Entering their 48th season, the Heights
Players pride themselves on being the oldest community theater
in Brooklyn. And much of their success is due to a well-balanced
selection of familiar comedies, dramas and musicals that please
theatergoers of all ages.
The 2003-04 season includes works by such highly esteemed playwrights
as Noel Coward, Neil Simon, Wendy Wasserstein and Arthur Miller,
with music by the likes of George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and
Stephen Sondheim.
The season opens with Simon’s "The Odd Couple" (Sept.
5-21), directed by Helen Fein. Simon’s story of a slovenly bachelor
named Oscar and a recently separated, meticulous stuffed shirt
has inspired a Broadway hit (1965-’67), a film (1968), a long-running
TV series (1970-1975), and a 1985 reprise of the play with a
female cast, among others.
"Neil Simon always does well for us," Heights Players
vice president Tom Tyler told GO Brooklyn. "We’ve had success
with ’Come Blow Your Horn,’ ’Rumors’ and ’Barefoot in the Park.’"
"Crazy for You" (Oct. 3-19) is Ken Ludwig’s 1992 reworking
of Gershwin’s 1930s musical "Girl Crazy." "Crazy
for You" tells the story of Bobby Child, scion of a wealthy
banking family, who is sent to Deadrock, Nev., to foreclose on
a theater, but instead falls in love with the town’s postmistress
and becomes determined to save the theater by putting on his
own show.
"They took many of Gershwin’s best songs [’I Got Rhythm,’
’Embraceable You’ and ’Someone to Watch Over Me’]," said
Tyler. "And we haven’t done Gershwin in a long time."
Ed Healy directs.
The upcoming production of Coward’s "Blithe Spirit"
(Nov. 7-23) will be a big breakthrough for the Heights Players.
"We’ve been trying to get [’Blithe Spirit’] for years,
but we couldn’t get the rights because Noel Coward’s estate is
very restrictive," said Tyler. "If there’s any chance
of a Noel Coward play opening in Manhattan, you can’t get the
rights."
Coward’s farce is about a man plagued by current and former
wives, both dead and alive. John Bourne directs.
As is customary, the Heights Players’ December production is
a family show – Rodgers and Hammerstein’s "Cinderella"
(Dec. 5-21). Jim McNulty directs this beloved classic.
In January, the Heights Players go back to serious drama with
"View From the Bridge" (Jan. 9-25), Arthur Miller’s
politically charged story about a longshoreman, his wife’s illegal
immigrant cousin and the niece he has raised.
This play is also a big coup for the Heights Players.
"Arthur Miller is another playwright whose plays we haven’t
been able to get the rights for. This year they became available.
And we feel, if plays are available, we should do them,"
said Tyler. "And also, there’s local appeal because it takes
place in Brooklyn."
"View From the Bridge" will be directed by Robert
J. Weinstein.
Wendy Wasserstein’s "The Sisters Rosensweig" (Feb.
6-22) takes the audience to London, where three sisters, Gorgeous,
Pfeni and Sara, are celebrating Sara’s 54th birthday. There the
feisty, middle-aged sisters find themselves talking more about
hot lovers than hot flashes. Steve Velardi directs.
"Enter Laughing" (March 5-21) is Joseph Stein’s adaptation
of Carl Reiner’s novel.
"This is the same Joseph Stein who did ’Fiddler [on the
Roof],’" said Tyler. "The novel was also made into
a movie."
Ted Thompson directs this comedy about a stage-struck young
man who joins a theater company, even though his parents want
him to be a druggist.
In Susan Montez, who heads FACES, a teen theatrical troupe based
in Maimonides Medical Center, the Heights Players have found
a fitting director for "The Diary of Anne Frank" (April
2-18), Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s play about a 13-year-old
girl hiding from the Nazis with seven other Jewish people in
an Amsterdam attic.
"We’re doing the original [1955] Broadway version that
starred Susan Strasberg, the one they made the [1959] movie out
of," said Tyler.
The last production of the season is "Follies" (May
7-23) with book by James Goldman, and music and lyrics by Stephen
Sondheim. This musical unites past, present and future when Dimitri
Weismann invites his old Follies girls to a final party before
his theater is torn down.
"The ages of the characters will appeal to our audience
and our performers," he said.
Tyler, who helms this production, has had success with last
season’s "My Fair Lady," and prior to that, "Brigadoon"
and "La Cage Aux Folles."
"I really wanted to do ’Follies,’" said Tyler. "I’ve
never directed Sondheim before."
The Heights Players’ rich, new season promises a lot of laughter,
a few tears, adult drama and youthful fantasy.
The Heights Players are located at
26 Willow Place at State Street in Brooklyn Heights. The 2003-’04
season opens Sept. 5, with Neil Simon’s "The Odd Couple,"
directed by Helen Fein. "The Odd Couple" continues
through Sept. 21. Subscriptions are $80 for nine tickets. Individual
tickets to musicals are $15, and $12 all other shows. For reservations,
call (718) 237-2752.
