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Fairfield Footlighters gets technical with ‘Moon Over Buffalo’
Fairfield Footlighters present “Moon Over Buffalo” by Ken Ludwig, 8 p.m. May 22-23 and May 28-30, 2 p.m. May 24 and 31, Fairfield Community Arts Center, 411 Wessel Dr., Fairfield. $12 adults; $10 students/seniors. (513) 867-5348; www.fairfield-footlighters.org.
When director Heidi Schiller got involved with the Fairfield Footlighters, she gave them a list of plays she thought would be good for the group. “Moon Over Buffalo,” which opens Friday, May 22, was near the top of that list.
“It’s extremely funny,” she said. “It’s a backstage comedy, which is fun for the actors, and the audiences love to see what goes on backstage with all the crazy people.”
The crazy people in this case are led by George and Charlotte Hay, an acting couple who have had their shot at greatness but now find themselves touring the country in 1953 with two shows in repertory: the classic “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Noel Coward’s “Private Lives.”
“Charlotte’s biggest goal is to be a movie star and have everyone admire her,” said Peggy Allen, who plays Charlotte, a role originated by Carol Burnette. “So she really loves herself more than anybody else.”
“George Hay is an upper middle-aged man who has been acting his entire life,” said Michael Watson, the actor performing the role. “He’s not yet willing to admit that he’s past the age of the characters he wants to play.
“At the beginning of the play, he’s even more discouraged, because one of his rivals — actor Ronald Coleman — has been given a role that he wanted.”
That role is starring in “The Twilight of the Scarlet Pimpernel,” which would also feature Greer Garson and is being directed by the great Frank Capra. Word gets to the Hays that Coleman broke his leg and Garson dropped out, so Capra is coming to Buffalo to check out the couple to see if they would be right for the film.
But due to a perfect storm of comedic set ups, George spends the morning drinking and gets the matinee performance mixed up with the evening show and enters as Cyrano when the rest of the cast is doing “Private Lives.”
One of the challenges of doing this show for a community theater group is the rapid scene changes. Most use minimal sets and lighting tricks to make the transitions, but the Footlighters have been able to make use of a turntable rented from the University of Cincinnati, even though it meant building a second stage on top of the Fairfield Community Art Center’s existing stage.
“It’s been a massive amount of work,” Schiller said. “We’ve spent the last three weekends building up the deck 11 inches. But it will open a lot of doors for the Footlighters with the knowledge that we can do this.”
Also in the cast are Amy Sullivan as Ethel, Jana Emmons as Rosalind, Kevin Noll as Howard, Angie Dodge as Eileen, Ronnie Mason as Paul and Tom Redman as Richard.
PHOTOS: Top to bottom: Peggy Allen as Charlotte Hay, Michael Watson as George Hay; Ronnie Mason as Paul (hiding), Kevin Noll as Howard, and Michael Watson as George Hay; Ronnie Mason as Paul and Angie Dodge as Eileen; Amy Sullivan as Ethel, Michael Watson as George Hay. Photos by Richard O Jones.
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