One of the most exciting aspects of my work as the Artistic Director with Eclectic Full Contact Theatre has been Moon Over Buffalo horizontalour partnership with Metropolis over the past three seasons. We’ve had the opportunity to present three very different comedies, ranging from the slapstick of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” to the verbal sophistication of Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”. This year we are thrilled to present Ken Ludwig’s brilliant farce “Moon Over Buffalo”.

Rehearsing a farce is always a challenge. The set has 4 doors and 2 curtained entrances. The actors have to remember which of the 6 entrances to use each time they run on or off the set. The slamming of doors sets off actions and reactions, so during rehearsals, actors tend to yell SLAM when they enter or exit the room. We have the long staircase taped out on the floor so the actors can get a feel for running up and down the stairs. Props are carefully placed (and sometimes destroyed) as we figure out how thoroughly we can beat someone with a newspaper, or how far we can throw a phone. The actors don’t have to go to the gym to get in their cardio during this rehearsal period!

Speaking of actors, we have a great team of excellent comic performers on the stage. Some you will recognize from other Metropolis shows. Andrew Pond and Lisa Savegnago both starred in “Out Of Order”, and have been seen in several other shows here. Nancy Kolton is remembered from her star turns in “Nunsense” and “Damn Yankees”. Michelle Ziccarelli showed off her versatility in “The Boys Next Door”. Katie Hunter dazzled in two roles in “Half and Half” recently. Then we have some newcomers to the Metropolis stage, including Ryan Jozaitis, Jeff Irlbeck and Rob Reinalda (Rob actually understudied here, but this is the first time he gets to hit the stage in front of the Metropolis audience!).

Tomorrow we move on to the stage and get to start running the stairs and slamming the doors for real. We then have a week to get everything finished off before our first preview next Thursday, July 9. Our brilliant team of designers will be working with our cast to make sure the costumes are spectacular, the lights are brilliant, the sound is divine, and the set a work of art (and one of the characters in any farce). We hope you’ll join us this summer to laugh away a couple of hours at “Moon Over Buffalo”!