Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Smythe (Lady Eugenia, Ensemble) is appearing with the APA for the second time. Lizzy was last seen as Texas in Cabaret this past summer. This year, Lizzy played Inspector Goring in The Game’s Afoot (or Holmes for the Holidays) with the Barnstable Comedy Club. Lizzy was Assistant Music Director/Choreographer/Performer for the Cape Cod C.A.N: A Traveler’s Tale with the Cotuit Center for the Arts. Lizzy participated in a reenactment called “Body of the People” as Abigail Freeman from 1774, performed by the group, Tales of Cape Cod. Lizzy is currently taking advanced Irish Step Dance with the Kanaley School of Irish Dance, and she works for CapeAbilities Day Program as well as Community Systems, Inc. Lizzy currently resides in Centerville with her orange double-pawed ‘fur-son’ Barnabas. Towanda!!
Willa Zelinski (Ensemble) is enjoying her second show at the Academy Playhouse, after appearing in Kiss Me Kate this past spring. Besides acting, Willa enjoys taking care of her many pets, writing novels, and painting or drawing portraits. Check out her beautiful work on instagram @wkzpetportraits
Daphne Zelinski (Ensemble) first appeared on stage at The Academy this past spring for Kiss Me Kate, and now she is excited to be working with the amazing cast and crew of GGLAM. Their talent and enthusiasm are inspirational. She’d like to thank her husband, Mark for his never-ending patience and love, as well as her daughters, Willa and Livvy, who make her life the joy that it is.
Rachel Hatfield (Miss Shingle), as always, is happy to be doing another Academy production. She most recently played Frenchie and understudied for Sally in Cabaret, and her favorite Academy roles have included Miss Macintosh in The Sunshine Boys and Bobbi in Last of the Red Hot Lovers. She has also performed at Cape Cod Community College, her credits there including Sylvia in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and Parsons in 1984. Outside of the theater, she works at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders and watches “The Office”.
Ellen Birmingham (Sibella) is honored to be playing Sibella in the regional premiere of GGLAM! Ellen received her degree in Arts Management from UMass Amherst, where she also studied Theater, and now works as the Director for Marketing and Communications for The Academy of Performing Arts. Most recently seen as Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest, her favorite past roles at The Academy include Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel, Paulette in Legally Blonde, Glinda in Wizard of Oz, Kristine in A Chorus Line, and Sybil Chase in Private Lives, as well as Babette in Beauty and the Beast at Chatham Drama Guild. Much thanks to her mom with all of the help on the D’Ysquith costumes, to Geof for everything he does, and to the cast and crew for all of their hard work towards making this show awesome!
Racine Oxtoby (Miss Evangeline Barley, Ensemble) has been acting at the Academy Playhouse since 2012. Her favorite Academy roles include Clarice in The Liar and Chick Buck Boyle in Crimes of the Heart. Other favorite performances include Little Shop of Horrors at Provincetown High School and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at Connecticut College. She is absolutely thrilled to join this crazy show with such a wonderful cast and crew.
Ryan VanBuskirk, who plays the eight members of the D’Ysquith family, is extremely proud to be involved in his first performance with the Academy. His previous experience is performing in various solo music and comedic events on the Lower Cape. Ryan lives in Eastham with his family and works as a Firefighter/Paramedic. Ryan is forever grateful for the support and guidance of the director, cast, & crew throughout the show. He also wishes to thank: Christina & David, Joe & Abby, Mikey, Group 3, Pat & Tara, Ma & Pa, Mimi, Miggie & Gus; but most of all to his beautiful, talented daughter Esme, without whom the various members of the D’Ysquith family could not have looked as amazing.
A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER
A New Musical Comedy
BOOK & LYRICS by Robert L. Freedman
MUSIC & LYRICS by Steven Lutvak
REGIONAL PREMIERE!
