia, frequently sharing stages together.

“We wanted to find some community,” Harmon said. Their first show in the borough was “Spider’s Web,” at Parkside Players. “My wife was the lead. I was typecast as her husband,” Harmon said.

“The Weir” ran in the back room at the pub for five performances in October of last year. Harmon said all 30 seats for each performance sold out early for the entire run.

“It put the final wings in my sails,” he said.

Now he is concentrating on helming the production of “Lobby Hero,” which will be performed at The Moore Lodge Theatre (72-15 Grand Ave., Maspeth) on April 29 and 30 at 8 p.m., May 6 and 7 at 8 p.m. and May 1 and 8 at 3 p.m. The play is recommended for adult audiences. Tickets are $20. To order tickets or for further information, visit citygate productions.org.

The group’s next production will be Terrence McNally’s play “Mothers and Sons,” to be directed by Bill Logan in the fall. Looking toward the City Gate’s more distant future, Harmon says one goal is “to develop a Rolodex of different venues around the borough. As we grow, we will find venues that fit the shows.

Since January, members of The Gingerbread Players, a mainstay of Forest Hills for decades, have been back in rehearsal for an upcoming production of the musical “Babes in Toyland.”

The group originally planned to present the show, a tale also familiar to many as “The March of the Wooden Soldiers,” in 2020. But, according to its director, Louise Guinther, it was “shut down when Covid struck.” It was hoped it would see the lights by fall 2021, to coincide with the group’s 50th anniversary, but again, expectations were dashed with a resurgence of the virus.

Now, Guinther said, “We are absolutely thrilled” to be back in business, following what she calls “a state of suspended animation.”

That’s not to suggest that the intrepid performers were idle the past two years. During the forced hiatus, they presented several online performances, a partially mounted version of the classic comedy “You Can’t Take It with You” and a more fully realized rendering of Shakespeare’s “Henry V.”

This “Toyland” version is based on the original Victor Herbert operetta but is “nicer and kinder,” said Guinther, who wrote a new book that centers around “a gallery of familiar storybook characters in a tale in which good is triumphant over wickedness.” The music has been arranged by William Ryden.

The cast is headed by Gingerbread veterans Jillian Smith as shepherdess Bo-Peep, Ronan Finley as her love interest Tom-Tom, the piper’s son, Bart DeFinna as the mysterious Toymaker and Jim Chamberlain as the heavy, Barnaby. Musical direction is by Olivia Smith.

Everyone is “looking forward to a live audience to respond to what we’re doing,” Guinther said.

Performances will take place at St. Luke’s Church (85 Greenway South, Forest Hills) on April 30 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., May 1, 7 and 8 at 2:30 p.m., and May 6 at 7:30 p.m. The suggested donation is $15.

For more, call (718) 261-7772 or visit gingerbreadplayers.org.

The oldest active theater company in the borough, Douglaston Community Theatre, established in 1950, is also planning a return to live performances with a production of Andrew Bergman’s comedy “Social Security,” which focuses on a married couple whose lives are turned upside down with the arrival of the wife’s nerd sister, her uptight CPA husband and her archetypal Jewish mother.

With cast members Toni Allen, Terri Bonica, Cathy Chimenti, Frank DiSpigno, Kathleen Nadal Eberhardt, Jonathon Baker and Christopher Tyrkko, the production will mark the directorial debut of Gary Tifeld, generally known for his appearances on stage.

Performances at Zion Church Parish Hall (243-01 Northern Blvd., Douglaston) are on May 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. and May 14 and 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $22; or $20 for seniors and students.

For more, call (718) 482-3332 or visit dctonline.org.

Maggie’s Little Theater will present its long-aborning production of Cole Porter’s musical classic “Kiss Me, Kate,” which has been delayed two years thanks to Covid. Performances will take place in July at St. Margaret Parish Hall in Middle Village. For more information, visit maggieslittletheater.org.

The JC Players will offer “Seussical the Musical” the first two weekends in August; visit jcplayers.com for more as it becomes available.

Several other Queens community theater groups are planning productions for the upcoming months, including St. Gregory’s Theatre Group in Bellerose (sgtg.org), the Parkside Players in Forest Hills (parksideplayers.com) and Royal Star Theatre in Jamaica (royalstartheatre. squarespace.com).

Peforming in the Douglaston Community Theatre show “Social Security” will be, at left in the back, Kathleen Nadal Eberhardt, left, Jonathan Baker and Terri Bonica; in the front, Frank DiSpigno, and Toni Allen; and at right, Cathy Chimenti and Christopher Tyrkko. PHOTO BY GARY TIFELD Appearing as Toy Soldiers in the Gingerbread Players’ “Babes in Toyland” will be Sonia Allhaj Saleh, left, Julian Hayes-Díaz, Retal Abdelwahab, Xavier Gonzales, Pauline Voronova, Ryan Elazar and Joaquin Hayes-Díaz. Jillian Smith and Jim Chamberlain portray Bo-Peep and Barnaby. PHOTOS BY PJ SMITH

City Gate Productions’ “Lobby Hero” will feature, clockwise from top left, Mark Ashin, Ian Duhart, Chris Leoni