Tag Archives: Romantic Comedy

Pigs Do Fly Productions’ THE AFFECTIONS OF MAY Opens at Empire Stage March 8

06 Tuesday Feb 2024

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
to present
Norm Foster’s
The Affections of May
March 8 – 31, 2024

“A delightful, feel-good comedy by Canadian playwright Norm Foster, “The Affections of May” tickles your funny bone and tugs at your heartstrings.”
Michigan Live

“Norm Foster creates characters who are so believable that theatergoers see bits of themselves reflected on the stage.” 
L.A. Daily News

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

February 6, 2024

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL:  Pigs Do Fly Productions’ second show of the 2023-2024 season will be The Affections of May, Canadian playwright Norm Foster’s delightful comedy that explores love, loss, and new beginnings.   The production will run from March 8th through March 31st at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale.  

“This is the second Norm Foster play we at Pigs Do Fly have produced,” says Executive Producer Ellen Wacher. “This is the second Norm Foster play we at Pigs Do Fly have produced,” says Executive Producer Ellen Wacher.  “We loved doing his The Ladies Foursome so much we decided to see what else he had that fit our misssion – to feature people over ‘a certain age’ whose lives are just as interesting – and messy, and funny, and hopeful, and real ‘now, as they were ‘then.’!

“This is our eighth season,” Wacher continues. “I am so proud of how much we have grown and what we have accomplished these past eight years.  We have featured and served a demographic that is often ignored, and I think our patrons are extremely appreciative of that.  And… it’s also very gratifying to see not only ‘my’ contemporaries in our audiences, but younger people as well!  It proves beyond a doubt that good theatre has no age limit!”

“Norm Foster’s Affections of May is a charming account of a woman who has been dumped by her husband of 29 years and left to fend for herself in a new town at the helm of a struggling business,” the production’s director Mariah Reed explains.   “May’s tenacity and ability to overcome challenges is inspirational and her story is one I am delighted to craft as a director.  Her ardent suitors, too, have their own personal challenges and with May as a catalyst each learns to overcome their insecurities and embrace an uncertain (and potentially exciting) future. 

“Stories of redemption and triumph are a joy to share,” she continues, “And I’m extremely grateful to Executive Producer Ellen Wacher and Artistic Director Deborah Kondelik for allowing me the opportunity to do so with Pigs Do Fly Productions.”

Reed has cast William Mahone as Hank, Brian James McCormack as Brian, Ben Prayz as Quinn, and Deborah Kondelik as May.

Norm Foster is considered Canada’s most produced playwright. An extremely prolific writer, frequently referred to as the Canadian Neil Simon, Foster has had more than fifty plays produced on professional stages.  His plays are known for their humor, accessibility, and insight into ‘the everyday tribulations of life.’

The Stage Manager for The Affections of May is Patrick Vida. Dean Landhuis is the show’s Scenic Designer, David Hart will do the Sound Design, and Preston Bircher will create the Lighting Design and serve as Technical Director. Jessica Kaschube is the Company Manager.

Tickets for The Affections of May are $45 and are available online at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com  or by calling 954-678-1496.  Performances are on Fridays at 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 5 pm. All performances will take place at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.  To arrange for interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.  For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com.

~

The Affections of May
March 8 – 31, 2024
By Norm Foster
Tickets: $45
Tickets:  www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Or call 954-678-1496
Performances: 
Friday at 8 pm
Saturday & Sunday at 5 pm
All performances will take place at 
Empire Stage1140 N Flagler Drive,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

Deborah Kondelik & Ben Prayz
Deborah Kondelik & Brian James McCormack
Deborah Kondelik & William Mahone
Deborah Kondelik, Ellen Wacher, Mariah Reed
  • Mariah Reed
  • Deborah Kondelik
  • William Mahone
  • Brian McCormack
  • Ben Prayz
  • Ellen Wacher
  • Norm Foster

Romance, Comedy & Crosswords! Pigs Do Fly Productions Presents 2 ACROSS – March 7 – 24

12 Tuesday Feb 2019

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
2 Across

March 7 – 24

“A charming, character driven comedy” ~ Los Angeles Times”

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

February 12, 2019

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL:   Rehearsals have begun for 2 Across, Pigs Do Fly Productions’ upcoming production of Jerry Mayer’s ‘comedy of crosswords and romance’. The show will run from March 7th through March 24th at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale.

2 Across finds two strangers, a man and a woman, on board a San Francisco BART train at 4:30 a.m. Alone in the car, the only thing they have in common is that they are both doing the New York Times crossword puzzle.  Soon the puzzles they unravel are more intriguing than any crossword puzzle could ever be.

Ellen Wacher

“This is our first play that focuses on a relationship between two people,” says Pigs Do Fly Productions’ founder and Executive Producer Ellen Wacher. “It also totally meets with our company’s mission – to show people over the age of 50 living interesting and active and real lives. I was captivated by these characters’ development, and I believe our audience will be too.”

Deborah Kondelik

Deborah Kondelik, who starred in both of Pigs Do Fly’s recent successful productions of The Ladies Foursome, will direct 2 Across: “It has been said that opposites attract,” Kondelik said recently.  “Whether or not that rings true remains to be seen in Jerry Mayer’s hilarious yet poignant, romantic comedy.  One thing that is guaranteed though, is a delightful very early morning romp by two strangers on San Francisco’s BART train.  The tie that binds is that both of them are hard at work on the Saturday New York Times crossword puzzle.  Although they tackle the puzzle with very different approaches, they soon discover commonalities that cannot be ignored. The stumbling block is that both are married . . . to someone else.”

