University Players promises fun-filled line-up for 2012/13 season

University Players has announced an “exciting and fun-filled” lineup of plays for 2012/13, says Lionel Walsh, director of the School of Dramatic Art.

“This season has a focus on comedy,” he says. “We’re positive you will laugh, giggle, and guffaw through a series of outstanding plays from the world of theatre.”

The season opens with Jake’s Women by Neil Simon, one of the acclaimed writer’s most engaging plays, running September 20 to 30. Jake is a writer who is more successful with fiction than with real life. A series of wildly comic and sometimes moving flashbacks play out in his mind, but are interrupted by reality as he struggles to keep his marriage together. This clever juxtaposition of the real and the unreal will keep audience members on the edge of their seats as Jake takes the next step to put his past to rest and embrace his future.

The classic murder mystery The Hollow by the “queen of whodunits,” Agatha Christie, takes the stage this Hallowe’en, October 25 to November 4. The close knit family of Sir Henry Angkatell, which has many quirks, eccentricities, and a tumultuous and twisted past, gathers for a weekend of fun. But things turn deadly when murder strikes! Who did it? Was it one of the family? A servant? Or the unexpected visitor? Through every twist and turn Christie keeps you guessing right to the very end.

The witty satire Welfarewell by Canadian author Cat Delaney concludes the first half of the season, November 22 to December 2. Esmerelda is a retired actress living off a meagre pension. She is arrested for burying her cat in the front yard, because she has no money for a “proper” cremation. However, after a night in the slammer, she realizes all her problems could be solved: she has three square meals, heat, and free medication! She then commits a series of bizarre crimes: but how far will she go just to stay in jail? Welfarewell won the 2009 Samuel French Canadian Playwriting Competition.

The new year starts off February 7 to 17 with the hilarious tour de force Tartuffe, by Molière, the 17th century master of comedy. Having left audiences laughing for centuries, this marks its first production by University Players. Tartuffe is a holy man who dazzles Orgon with his piety, preying on Orgon’s trust and duping him into giving him everything he owns. But Tartuffe hasn’t pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes − the rest of the family sees him for what he is. Will this family be able to save themselves? Their antics while trying to get Orgon to see the truth will leave you on the floor laughing!

The thrilling and comedic mystery Nine Girls by Wilfred H. Pettitt plays March 7 to 17. It is a dark and stormy night when eight sorority girls meet at their mountain clubhouse, and discover that their ninth member has been murdered. Their quirky banter makes you forget the seriousness of the situation, and none suspect that one of them could be the killer – not until Alice discovers a clue and confides in the wrong girl. Will the girls figure out the true identity of the killer? And how far will the killer go to cover her tracks?

Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest, one of the funniest plays ever written, concludes the season April 4 to 14. Algernon and Jack are good friends, each maintaining different identities in the town and in the country. And matters get particularly confusing when both men pursue love, each under the pseudonym of “Ernest.” Amid a flurry of mistaken identity, witty banter and cucumber sandwiches, the day is saved by the larger-than-life Lady Bracknell. This side-splitting farce will keep you laughing until you cry!

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