Chagrin Valley Little Theatre

Press Releases

CVLT makes a Laughing Stock of the theater world - 1/3/08

CHAGRIN FALLS, OH - 2008 begins with a guffaw at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre as director Robert McCoy and his cast take a swing at repertory theater with Laughing Stock, a comedy by Charles Morey. The play centers on the travails of Gordon, the middle-aged Artistic Director of a New Hampshire summer stock barn theater, as he takes his odd lot of cast and crew on a wild ride that includes giant mosquitoes, eccentric directors and a very limited budget. While the group gallantly attempts to keep the ship from sinking, they prepare to perform Hamlet, Charley’s Aunt and Dracula simultaneously, and none of the three will ever be the same! Laughing Stock is a hectic and hilarious testament to theaters everywhere that never seem to have enough time, staff, money or talent to pull off the show, yet in the end, everyone gives it their all. It captures the magic of theater, showing how the art form tells a story while at the same time creating a temporary family amongst the cast and crew no matter where the show goes on.

Laughing Stock was nominated for the 2001 American Theatre Critic’s Association New Play Award, and won the Best Original Play Award from the New Hampshire Theatre Association in 2004. Of Laughing Stock Charles Morey says, “Everyone in the theater has their own “Playhouse.” The place where there was never enough of anything . . . where sometimes the doors fell off their hinges and the sound cues ran backwards, but where you gave yourself over wholly to the making of plays. . . . It is those places, and especially those people, this play celebrates.”

Laughing Stock is performed Friday and Saturday nights at 8 PM from January 11th through February 2nd with tickets at $14 or $10 for students and seniors. A special Girls' Night Out pre-show reception is planned for 6 PM on Friday, January 18th. This ladies-only party with wine, appetizers, and sweet treats is $30 and includes admission to the performance.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.CVLT.org, or by calling the Box Office at 440-247-8955 between 1 and 6 PM, Monday through Saturday. CVLT is located at 40 River Street in historic Chagrin Falls Village.

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and is supported by the Ohio Arts Council. CVLT was voted 'Best Community Theatre' by Cleveland Magazine Readers, and 'Best Theatre Group' on the Fox 8 HotList in 2007.

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