On the night of his mother’s funeral, middle-class Englishman Monty
Navarro learns an incredible secret: he is the “son of the daughter of
the grandson of nephew of the second Earl of Highhurst.” In other
words, Monty Navarro is an aristocrat — if he can only find a way to
prevent the eight earls preceding him from inheriting the earldom
first. Buoyed along by love for two different women, the stunning and
self-centered Sibella and the pious and witty Phoebe, Monty takes on
his mission to become the next Earl of Highhurst. As for the D’Ysquith
family? One actor plays each ill-fated member, from the flamboyant
country squire to the terrible actress to the aging war hero. Ceaselessly
entertaining, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder combines the
best of the past with a contemporary sensibility and humor that
earned it the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical. With non-stop
laughs, a unique and soaring score, and unforgettable characters, A
Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder has become an instant classic.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr.
LYRICS by Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater MUSIC by Alan Menken
DIRECTED by Maddison Mae Williams
Performed by kids, for kids! Journey “under the sea” with Ariel and her aquatic friends in Disney’s The Little Mermaid JR., adapted from Disney’s Broadway production and the motion picture (featuring the enormously popular Academy Award-winning music and delightfully charming book and lyrics).
In a magical underwater kingdom, the beautiful young mermaid, Ariel, longs to leave her ocean home – and her fins – behind and live in the world above. But first, she’ll have to defy her father, King Triton, make a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, and convince the handsome Prince Eric that she’s the girl whose enchanting voice he’s been seeking.
Join us after the show for a fun, sea-themed craft! Just $5 per crafter.
Craft will be held outside, to the right of the building in our patio area. If the weather is bad, the craft will be held in the theater.
This performance is perfect for all ages.
Run time is approximately 1 hour.
The Importance of Being Earnest
A FARCE by Oscar Wilde
DIRECTED by Maddison Mae Williams
Oscar Wilde’s brilliantly clever comedic masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, tells the story of two young gentlemen in London, who each live a double-life, creating elaborate deceptions to find some balance in their lives. John Worthing escapes the burdens of responsibility to have an exciting life in the city, pretending to be his fictitious younger brother Ernest. Algernon Moncrieff, meanwhile, has invented a convenient invalid, Bunbury, whom he uses as an excuse to gallivant off to the country whenever he pleases. When John falls in love with Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen, he is determined to come clean, but when Gwendolen reveals she can only love a man named Ernest, it somewhat complicates things. When Algernon discovers John’s secret and decides to visit John’s pretty little ward in the country, posing as the debauched “Ernest,” the situation gets entirely more complicated! Hijinks ensue, and the two gentlemen and their ladies are in for more than they ever anticipated when formidable Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen’s mother, begins sleuthing around to uncover the far-fetched truth.
Oscar Wilde’s brilliant comedy captures with wit and charm the absurdity and delight of the Victorian “age of surfaces” (as Lady Bracknell calls it,) while capturing the struggle of four passionate lovers trying to conform to expectations and, in the most roundabout and delightfully funny way possible, love who they wish and live how they want.
The Fantasticks
BOOK & LYRICS by Tom Jones MUSIC by Harvey Schmidt
DIRECTED by Peter Earle MUSIC DIRECTION by Chris Morris
Whimsical, poignant, and romantic, The Fantasticks is an allegorical story that focuses on two young lovers, their meddling fathers, and the journey we all must take through adolescent thrills, the growing pains of hurt and betrayal, the challenges of distance, and the agonies of heartbreak to discover how to truly love.
In a theatrical and inventive fashion, our gallant and enigmatic narrator–El Gallo–introduces us to a pair of young lovers, Matt and Luisa, who experience the magical, moonlit phase of falling in love. For a time, romance seems perpetually exciting, and heroics seem always to save the day. However, El Gallo leads our young protagonists from the romantic moonlight into the harsh sunshine, where the weaknesses in their relationship are exposed and the reality of the struggles and heartache love brings is revealed. With the understanding that “without a hurt the heart is hollow,” Matt and Luisa manage to find their own identities, and in turn, to discover their strengths as a couple in times of both darkness and light.
With the record for the longest American theatrical run, The Fantasticks is a gem of the American musical theater. Featuring timeless classics like “Try to Remember” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” this simple and beautiful ensemble piece is as beloved and as timely as it was when it opened over 50 years ago.