Easy to find, just drive to Chester, park at the Town Hall and you are there.

The Chester Theatre Company has always had a knack for finding new and unusual comedies and dramas, often verging on the existential and sometimes experimental, but always entertaining and accessible to curious theatre-goers. 2012 is no different, and if it is more of their same superb formula for uniqueness with a slew of plays about uncommon love, long distance love, so who are we to quibble! Excellent productions that use their own Town Hall as the playing space, the fictional meets the reality of small town living every summer. Go forth and enjoy!

About the Chester Theatre Company

Chester Theatre Company, a professional theatre company located in the foothills of the Berkshires, produces 4-5 plays each summer and fall, performed by top-flight actors, directors and designers from across the country. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Byam Stevens, CTC has earned a reputation for producing the best in contemporary theatre — seventeen CTC productions have gone on to Off Broadway, regional, national, and international engagements in the last 15 years. www.chestertheatre.org

 

 

The New England Premiere of
Animals Out of Paper
by Rajiv Joseph
July 5-15

Ilana, a world-renowned origami artist, is going through a divorce, her dog has run away and she hasn’t answered her phone in two months. Then her intercom buzzes. It’s Andy, a fan, a high school teacher who counts his blessings. Literally — he’s up to 7,904. Andy introduces Suresh, an urban teen ipod addict and origami prodigy into Ilana’s life and the plot folds really get complicated. A wise and richly layered comedy/drama from the author of Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo.

“Pitch-perfect… Alternately wrenching and funny…” The New York Times

The Swan 
by Elizabeth Egloff
July 18-29
Directed by Daniel Elihu Kramer

Dora Hand lives by herself on the Nebraska prairie — she’s gone through three husbands and seems destined to play the lonely mistress to her married milkman, Kevin — until a swan crashes into her living room window. Strangely, to all outward appearances, the swan is a charismatic and child-like man who quickly learns the ropes: speech, dressing, checkers, beer, love for his new mistress. A mysterious and comic riff on the classic Leda myth.

“A bewitching bedtime story for grown-ups.”NY Newsday

The New England Premiere of
Running 
by Arlene Hutton
August 1-12
Directed by Ron Bashford

It’s the eve of the New York City Marathon, and Stephen, preparing for his first race, needs a good night’s sleep. His wife is in London on business and he has the apartment to himself. Until Emily, his wife’s ex-roommate, shows up unexpectedly and in crisis in the wee hours of the morning. Late night conversations become late night confessions and connections. A witty, insightful dramedy from the author of The Nibroc Trilogy.

“A smart, funny script … a very real, human drama.” – NYTheatre.com

Regional Premiere of
The Betrothed 
by Dipika Guha
August 15-26
Directed by Byam Stevens

As Simon’s flight crosses the Atlantic to the Old Country, he imagines the beautiful woman waiting for him. Betrothed since birth, he’s waited thirty long years to meet his beloved. Upon arrival, his fantasy is derailed by old crones, morally ambiguous clergymen, deceitful babies, and barnyard animals. Simon must navigate a world where murder, ghostly possession, and rampant cuckoldry wreak havoc with his sense of reality. An existential comedy with a fairy tale heart.

“A whimsical tour of the supernatural.” – The Boston Globe