Barbara Sloan and David R. Gordon will star in 2 Across, and both are excited at the prospect of exploring their diametrically opposite characters: Sloan’s Janet is a responsible, honest, rule-abiding psychologist, and Gordon’s Josh is part-free spirit, part executive, part dreamer, and part Peter Pan.

Playwright Jerry Mayer has written scripts for All in the Family, M*A*S*H*, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and the Bob Newhart Show (where he served as story editor).  His first play, Almost Perfect ran for a year and a half at the Santa Monica Playhouse.  Other plays include the musical You Haven’t Changed a Bit, and Other Lies and Dietrich and Chevalier, The Musical.

Tickets for 2 Across are $39 and are available on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com  or by calling 866-811-4111.  Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com.  To arrange for interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

2 Across
By Jerry Mayer
Directed by Deborah Kondelik
March 7 – 24
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 8 pm
Sunday at 5 pm
Tickets:  $39
For tickets:  www.pigsdoflyproductions.com / 866-811-4111
All performances will take place at
Empire Stage
1140 N. Flagler Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
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The Broward Stage Door Theatre presents BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE

15 Tuesday Jul 2014

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Broward Stage Door Theatre
presents
Butterflies Are Free
Butterflies - ck1
“I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. Mankind will surely not deny to Harold Skimpole what it concedes to the butterflies.” Charles Dickens (Harold Skimpole – Bleak House)

July 15, 2014
Coral Springs, Florida

The reviews for Leonard Gershe’s Butterflies Are Free were unanimously raves when it opened on Broadway in 1969, and the play ended up winning a number of awards that season. The play focuses on Don Baker, blind since birth, whose over-protective mother is forced to come to terms with her son’s bid for independence when he sets up in a Manhattan apartment on his own. He soon makes the acquaintance of his off-the-wall, liberated, actress neighbor Jill. Don learns the kind of things from Jill that his mother would never have taught him! And Jill learns from Don what growing up and being free is really all about.

Michael Leeds will direct Butterflies Are Free at the Broward Stage Door Theatre. The production will run from August 1st through September 14th.

Leeds head shot

Michael Leeds

“What drew me to Butterflies Are Free, aside from it being extremely charming and very funny, was the way it highlights how deceptive our perception of people with disabilities can be,” Leeds explains.  “While the young man in the play is blind, his problem is not how he sees the world but rather how the world sees him.  Gershe deftly makes the point that in their way, the young man is far less handicapped than his mother, who is deaf to what her son really needs, and the young woman who starts out emotionally crippled but blossoms through their relationship.”

Leeds and Broward Stage Door Theatre Artistic Director Derelle Bunn have assembled a talented cast of local and New York actors to inhabit Gershe’s characters. “Aside from earning numerous Tony and Oscar nominations, the play was responsible for introducing Blythe Danner to Broadway audiences

Gina Marie Jamieson

Gina Marie Jamieson

and the inimitable Goldie Hawn in the film,” Leeds says.   “And I’m lucky to have an equally talented young actress, Gina Marie Jamieson to play the lead opposite Britt Michael Gordon.

“Eileen Heckert won an Oscar for her portrayal of the acerbic mother,” he continues. “And Brook Packard has the same gift of delivering the biting humor while somehow remaining extremely likeable.  Andy Quiroga, whom I’ve worked with twice before, rounds out our ensemble as a self-absorbed theatre director.  (Personally, I don’t believe they exist but there you have it!)”

“And by the way,” Leeds adds, “The young man in Butterflies Are Free is a struggling song-writer, and the song he sings in the play was written by a young up-and-comer – named Stephen Schwartz!”

Britt Michael Gordon

Britt Michael Gordon

Actor Britt Michael Gordon continues to discover unexpected depths in his role as Don Baker as he works through the production’s rehearsal process. “I’ve fallen in love with this play,” he says.  “I’m finding there’s a lot more to it than people might assume. I don’t believe that Butterflies Are Free is only about blindness as a physical disability.  I think the play is about our ability as human beings to see past the surface of any individual, which, regardless of whether you’re sighted or not, is a difficult, yet essential part of life. Butterflies Are Free is teaching me how to see past the surface of those around me.  It’s teaching me to how to have faith in myself and
others.  And finally, Butterflies is teaching me to trust, even when I have no reason to.”

Butterflies Are Free will run from August 1st – September 14th at The Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs. The theatre is located at 8036 Sample Road, in Coral Springs.

Tickets for Butterflies Are Free are $38 – $42; $16 student tickets are also available. Tickets may be purchased at the Broward Stage Door Theatre box office at 954-344-7765 or on line at www.stagedoorfl.org.

Butterflies Are Free
By: Leonard Gershe
Dates: August 1 – September 14
Tickets: $38 – $42 (Students $16)
For Tickets:954-344-7765 / www.stagedoortheatre.com
Showtimes:
Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2:00 pm,
Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm
Sunday at 7:00 pm
The Broward Stage Door Theatre
8036 W Sample Rd
Coral Springs, Fl 33065