Caribbean Community Theatre’s 29th season opens in November with Sylvia, an adult comedy about the relationships between a man, man’s best friend, and the man’s wife; followed by the award-winning rock musical Rent, which Variety called “the best show in years, if not decades” (February); Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, an uproarious comedy (March and April); Crowns, an exploration of black history and identity with gospel music (May), and La Gringa, an Obie award-winning play about a young Puerto Rican-American in search of her cultural identity in June.
CCT also plans to hold one of its popular “after-dinner dessert” style FUNdraisers this year –– a one night only cabaret performance on March 8, 2014 titled Sunny Side Up!
The students of the Calico Cat Company, CCT’s after-school theater program for children, perform on the CCT stage twice each year. The production held on December 7th was called Ocean Commotion. The next Calico Cat Company show will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at 3 PM – a show by kids and for kids
Sylvia, by A.R. Gurney, is the story of a businessman, Greg, and his wife, Kate, whose marriage almost fails as a result of his adoption of the title character, a stray dog he finds in the park. Sylvia offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of his job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection, while Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn’t understand the relationship between man and dog. The play is directed by Christine Thomas and Michael Baker, and features Wendy Keeler, Paul Knipler, Becca Mendelson, Mark Saladino, Christine Thomas, and Colin Wolfe.. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings, November 8 & 9, 15 & 16, 22 & 23, 2013 at 8 PM, and a Matinee on Sunday, November 17 at 4 PM.
Auditions for Rent will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 12 and 13, at 7 PM. Adapted by creator Jonathan Larson from Puccini’s La Bohème, Rent is a Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning show about a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York City’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The production will be directed by Michael Armendariz, with music direction by Patrick Baron. Rent will be performed over three weekends between February 7 and February 22, 2014.
Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, written by best-selling author Mitch Albom, is a hilarious examination of what happens when two bumbling Alabama brothers, who have never even shot a duck, convince themselves that they have shot an angel. As they lament their fates in a murky swamp, they are chased by a cynical tabloid journalist and his reluctant photographer, who don’t believe any of it –– until feathers, wings and a tiara are discovered. Director Charles Braslow will hold auditions on January 14 & 15, 2014 at 7 PM. Performances will be held March 21 through April 5.
Auditions for Crowns will be held on March 11 and 12, 2014, at 7 PM, with performances scheduled for May 2 through May 17. This gospel musical will be directed by Lionel Downer. This moving and celebratory musical play by Regina Taylor uses hats as a theatrical springboard for an exploration of black history and identity. There is a hat for every occasion, from flirting to churchgoing to funerals to baptisms, and the tradition of hats is traced back to African rituals and slavery and forward to current fashion.
CCT’s final production this season will be La Gringa, a play by Carmen Rivera about a young woman who visits her family in Puerto Rico with plans to connect with her homeland. Considered a Puerto Rican in the United States and an American – or “gringa” – in Puerto Rico, she concludes that she is nobody everywhere, but eventually discovers that identity is an essence that she has had all along in her heart. La Gringa will be directed by Xiomara Sanchez and Eileen Bishop Des Jardins. Auditions for this play will be held on April 8 and 9, 2014 at 7 PM, with performances June 13 through June 28.
All auditions and performances will be held at the Caribbean Community Theatre at #18 Estate Orange Grove in Christiansted, St. Croix. CCT is jointly supported by a grant from the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, please call 778-1983, email eileencct@gmail.com.
Caribbean Community Theatre is grateful to our members, supporters and volunteers who have contributed to CCT’s long standing in the community. We welcome and encourage your suggestions and contributions.