ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT

A comedy by Jeff Daniels

Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Select Sundays at 2pm
April 11 through May 17

	ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT, the Upper Penninsula Michigan comedy by Jeff Daniels, is the closing show of the 2007-2008 Season at Broadway Onstage Live Theatre. Opening on Friday, April 11 and running Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Select Sundays at 2pm through Saturday, May 17, the play is a tall tale inspired by a larger than life corner of America. As the Oakland Press said, "…Daniels gives his audience plenty to laugh at plus a little something to think about."
Also, Select Sunday Matinees are only performed at Broadway Onstage when a prearranged group of 30 or more is scheduled to attend. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at Toepfer (8 ½ Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe. It is the home of the patented TeeVeeStage™ Presentation system, which employs cameras above the audience and monitors above the stage to provide audience members with different viewing perspectives of the live stage performance. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is also the home of Dennis Wickline Productions, Inc., which began producing Non-Equity professional live theatre on the Eastside of Detroit in February of 1980.
	ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT introduces us to Bert Soady and his two sons. When the Soady clan reunites for the opening day of deer season at the family's Upper Peninsula camp, thirty-five-year-old Reuben Soady brings with him the infamous reputation of being the oldest Soady in the history of the Soadys never to bag a buck. In a hunting story to beat all hunting stories, ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT spins a hilarious tale of humor, horror and heart as Reuben goes to any and all lengths to remove himself from the wrong end of the family record book. In the play we meet his father, Bert, his brother Remnar, and the Soady's old family friend, The Jimmer, who believes that he has been abducted by aliens. Also wandering into the camp is forest "Ranger Tom."
The cast of ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT at Broadway Onstage is very special. Reuben will be portrayed by Ken Karges. Mr. Karges portrayed twins in CORPSE! earlier this season at Broadway Onstage and also appeared there this past fall in SOMETHING TO HIDE as Howard. Broadway Onstage favorite John Arden McClure will take on the role of Remnar. Mr. McClure has been seen in a number of productions at Broadway Onstage including SOMETHING TO HIDE (as Inspector Davies), THE FOURSOME, ENCHANTED APRIL, and SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET. Newcomer to Broadway Onstage Jerry "J.B." Butler will be seen as Bert. Snetsky in last season's NEIL SIMON'S FOOLS at Broadway Onstage, Jim Reumenapp will portray "The Jimmer." Stan Newman, who was seen in RED HOT MAMAS at Broadway Onstage this past summer, will portray Ranger Tom and Elizabeth Rager completes the cast as "Moon Dance," Reuben's Native American Wife. Ms. Rager is also acting as Stage Manager for the production. The production is under the able direction of former Grosse Pointe Theatre President, Sal DeMercurio who also designed the set for the production. Group Rates and Performances are available. Again, Broadway Onstage is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at Toepfer (8 1/2 Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe, Michigan. Ticket Reservations are recommended by calling (586) 771-6333.

