MAINSTAGE SHOWS FREE AND OUTDOORS AT THE OLD STONE HOUSE 2012

XANADU the Musical

Performances: July 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20 – 8 pm
Summer Camp – ’70s style – Rolls into Brooklyn This Summer!

Piper Theatre brings the unrestrained fun and fashions of the 1970s to the Old Stone House this July, as we proudly present the Brooklyn premiere of “Xanadu,” the musical comedy adapted from the 1980 cult classic film starring Olivia Newton-John.

To celebrate its 12th season of free outdoor theatre, Piper Theatre has chosen “Xanadu” as its first-ever main stage musical production. Come to the Old Stone House, see the beautiful new park that the neighborhood is buzzing about, and stay for the best free theatre in any of the five boroughs. “Xanadu”‘s tongue-in-cheek humor, its soundtrack featuring classic ELO tunes *and* “Have You Never Been Mellow,” and last but not least, the fact that the cast is on rollerskates for almost the entire production makes it the summertime-perfect escape for Brooklynites of every age and cultural stripe.

The musical looks back on the glittery innocence of the late 1970s with an equal mix of love and parody. The story, by Douglas Carter Beane (the award-winning playwright of “The Little Dog Laughed” and “Lysistrata Jones”), is set in Venice Beach circa 1980 and centers on Kira, a Greek muse who descends from Mt. Olympus in order to inspire Sonny, a struggling street artist, to realize his grand artistic vision and open a roller disco. As is often the case when Greek demigods are involved with mortals, star-crossed love ensues, along with plot-twisting complications from jealous Olympian relatives.

“Xanadu” is an Equity showcase directed by Piper Theatre founder/artistic director John P. McEneny, with choreography by Karen Curlee (Together In Dance) and musical direction by Megan Jonynas. Sarah Edkins’ scenery design recreates the Venice Beach of the late ’70s, paying homage to the street art and visual style emblematic to that place and time, a West Coast counterpart to New York City’s more famous underground art scene. Cast: Alissa Laderer * (Kira) | Jamie Roach (Sonny Malone) | M.X. Soto * (Danny McGuire / Zeus) |Kelly Blaze (Calliope / Aphrodite) | MaryAnne Piccolo * (Melpomene / Medusa) | Jake Mendes (Talia / Understudy for Sonny) | Ricky Dain Jones (Terpischore) | Matthew McGloin * (Hermes / Dance Captain) | Jennifer Somers Kipley (Euterpe / Thetis) | Linnea Larsdotter (Erato / Hera / Understudy for Kira) | Emily Bodkin (Thalia) | Arielle Vullo (Urania) | * Denotes member of Actor’s Equity Associatio

If you can’t make it to Fire Island this summer, no sweat – “Xanadu”‘s Venice Beach is coming to you right here in Park Slope!

THE ISLAND of DOCTOR MOREAU

Performances: July 7, 14 and 21 – 8 pm
Piper Theatre Original Production Inspired by H.G. Wells’ classic science fiction novel

Devised by the Piper Collaborative: Chris Cariker, Vasile Flutur, Zoë Frazer, Nicholas Guastella, Matthew Luceno, John P. McEneny, Aaron Novak, Lucas Syed, Chinaza Uche

Piper Theatre presents a little Gothic horror to put a chill in the night air. “The Island of Dr. Moreau” sends up enough Victorian-style shivers to keep audiences on the edge of their lawn chairs, for this mystical and savage tale of science run amok. Piper’s original adaptation of the H.G. Wells science fiction novel uses physical storytelling to heighten “Moreau”‘s sense of otherworldly spookiness – as if a mad doctor, a mysterious island and strange beasts (or so they appear) weren’t enough. All ages welcome.