The Edge Ensemble Theatre Company
Keene, New Hampshire's resident theatre company ... 'Take me to THE EDGE...'
The Edge Ensemble Theatre Company
Keene, New Hampshire's resident theatre company... 'Take me to THE EDGE...'
Our Current Season
THE EDGE ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS
STEEL MAGNOLIAS BY ROBERT HARLING
AUGUST 16, 17, 22-24 @ 7:30 AND 18, 25 @ 2:00
In its third show of the 2024 season, The Edge Ensemble Theatre Company will present Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling at The Edge Theater, 310 Marlboro Street, Suite 112, Keene. Performances will be at 7:30 PM on August 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, and at 2 PM on August 18 and 25.
This moving comedy/drama, set in a Louisiana hair salon in the 1980s, is based on Robert Harling’s experience with his sister’s death from diabetic complications after the birth of her son and the failure of a family-member-donated kidney. By turns hilarious and poignant, the play focuses on these gossipy, funny and loving women as they call upon all their strength and resilience to combat the tragedies of life.
The play premiered off Broadway in 1987 and was made into a film in 1989. Its Broadway debut was in 2005, and there was a television version in 2012.
Kim Dupuis will direct a cast of six women. In the cast are Kenzie Wood, Asah Cramer, Cynthia Rodier, Grace Johnson, Veda Crewe and Catherine Behrens. Taryn Fisher is making her debut as stage manager for The Edge in this production. Damien Licata will be assistant stage manager. Set designer is Andrew Bosworth. Costume designer is Mary Kirk. Assistant costume designer is Judith Keenan. Lights, sound, and poster designer is David Teubner. Props designer is the company.
Tickets are $20 general admission, $18 for seniors and students. Tickets must be purchased at the door by cash or check. No credit cards at this time. For reservations, call 603-352-5657 or email theedgeensemble@aol.com.
THE EDGE ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS
INHERIT THE WIND BY JEROME LAWRENCE AND ROBERT E. LEE
Performances will be at 7:30 PM on April 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 and at 2 PM on April 21 and 28.
In its second show of the 2024 season, The Edge Ensemble Theatre Company will present Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee at The Edge Theater, 310 Marlboro Street, Suite 112, Keene.
The Edge chooses to do this play at a time when our country is again at a crossroads, divided by passionate differences of opinion on religion, rights and intellectual freedom. The play is based on the famous “Monkey” trial of 1925, when a high school teacher in Dayton, Tennessee was convicted of teaching the theory of evolution in a science class, contrary to a Tennessee state law. The play premiered in Dallas in 1955 – a year when the country was roiled with McCarthyism and its devastating consequences for people simply exercising their rights of free speech. The play received rave reviews, which led to a Broadway production starring Paul Muni, Ed Begley and Tony Randall in the same year. A film was made in 1960 starring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March and Gene Kelly. In an interview in 1996, when the play was being revived on Broadway, Jerome Lawrence stressed that the play is not about science versus religion, but about the right to think.
A talkback with the audience will be held after the Sunday matinee on April 21 and again on April 26 after the Friday evening performance. Audience members are encouraged to stay and discuss the timely issues raised by this play.
CRIMES OF THE HEART BY BETH HENLEY
JANUARY 26, 27, FEBRUARY 1-3 @ 7:30 PM
JANUARY 28 & FEBRUARY 4 @ 2:00 PM
In its first show of the 2024 season, The Edge Ensemble Theatre Company will present Beth Henley’s comedy-drama Crimes of the Heart at The Edge Theater, 310 Marlboro Street, Suite 112, Keene. Performances will be at 7:30 PM on January 26, 27, February 1-3, and at 2 PM on January 28 and February 4.
Set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century, the play focuses on three sisters who reunite as the youngest sister is about to stand trial for one of the title’s “crimes of the heart.” The sisters’ capacity for laughter and passion provides many hilarious and genuinely touching moments throughout the play.
Henley’s play opened on Broadway in 1981 and won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 1986, an Academy Award-nominated film adaptation starred Sissy Spacek, Jessica Lange, and Diane Keaton.
Kim Dupuis will direct a cast of 6, comprising Charlotte Traas, Kenzie Yelin, Roberta Barnes, Paige Johnson, Mark DiPietro, and Andrew Bosworth.
Tickets are $18 general admission, $15 for seniors and students. Tickets must be purchased at the door by cash or check. No credit cards at this time. For reservations, call 603-352-5657 or email theedgeensemble@aol.com, or visit The Edge’s website at www.edgeensemble.org.
CALENDAR GIRLS BY TIM FIRTH
NOVEMBER 15-17 AND 21-24 *
When Annie's husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They manage to persuade fellow Women's Institute members to pose nude with them for an "alternative" calendar, with a little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. The news of the women's charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie's friendship is put to the test under the strain of their newfound fame.
Based on the true story of eleven WI members who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund, Calendar Girls opened at the Chichester Festival Theatre and has since become the fastest-selling play in British theatre history.
*ABOVE TITLE AND DATES ARE DEPENDENT UPON SECURING THE RIGHTS.