KEN KARGES (Reuben) - Ken's first appearance for us was as Howard in our production of SOMETHING TO HIDE earlier this season. He followed that by portraying dual roles in our production of CORPSE! to great acclaim. Ken has appeared in a variety of productions on a professional and community level. He appeared as Petruchio in TAMING OF THE SHREW for Hudson River Shakespeare Company in New York, as well as appearing in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for Schenectady Civic Players. Locally, he has been seen as Duke Orsino in TWELFTH NIGHT and as Alan Squier in THE PETRIFIED FOREST, among others. He has also been seen at the Michigan Renaissance Festival as Ambrose Dingleberry, a Dung Dealer (one of the street characters). Ken has studied acting at the Purple Rose Theatre and Second City. We are very proud to have him on our stage, and Ken will be seen here later this season in ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT. Welcome back, Ken!
Jerry "J.B." Butler (Bert Soady) - While this is J.B.'s first appearance on our stage, he is a theatrical veteran with many credits. He has portrayed a number of roles for Avon Players, including Paul in TO GILLIAN ON HER 37TH BIRTHDAY in 1990 and Ken in THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS in 1994. He was also seen as Larry Regan in THE NIGHT OF JANUARY 16TH for Troy Players in 1994 and as Big Sol in MILES SENT ME for Starbrite Theatre in 2006. We're very pleased to have him with us for ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT and hope his role as Albert Soady is the first of many for our company. Welcome, J.B.!
JOHN ARDEN MCCLURE (Remnar) - John was seen earlier this season as Inspector Davies in SOMETHING TO HIDE. John's first appearance on our stage was in 2005 as Charley in THE BOOK OF MURDER. Since then he has been in numerous productions here, including Charles Wellington York in last season's SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET and Dr. Zubritsky in FOOLS.He has also appeared as Benny in EPIC PROPORTIONS, Reverend Chasuble in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Donnie in THE FOURSOME, Charlie Dugan in APRIL, MAE AND JUNE, and Mellersh Wilton in ENCHANTED APRIL. John is a theatrical veteran, having portrayed Ranger Tom in ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT, Bozidar in DEAR SANTA, and Trent in THE LAST RESORT for Starbrite Dinner Theatre. He is also a member of Grosse Pointe Theatre, having portrayed Anthony Marston in TEN LITTLE INDIANS and Kenny Norman in PROPOSALS. We welcome him back to our stage.
JAMES L. REUMENAPP (The Jimmer) - This is Jim's third appearance for our company. He appeared as Snetskey in NEIL'S SIMON'S FOOLS last year at this time. He also appeared as Sydney in our summer 2006 production IMPOSSIBLE MARRIAGE. James brings with him a genuine love for the theatre. For the last 4 years he has been a part of Algonac Community Theatre and has had roles in productions of BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, MONDAY ALWAYS LEADS TO MURDER, LIE, CHEAT AND GENUFLECT, SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL, OPAL'S HUSBAND and DEATH BY ARRANGEMENT. He has also directed 2 short One-Acts. We hope he will be with us for a long time to come. His energy and dedication are remarkable. Welcome back, Jim!
STAN NEWMAN (Ranger Tom) - Stan was seen this past summer as Russ in RED HOT MAMAS and has Hawkins in CORPSE! just recently here at Broadway Onstage. He was seen as Mishkin in our spring production of NEIL SIMON'S FOOLS. He appeared as Jonas in our summer 2005 production of MY DAUGHTER'S RATED "X." He was the original Malcolm in THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS during its first two productions in 2001 and 2002. He has been involved with our company since the days of Dinner Theatre at the Golden Lion. He portrayed Doctor Zubritsky in our original production of Neil Simon's FOOLS at the Golden Lion and also appeared in our production of THE THEATRE MURDERS here at Broadway Onstage several seasons ago. He has been very involved in a number of professional venues throughout the area. He has a role in the recurring local production of TONY 'N TINA'S WEDDING, and has been seen a number of times in the Mystery Productions at Dave 'n Busters. We welcome him back to our stage.
ELIZABETH RAGER ("Moon Dance", Stage Manager) - Elizabeth was just seen as Mrs. McGee in CORPSE! here at Broadway Onstage. She was Stage Manager for our recent production of A THOUSAND CLOWNS. She made her acting debut with her performance as Stella in our recent production of SOMETHING TO HIDE. She is no stranger to the stage, peforming parody songs as part of a singing group as well as performing skits in theatre-in-the-round. She is also an able pianist, playing in a variety of venues including accompaniment for soloists and musicals. She believes her occupation as a trainer helped prepare her for the stage: "In training others, you design and present everything for learning with a little entertainment spread throughout; with theatre, you design and present everything for entertainment with a little learning spread throughout." We welcome you back, Elizabeth.
DENNIS WICKLINE (Producer) - Dennis was seen as Powell in CORPSE! and Frank in WEEKEND COMEDY just recently. This past fall he portrayed Murray in A THOUSAND CLOWNS. He portrayed Marc in ART and Weller Martin in THE GIN GAME here at Broadway Onstage in the fall of 2005. He was seen as Henry in THE BOOK OF MURDER in the winter of 2005, and as Bradley in THE COCKTAIL HOUR in the fall of 2004. He is the producer of all shows at Broadway Onstage. He began producing theatre in February of 1980 at Stouffer's Eastland. This season is his twenty-sixth of producing non-Equity professional theatre in the Detroit Metropolitan area. He is the author of a number of plays and musicals, including THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. Dennis portrayed Vernon in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG in the spring of 2000 here, and portrayed Herbert Bracewell in THE RETURN OF HERBERT BRACEWELL in 2001. He also appeared as Fagin in Grosse Pointe Theatre's 2001 production of OLIVER! and was seen as Joe Keller in their production of ALL MY SONS in March of 2005. Dennis was also seen here in the thriller THE WOMAN IN BLACK in the fall of 2002, portraying 5 separate characters. He directed GPT's production of SHOW BOAT in May of 2005 and their EPIC PROPORTIONS in January of this year.
SAL DEMERCURIO (Director, Set Design) - This is Sal's first production for us as Director, but he was seen as Trevor Foyle in last season's OVER MY DEAD BODY to everyone's delight. He is a theatrical veteran on many levels. He appeared as Lou in the comedy BREAKING LEGS here several seasons ago. Sal taught Drama and English in the Detroit Public School system for 36 years. He was seen professionally in CHAPTER TWO at the Great Lakes Dinner Theatre, and has been active with Grosse Pointe Theatre since 1982. He is a Past President of the group. He has taken on a number of varied and exciting roles for GPT, including Arron Levinsky in NUTS, the Reverend in ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, and Big Julie in GUYS AND DOLLS. His role in FILUMENA garnered Sal a Best Actor Award. We're honored to have him back with us.

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