Act 11 Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave, Ambler, PA. If you’re one of the many patrons of the Act 11 Playhouse you may remember laughing your socks off at Ken Ludwig’s “Lend Me a Tenor” a few years ago. Artistic Director Tony Braithwaite does it again with another wild comedy by the same author in “The Fox on the Fairway.” Two rival country clubs going head-to-head in a deadly serious competition at an annual golf tournament. “The Quail Valley Country Club” lost five years in a row so this is a do or die, must win year. Every advantage will be used including sex and — only if absolutely necessary — some talented golfing. Peter Bisgaier stars as Bingham, the president of the underdog QVCC. Karen Peakes is the club’s sexy vice president while Bingham’s tough-as-nails wife, Muriel, is played by Gerre Garrett. To November 22. For more information call 215.654.1011.
Arden Theater Company, 40 N. 2nd Street. Let’s start by clarifying the historical background for this interesting play. There was once an infamous conspiracy by a group of Roman Catholics to murder Protestant ruler James I and the members of Parliament. The plot revolved around exploding barrels of gunpowder that were hidden beneath the House of Lords when James I was to open Parliament. The plot failed, but the event is still celebrated in England on November 5 as Guy Fawkes Day. Fawkes, of course, was the one who was supposed to fire the gunpowder for the explosion, or at least that’s what we were taught during English history class. Is it true? Stop asking questions and enjoy “Equivocation.” In the play, one ”Shagspeare” (a playwright in 1605) receives a royal commission to write a new play about the whole treasonous plan. On one hand, if Shag writes the truth he may lose his head. On the other, if he follows the government line and writes a lie, he may lose his soul. Is this a comedy, a tragedy or a glorious “history” lesson? In any case it’s great theatre! Terrence J. Nolan directs Eric Hissom, Dan Hodge, Sean Lally, Tony Lawton, Campbell O’ Hare and Ian Merrill-Peakes. The play was written by Bill Cain and runs to December 13. For more information call 215.922.1122
Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA. Justice William O. Douglas sat on the Supreme Court for 36 years, longer than any other justice. If your politics pulls you to the left of center you remember him as a defender of civil liberties, personal privacy and America’s wilderness resources. If you are somewhat more conservative you might have wondered why a former Yale Law Professor, Chairman of the SEC and perhaps one of the most intelligent justices that ever served on the court would spend his life as an outspoken liberal maverick! That’s the problem faced by our play, “Mountain: The Journey of Justice Douglas” by Douglas Scott. Susan Atkinson directs Keith Baker as William Douglas returning to a role he performed 15 years ago. Kenneth Boys, a long time Bristol favorite, and Sandy York, who is making her BRT debut, play Man and Woman respectively. November 3 through 22. For more information call 215.785.0100.
Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, 624 S.6th St. @ L’etage Cabaret. This wonderful group is performing David Ives’ “All in the Timing” just in time to start ushering in the season with holiday cheer, wit, satire and a lot of plain fun! David Ives is a writer with a brain in high gear. We love this awarding winning writer’s style but must caution you that this is not a children’s play. It consists of six one act comedies that only a wordmaster like Ives could use to explore uncertainty, relativity and black holes, all while making us roar with not so silent laughter! In “Sure Thing,” two people meet and fall in love while interrupted by everything and everyone imaginable. “Words, Words, Words” explores what typing monkeys would talk about on their way to randomly typing out all the world’s great literature! “The Universal Language” is full of wildly hysterical verbal encounters between a young woman stutterer and a brilliant language creator. “Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread” combines a parody of the famous composer’s style with an existential crisis in a bakery. “The Philadelphia” must have been written just for you, me and us! A man falls into coma (called a Philadelphia!) in which he can only get what he wants by asking for the opposite. In the last short gem, “Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” the revolutionary leader finds he has an axe in his head and tries desperately to cope with it! Tina Brock and David Stanger direct the entire mad and wonderful crew. The show runs to November 7, but call 215.285.0472 for exact times & days.
