The Sixteenth Season of Broadway Onstage Live Theatre, and the Twenty-Ninth Season of Dennis Wickline Productions, opens on Friday, July 24 with a new version of the Renee Taylor/Joseph Bologna comedy LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS. Playing Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Select Sundays at 2pm, the hilarious comedy will run through Saturday, August 22.
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 ˝ 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. |  |
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LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS is a play about love, couples, togetherness and the natural comedy that ensues. It is told in the context of five individual scenes as portrayed by two couples, one younger and one older. We meet Frank and Bea and Richie and Joan. Richie is the son of Frank and Bea. In the first scene we see Richie and Joan on their first date. In the second, we see Frank having a liaison with Susan, a neighbor, and in the third scene we see Frank and Bea in bed together after attending a party. That's all before intermission! Relationships, sex, being married, being a man or woman, are all part of the comic fodder that Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna explore in LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS.
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An excellent cast at Broadway Onstage brings LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS to life. Portraying Frank and Joan are Broadway Onstage favorites Joe Urkshus and CeCe Reuter Lesner. Mr. Urkshus and Ms. Lesner portrayed old friends turned lovers in the spring comedy MIXED EMOTIONS at Broadway Onstage and both are regular members of the cast of the Holiday Comedy THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS which will be performed for the ninth consecutive year this December. Taking on the roles of Joan and Richie are Audra Lord and John Arden McClure. Ms. Lord has been seen in a variety of professional venues throughout the Detroit Metropolitan area, most recently as Golde in TWO BY TWO at the JET. Mr. McClure was just seen at Broadway Onstage in the title roles of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Elizabeth Rager completes the cast as Susan, Frank's mistress. Ms. Rager was also recently seen as Pauline in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and will also act as Stage Manager for the production. LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS is under the direction of Broadway Onstage producer Dennis Wickline.
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Tickets for Opening Night Friday, July 24 are $14. Tickets for all other performances are $16. 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.
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JOHN ARDEN MCCLURE (Richie) - John was just seen as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in our production of that classic story. He was also seen as Remnar in our 2007-2008 season closer ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT and last fall in HARVEY as Mr. Wilson. He was also seen as CHUCK, one of the moving men, in MIXED EMOTIONS here this past spring. John was seen as Inspector Davies in SOMETHING TO HIDE, and also in A THOUSAND CLOWNS during our 2007-2008 season. His 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 2007'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. |  |
AUDRA LORD (Joan) - Audra is happy to be back at Broadway Onstage, where she previously appeared in APRIL, MAE & JUNE (Claudia Trillo) and ENCHANTED APRIL (Costanza). Recent stage credits: TWO BY TWO at The Jewish Ensemble Theatre, NECESSARY TARGETS at The Ringwald and NOCTURNE with BreatheArt Theatre Project. Audra is also a playwright--her play THE PICKUP was recently produced by Stagecrafters' New Works Play Festival, and her play SPEED DATING! premieres this August at Detroit venue The Furniture Factory. She recently started a writers'-readers' group called Eclectic Commotion Theatre Workshop, whose purpose is to bring playwrights, actors and other artists together to develop new theatre. Welcome back, Audra! |  |
JOE URKSHUS (Frank) - Joe was just seen as Herman in our spring comedy MIXED EMOTIONS. He was seen as Dr. Chumley in HARVEY and Victor Fleming in MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS last fall. He appeared as Edvard, the groom, in our summer 2006 production IMPOSSIBLE MARRIAGE and as Inspector John Smith in OVER MY DEAD BODY that same season. He appeared as D.W. DeWitt in our spring 2005 comedy EPIC PROPORTIONS. He also acted as Stage Manager for our season closer in 2005, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and stage managed THE LADIES OF HARMONY last summer, and last January's ART OF MURDER. Joe appeared as Henry, a thoughtful philosophy professor, in our production of CLIFFHANGER several seasons ago. He has also appeared as Hector in all of our productions of THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS, including the one coming up this December. He also portrayed Jonathan Small in SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CURSE OF THE SIGN OF FOUR several seasons ago. Joe appeared as Gary in our production of I HATE HAMLET in the fall of 2001 to great acclaim. He first appeared for us in 2000, as Father Mac and the Bingo Caller, in THE QUEEN OF BINGO. Joe has been seen in a number of local venues on a community and professional level. He was seen in NOISES OFF for Avon Players several seasons ago, and he was recently seen in the comedy MURDER AT THE HOWARD JOHNSON'S for RJO Productions. It's a pleasure to have him back with us again! |  |
CECE LESNER (Bea) - CeCe was just seen as Christine in our spring comedy MIXED EMOTIONS. She was seen as Maude in THE LADIES OF HARMONY last summer and will be seen again as Dorothy in our Holiday Comedy THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS this coming December. She was seen as Flavia in GIFT OF MURDER and as Irene Adler in SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET several seasons ago. She was also seen as Kandall in our summer 2006 production of IMPOSSIBLE MARRIAGE. CeCe portrayed Theresa in CHEATING CHEATERS, our 2004 summer production, and was seen as Ouiser in STEEL MAGNOLIAS here at Broadway Onstage several seasons ago. She has appeared in a number of other productions here at Broadway Onstage, including COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN and BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, among others. She has also performed in other theaters in performances of LET'S MURDER MARSHA and THE CEMETERY CLUB. CeCe is also a member of the Pistons Motown Classics over 55 dance team which performs at The Palace! Thanks,CeCe. It's always a joy working with you! |
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ELIZABETH RAGER (Susan) - Elizabeth just appeared as Pauline in our season closing DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE this past April and May. She was seen as Leah in our summer 2008 production of LADIES OF HARMONY. She was also seen in the 2007-2008 season closer, ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT, as "Wolf Moon Dance." Elizabeth also portrayed Mrs. McGee in CORPSE! in January 2008 here at Broadway Onstage. She was also Stage Manager for ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT and our fall 2007 production of A THOUSAND CLOWNS. She made her acting debut with her performance as Stella in our September/October 2007 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 (Director, Set Design) - Dennis portrayed David O Selznick in MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS and Elwood P. Dowd in HARVEY last fall. He was seen as Major Powell in CORPSE and Frank in WEEKEND COMEDY here during our 2007-2008 season. He directed JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT for Grosse Pointe Theatre to close their 2007-2008 Season. Dennis portrayed Marc in ART and Weller Martin in THE GIN GAME here at Broadway Onstage several seasons ago. He was seen as Henry in THE BOOK OF MURDER in the winter of 2005, 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-ninth 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 also directed GPT's 2005 SHOWBOAT. |  |
