Tags
Caroline Dopson, Dark Comedy, Dave Corey, Deborah Kondelik, Ellen Wacher, Empire Stage, Fort Lauderdale Theatre, Pigs Do Fly Productions, Todd Bruno, Tom Dugan, Wiesenthal
Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents an
East Coast Premiere:
Cemetery Pub
March 3 – 19
“… fast-paced script, which is taut and sharp… Cemetery Pub is a terrifically entertaining piece of theatre…”
Paul Myrvold’s Theatre Notes, May 2022
For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244
January 24 2023
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL: Rehearsals will begin shortly for Pigs Do Fly Productions’ production of playwright/actor Tom Dugan’s Cemetery Pub. This will be only the second time the play has been produced – the first time was in May 2022 in Dugan’s own Backyard Theatre in California. Cemetery Pub will run from March 3rd through March 19th at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale.
Set in the old-time and slightly run-down O’Brien’s Tavern (also known as the Cemetery Pub) across from St. Gertrude’s Catholic Cemetery as well as from the railroad tracks, Cemetery Pub is a dark comedy, and features a trio of fascinating characters: Dixie, the young owner of the bar, Ken O’Brien, Dixie’s uncle, and Danny, Dixie’s long-lost cousin.
This three-character play is somewhat of a departure for playwright Tom Dugan, who is well known to South Florida audiences for his award-winning play (and performances in) Wiesenthal, and several other one-person shows: “I grew up in a big Irish Catholic family, I had over 60 first cousins, aunts and uncles,” he explains. “As the second youngest of the clan, no one sat me down to explain, who was who and what was what. I was on my own to figure out my family history – I cobbled together a family narrative, based largely on half pieces of information, fortified by my own imagination. My older siblings have pointed out to me recently that most of my assumptions are wrong, but they also pointed out that my version was much more entertaining. This got me thinking about writing a play based not on the facts of my family story but rather the rumors and embellishments I came up with.”
“How I feel about this play is ‘Wow’”, says Pig’s Do Fly’s Executive Producer Ellen Wacher. “It’s definitely a departure from many of the shows we’ve done in the past. But it’s superbly written – I can visualize each scene – and it has a great deal of humor integrated with its serious subject matter and the characters’ lives.”
“To me, Cemetery Pub defies classification,” says the production’s director, Deborah ‘DK’ Kondelik. “It is deadly funny, full of mystery and suspense, and at times even farcical. The characters and relationships are distinctively off-beat and captivating; there is an edginess to the play, a tongue-in-cheek kind of humor that will titillate audiences.”
Kondelik has cast Caroline Dopson as Dixie, David Corey as Ken, and Todd Bruno as Dan.
Cemetery Pub’s Stage Manager is Joseph Long, Dean Landhuis is the show’s Scenic Designer, David Hart will do the Sound Design, Preston Bircher will create the Lighting Design and serve as Technical Director, Jameelah Bailey will handle props, and Director Deborah Kondelik will coordinate Costumes. Jessica Kaschube is the Company Manager.
Tickets for Cemetery Pub are $39 and are available online at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com or by calling 954-678-1496. Performances are on 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.
~*~
Cemetery Pub
By Tom Dugan
March 3 – 19, 2023
Directed by Deborah Kondelik
Performances:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Sunday at 5 pm
Tickets: $39
For tickets: www.pigsdoflyproductions.com / 954-678-1496
All performances will take place at
Empire Stage
1140 N. Flagler Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PigsDoFlyProductions/
Tom Dugan: Dubbed by critics “A National Treasure,” for the past twenty years Tom Dugan’s one-man plays have thrilled audiences from Beverly Hills, to 42nd street, and have been the subject of many PBS programs throughout North America. His play Wiesenthal, (Produced by Daryl Roth) honored with multiple awards and nominations (N.Y. Drama Desk, N.Y. Outer Critics Circle, L.A. Ovation, L.A. Drama Critics Circle), has enjoyed productions in Israel, India, Australia, Italy, and Mexico. A feature film of Wiesenthal is planned for 2024.
Mr. Dugan’s one person plays include The Civil War Trilogy, Robert E. Lee – Shades of Gray (100% Sweet -Bitter Lemons), Frederick Douglass In The Shadow Of Slavery (“the best history lesson ever!” – Peninsula News) and The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln (Spellbinding – LA Times), The twentieth century trilogy; Tevye In New York! (“Delightful” – Broadway World) Wiesenthal (“Masterful”- Backstage), Tell Him It’s Jackie. (“Brilliant”- Curtain Up). Tevye In New York will have its Florida premiere at The Delray Beach Playhouse in December 2023. For more information contact; Tom.dugan@outlook.com
Carol Kassie 