Join Us As We Ask, “Must the Show Go On?”
The Texas Premiere of
by Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke
Co-Creators of “Meet the Parents”
Directed by Jeff Davis
Performances December 11-21, 2014
East View High School Black Box Theatre
4490 E. University Ave, Georgetown TX, 78626
Buy Tickets Here
Photos Press Program Videos
The show must go on. That’s certainly the mantra of The Merrillville Merry Art Players, who are launching their 22nd season with a classic Christmas play, SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT, a 1950s melodrama that finds the suburban Burling family held hostage by two escaped criminals.
But it’s not the Burling family who suffers a long night. It’s the actors playing them. 19 of the 23 cast and crew members are out due to flu, but the remaining cast members are determined to persevere, along with the help of several last minute replacements. What could go wrong? Everything! What follows is a hilarious farce filled with out-of-sync sound cues, missing props, and plenty of mishaps. Think NOISES OFF! with a Christmas tree.
With a script by the co-creators of the hit film Meet the Parents, SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT is a hysterical Holiday comedy that will have audiences roaring with laughter. The comedy had its World Premiere in Los Angeles in 2008. Agape Actors Co-Op’s production of it will be the show’s Texas Premiere.
SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT will be directed by Jeff Davis, Agape Actors Co-Op’s Associate Artistic Director and the Director of Agape’s recent production of SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS. “I was fortunate enough to catch the World Premiere production of SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT in Los Angeles back in 2008,” says Davis, “and I distinctly remember laughing so hard I cried. The only thing better than good theater is making fun of bad theater. SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT does just that for two hours. There’s no big, profound statement on life or the human condition. It’s just pure entertainment, and I think during the stressful time of the Holiday season, that’s what audiences want to see. I can’t wait to share this extraordinarily funny show with Central Texas audiences, and I think people are going to love it just as much as I do.”
Performance Dates:
December 11th – December 21st (Thurs – Sat at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm)
Tickets:
Tickets are $21.75 for adults, $16.75 for students and seniors. Please click here to purchase tickets.
Cast:
(in order of appearance)
GEORGIA MEDLER++ as Meredith Lipschitz-Sinclair as Vera Burling
DAVE LOVELACE++ as Thom Elam as Bob Burling and others
MINDY RAST-KEENAN++ as Joanne Brody as Rosie Burling
ANTONIO HORNSBY, JR*+ as Matt Hosier as Dirk Sorrel and others
KESHAAN CASTLE*+ as Glen DeRozier as Detective Beck
THOMAS AINSWORTH* as Randall Jeffers as Detective Carson
KRISTI TREITLER* as Loretta Mizer as The Stage Manager and others
TIFFANY SCHULZE* as Megan Moorhead as Mary Burling
LAWRENCE MADDOX* as Roger Remnik as Chops Carmichael
REESE SHALD+ as Jimmy Vincent as Louie DeFazio
JEFF DAVIS* as Understudy Detective Beck
BRIANNA HARNER*+ as Understudy Dirk
GINA OSMAR*+ as The Snowman
Crew & Creative Team:
Jeff Davis – Director/Sound Designer
Amanda Jones+ – Stage Manager
Sarah Carlile+ – Assistant Stage Manager/Makeup Designer
Ashley Sandel* – Lighting Designer
Brianna Harner+ – Costume Designer
Evelyn Charland+ – Light Board Operator
Gina Osmar+ – Prop Master
Claudia Mendoza+ – Stage Crew
Hannah Pogue+ – Stage Crew
*Agape Actors Co-Op Debut
+ Member of the Agape Actors Co-Op Professional Apprentice Program housed at Eastview High School
++ Member of the Agape Actors Co-Op Acting Company
Reviews from the World Premiere Production:
SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT had its World Premiere in Los Angeles in 2008. Here’s what L.A. critics had to say about the show…
“An uproarious backstage comedy. It has become a standard cliché to say a show has nonstop laughs, but there was hardly a moment in this two-hour performance in which the audience wasn’t laughing out loud.”
– Hoyt Hilsman, Backstage West
“At last, a farce that is actually LOL funny! Consistently hilarious, stupendously silly, and played with over-the-top sincerity by a superbly comic cast.”
– Cynthia Citron, CurtainUp Los Angeles
“SufferThe Long Night provokes the kind of laughs that hurt—it’s that funny—and proves that “bad” can be very good indeed.”
– Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA
“This play is hilarious. With a subtle touch of environmental theater, the play has begun the moment the house doors open […] High praise to the actual cast of Suffer the Long Night for keeping the audience off center just enough to wonder, was that really a mistake? Did he really forget his lines? Are there loose lights over MY head?”
– Michelle Clay, LA Splash
“Watching Murphy’s Law in action is hilarious at the hands of these deft actors […] Suffering can be sweet.”
– Mike Buzzelli, Campus Circle
“There’s plenty of hilarious stuff here.”
– Neal Weaver, LA Weekly
